Established in March of 1912, the county is named for James B McCreary who was a Confederate war hero and two-time Governor of Kentucly from 1875 to 1879 and again from 1911 to 1915. It was in his second term however that the county was established and legislated in his honor. Out of all 125 counties within the state, McCreary county without an actual incorporated city. With a total area of 431 square miles, the county has 17,408 residents calling it home.