Floyd County, Kentucky in Encyclopedia

Floyd County, Kentucky

Encyclopedia

Tutorials

Encyclopedia

Dictionary

Directory

Email this to a friend Floyd_County,_Kentucky

Floyd County, Kentucky

Floyd County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1800. As of 2000, the population was 42,441. Its county seat is Prestonsburg. The county is named for Colonel John Floyd (1750-1783).

History
Geography

Adjacent counties

Demographics
Cities and towns
Education
See also
External links
References

History

On December 13, 1799 the Kentucky General Assembly passed legislation to form Floyd County as the 40th county of Kentucky.^[1] The county was made from parts of Fleming, Montgomery, and Mason County, Kentucky. The legislation became effective on June 1, 1800.^[1] The county was named for James John Floyd.^[1] The county seat was Preston's Station, later renamed Prestonsburg. The first court house burned down on April 8, 1808, destroying all the early records, so the earliest records of government activity come from the year 1808.^[1] Prestonsburg was used as a Confederate stronghold during the Civil War and two battles took place near by. The Battle of Ivy Mountain on November 8, 1861 and the Battle of Middle Creek on January 10, 1862.^[1] Both were Union victories.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 395 square miles (1,024 km²), of which, 394 square miles (1,021 km²) of it is land and 1 square miles (3 km²) of it (0.29%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Johnson County (north)
Martin County (northeast)
Pike County (east)
Knott County (southwest)
Magoffin County (northwest)

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 42,441 people, 16,881 households, and 12,272 families residing in the county. The population density was 108 people per square mile (42/km²). There were 18,551 housing units at an average density of 47 per square mile (18/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.73% White, 1.29% Black or African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.12% from other races, and 0.42% from two or more races. 0.61% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 16,881 households out of which 33.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.50% were married couples living together, 12.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.30% were non-families. 25.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.60% under the age of 18, 9.40% from 18 to 24, 30.30% from 25 to 44, 24.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $21,168, and the median income for a family was $25,717. Males had a median income of $30,242 versus $20,569 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,442. About 26.90% of families and 30.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 39.80% of those under age 18 and 20.50% of those age 65 or over.