Floyd County which originally was the hunting ground for the Shawnee Indians was founded in 1819. The county was later named for former Brigadier General John Floyd who was a leading pioneer out of Jefferson, KY, and uncle to the county’s first circuit court judge, Davis Floyd. Davis Floyd is the person who some beleive that the he is who the county is named after, not John. With a population count of 77,781 residents, the county has a total area of 149 sqaure miles.
On December 13, 1799, the Kentucky General Assembly passed legislation to form Floyd County as the 40th county of Kentucky and was made from parts of Fleming, Montgomery, and Mason counties. The legislation became effective on June 1, 1800. The county was named for James John Floyd who was a pioneer surveyor who helped lay out the city of Louisville. The county seat was Preston’s Station, later renamed Prestonsburg. The first courthouse burned down on April 8, 1808, destroying all the early records so the earliest records of government activity do not date prior to 1808. Sitting at 396 square miles, Floyd County is home to almost 36,000 residents.
