Leslie County was founded in 1878 and was named after Preston H Leslie who was a former Governor 1871 to 1875. Now natives of Kentucky know that the state is known for many things, one of which is its coal mines ufortunately, that’s not always a good thing. For example, the Hurricane Creek Mine disaster that happened in Leslie County in 1907 killed 38 people. Another political event that happened in the county was when resigned president Richard Nixon visited the county and had a recreational facility named after him. So aside from all the political personnel and dark history of the local coal mine, the county has a total area of 404 square miles and has 11,310 calling Leslie County home.
The county was founded in 1842 and is named after former governor Robert P Letcher, who was governor of the state from 1840 to 1844. It is also the county seat to Whitesburg which is located in the more southeastern part of the state as you will see when you look at the photo below. The county is also the county seat to Jenkins which is the largest city within the county which is also home to Highland Winery, which is the only exception of alcohol allowed for the county seeing as how it is listed as a “dry” county. Almost 23,000 residents (22,899 to be exact according to the bereau) call this area of 339 square miles home sweet home.
The county was formed in 1806 off of land that was split from Mason County. The present county (which was one of three that was split) was named after Meriwether Lewis who was an american explorer, soldier and a public administrator. You may know Meriwether Lewis best as the leader of the Lewis and Clark expedition in which their purposes were to explore the new land which was acquired in the Louisiana Purchase, establish trade with the native americans near the Missouri River and the Pacific Northwest. The county is really known for its really fine oak lumbering. Now with the county being a minimal of 485 miles above sea level, it also has a total area of 495 square miles and has a population count of 13,257 residents.
Lincoln County which was originally Lincoln County, Virginia as established by the V.G.A in June 1780, and named in honor of Benjamin Lincoln who was a former general in the revolutionary War. It was one of three counties formed out of Virginia’s Kentucky County (the other two were Fayette and Jefferson), and is one of Kentucky’s nine original counties. The county’s original seat was at Harrodsburg however, in 1785, Lincoln County was partioned therefore Harrodsburg became the seat of what is now Mercer County. Soon after, Stanford became Lincoln County’s permanent seat. As we go towards the geological part of the state, it is worth noting that according to the last bereau report, the county has a total area of 337 sqaure miles and is home to just over 24,500 residents. Which according to the same bereau report, the county population count is at 24,644.
The county was established in 1798 from land taken from Christian County and is named after Robert R Livingston who was a member of the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration of Independence which was to be later signed on July 4, 1776. Some more history on the county, it was strongly pro condfederate during the American Civil War and many men volunteered for the Confederate Army. The land has a total area of 342 square miles and is home to just over 9,000 residents.
Created from Lincoln County on September 1, 1792, Logan was the 13th county to be estsblished within the state in order of formation. The county is named after Benjamin Logan who was second in command of the Kentucky militia during the American Revolutionary War and was a leader in bringing statehood to the area. Some notable events and times in the county both go from good to bad times. For example, on May 30, 1806, Future president Andrew Jackson was in pistol duel with Charles Dickinson. Now though Jacskon did become seriously injured, he survived the duel, his opponent on the other hand, was not so lucky. Now for some better and more recent history, in 2009 the county little league team won the Great Lakes regional tournament to become the 4th Kentucky team to represent the region in the Little League World Series located in Williamsport, PA. With a total area of 557 sqaure miles, a population of just under 27,000 call Logan County home.
Lyon county was formed from Caldwell County in 1854 and named after former congressman Chittenden Lyon. It is the county seat to the town of Eddyville, KY, and is surrounded by Crittenden, Caldwell, Trigg, Marshall, and Livingston counties. While having over 8,000 residents calling the county home, it also has a total area of 257 square miles.
Formed in 1785, it is not to be mistaken for Madison County that is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia which was formed in 1792. It was also named after the fourth president o the united states, James Madison. Madison county is home to many things such as Eastern Kentucky University which is one of the best universities in america for criminal justice or law studies. It is also home to the now closed Bybee Pottery which was one of the oldest pottery operations in all of america. Most historically though, Madison county is home to the legendary Boonesborough where the infamous Daniel Boone lived and built the fort. It is the county seat to the city of Richmond, it has a total area of 443 sqaure miles and has a total of 92,987 residents calling it home.
The county was formed in 1860 from adjacent portions of Floyd, Johnson, and Morgan Counties. It was named for Beriah Magoffin who was Governor of the state from 1859 to 1862. It is the county seat to the town of Salyersville. Surrounded by the Licking River, Magoffin county has a total area of 309 square feet and has a poulation count of 12,362 residents.
The county was founded in 1834 and named after the American Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion, who is also known as the “Swamp Fox”. Formed off of land from Washington County, Marion County is the state of Kentucky’s most catholic county with catholic settlers coming from Kentucky to Holy Cross from the counties western circa in 1790. Sitting at a total area of 347 sqaure miles, it is home to 19,404 residents.