Gallatin County, Kentucky | |
|---|---|
 Gallatin County Courthouse inWarsaw | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofKentucky | |
 Kentucky's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:38°46′N84°52′W / 38.76°N 84.86°W /38.76; -84.86 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Kentucky |
| Founded | 1798 |
| Named after | Albert Gallatin |
| Seat | Warsaw |
| Largest city | Warsaw |
| Area | |
• Total | 105 sq mi (270 km2) |
| • Land | 101 sq mi (260 km2) |
| • Water | 3.5 sq mi (9.1 km2) 3.3% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 8,690 |
• Estimate (2024) | 8,805 |
| • Density | 86.0/sq mi (33.2/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Congressional district | 4th |
| Website | gallatinky |
Gallatin County is acounty located in thenorthern part of theU.S. state ofKentucky. Itscounty seat isWarsaw.[1] The county was founded in 1798 and named forAlbert Gallatin, theSecretary of the Treasury under PresidentThomas Jefferson.[2][3] Gallatin County is included in theCincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located along theOhio River across from Indiana.
The county was formed on December 14, 1798. Gallatin was the 31st Kentucky county to be established. It was derived from parts ofFranklin andShelby counties.[4] Later, parts of the county were pared off to create three additional counties:Owen in 1819,Trimble in 1836, andCarroll in 1838. Today Gallatin is one tenth of its original size. Its northern border is theOhio River.
The population of Gallatin County in 1800 was 1,291, according to the Second Census of Kentucky, composed of 960 whites, 329 slaves, and 2 "freemen of color".[5]
During theCivil War, several skirmishes occurred in the county and theUnion Army arrested a number of men fortreason for supporting theConfederates.
The 1866 Gallatin County Race Riot happened just after the Civil War, when bands of lawless Ku Klux Klansmen terrorized parts of the Bluegrass State. "A band of five hundred whites in Gallatin County... forced hundreds of blacks to flee across the Ohio River."[6]
On December 4, 1868, two passenger steamers, theAmerica and theUnited States, collided on the Ohio River nearWarsaw. TheUnited States carried a cargo of kerosene barrels which caught fire. The flames soon spread to theAmerica, and many passengers perished by burning or drowning. The combined death toll was 162, making it one of the most deadly steamboat accidents in American history.
The Lynchings of the Frenches of Warsaw were conducted by a white mob on May 3, 1876. It was unusual as Benjamin and Mollie French were killed for the murder of Lake Jones, another, older African-American man. They were hanged by local masked KKK members.[7]
As the 20th century progressed, commercial river trade began to decline, and the steamboat era ended, as faster means of transportation became available. Rail lines expanded, automobiles and trucks became reliable, and aircraft soon arrived on the scene. In the postwar period after World War II, numerous major highways were constructed, leading to greater auto travel and commuting. Gallatin County is traversed byI-71,U.S. 42, andU.S. 127. By the 1980s, more than 50 percent of the population was employed outside the county.[8]
Construction on theMarkland Locks and Dam began in 1956 and was completed in 1964. In 1967 a hydroelectric power plant was built at the dam, which provided jobs.
Marco Allen Chapman was executed in 2008 for multiple murders he committed on August 23, 2002, inWarsaw, Kentucky.[9] He murdered two children, Chelbi Sharon, 7, and Cody Sharon, 6, by slitting their throats.[10] He raped and stabbed their mother, Carolyn Marksberry, more than 15 times.[11] A third child, daughter 10-year-old Courtney Sharon, played dead after being stabbed and then escaped.[12] Thirty-seven-year-old Chapman was executed on November 21, 2008, by lethal injection at theKentucky State Penitentiary inEddyville, Kentucky. He was the last person executed by the Commonwealth.[13]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 105 square miles (270 km2), of which 101 square miles (260 km2) is land and 3.5 square miles (9.1 km2) (3.3%) is water.[14] It is the second smallest county by area in Kentucky.[15]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 1,291 | — | |
| 1810 | 3,307 | 156.2% | |
| 1820 | 7,075 | 113.9% | |
| 1830 | 6,674 | −5.7% | |
| 1840 | 4,003 | −40.0% | |
| 1850 | 5,137 | 28.3% | |
| 1860 | 5,056 | −1.6% | |
| 1870 | 5,074 | 0.4% | |
| 1880 | 4,832 | −4.8% | |
| 1890 | 4,611 | −4.6% | |
| 1900 | 5,163 | 12.0% | |
| 1910 | 4,697 | −9.0% | |
| 1920 | 4,664 | −0.7% | |
| 1930 | 4,437 | −4.9% | |
| 1940 | 4,307 | −2.9% | |
| 1950 | 3,969 | −7.8% | |
| 1960 | 3,867 | −2.6% | |
| 1970 | 4,134 | 6.9% | |
| 1980 | 4,842 | 17.1% | |
| 1990 | 5,393 | 11.4% | |
| 2000 | 7,870 | 45.9% | |
| 2010 | 8,589 | 9.1% | |
| 2020 | 8,690 | 1.2% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 8,805 | [16] | 1.3% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[17] 1790–1960[18] 1900–1990[19] 1990–2000[20] 2010–2021[21] | |||
As of the2010 United States census, there were 8,589 people living in the county. 94.7% wereWhite, 1.3%Black or African American, 0.2%Asian, 0.1%Native American, 1.6% of some other race and 2.0%of two or more races. 4.3% wereHispanic or Latino (of any race). 22.6% were ofGerman, 21.4%American, 13.8%Irish and 6.5%English ancestry.[22]
As of thecensus[23] of 2000, there were 7,870 people, 2,902 households, and 2,135 families living in the county. Thepopulation density was 80 per square mile (31/km2). There were 3,362 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile (13/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 96.72%White, 1.59%Black orAfrican American, 0.18%Native American, 0.22%Asian, 0.25% fromother races, and 1.04% from two or more races. 1.04% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race.
There were 2,902 households, out of which 37.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.00% weremarried couples living together, 10.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.40% were non-families. 22.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.11.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.60% under the age of 18, 7.70% from 18 to 24, 31.00% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 10.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 98.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $36,422, and the median income for a family was $41,136. Males had a median income of $32,081 versus $21,803 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $16,416. About 11.60% of families and 13.40% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 16.60% of those under age 18 and 16.40% of those age 65 or over.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1880 | 274 | 28.63% | 683 | 71.37% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1884 | 254 | 25.02% | 753 | 74.19% | 8 | 0.79% |
| 1888 | 313 | 26.98% | 821 | 70.78% | 26 | 2.24% |
| 1892 | 237 | 23.72% | 737 | 73.77% | 25 | 2.50% |
| 1896 | 396 | 29.44% | 933 | 69.37% | 16 | 1.19% |
| 1900 | 404 | 28.27% | 1,018 | 71.24% | 7 | 0.49% |
| 1904 | 334 | 25.87% | 941 | 72.89% | 16 | 1.24% |
| 1908 | 321 | 24.92% | 958 | 74.38% | 9 | 0.70% |
| 1912 | 174 | 14.57% | 906 | 75.88% | 114 | 9.55% |
| 1916 | 283 | 21.01% | 1,060 | 78.69% | 4 | 0.30% |
| 1920 | 536 | 23.03% | 1,782 | 76.58% | 9 | 0.39% |
| 1924 | 750 | 42.13% | 1,007 | 56.57% | 23 | 1.29% |
| 1928 | 1,010 | 55.04% | 823 | 44.85% | 2 | 0.11% |
| 1932 | 365 | 16.87% | 1,792 | 82.85% | 6 | 0.28% |
| 1936 | 404 | 21.55% | 1,456 | 77.65% | 15 | 0.80% |
| 1940 | 495 | 25.10% | 1,473 | 74.70% | 4 | 0.20% |
| 1944 | 516 | 27.33% | 1,360 | 72.03% | 12 | 0.64% |
| 1948 | 342 | 19.67% | 1,381 | 79.41% | 16 | 0.92% |
| 1952 | 465 | 25.12% | 1,383 | 74.72% | 3 | 0.16% |
| 1956 | 547 | 30.89% | 1,223 | 69.06% | 1 | 0.06% |
| 1960 | 756 | 42.38% | 1,028 | 57.62% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1964 | 267 | 17.60% | 1,246 | 82.14% | 4 | 0.26% |
| 1968 | 413 | 29.35% | 685 | 48.69% | 309 | 21.96% |
| 1972 | 719 | 53.38% | 612 | 45.43% | 16 | 1.19% |
| 1976 | 436 | 26.86% | 1,164 | 71.72% | 23 | 1.42% |
| 1980 | 684 | 40.14% | 988 | 57.98% | 32 | 1.88% |
| 1984 | 1,042 | 49.78% | 1,042 | 49.78% | 9 | 0.43% |
| 1988 | 881 | 45.13% | 1,060 | 54.30% | 11 | 0.56% |
| 1992 | 699 | 30.01% | 1,171 | 50.28% | 459 | 19.71% |
| 1996 | 838 | 35.72% | 1,189 | 50.68% | 319 | 13.60% |
| 2000 | 1,345 | 54.70% | 1,049 | 42.66% | 65 | 2.64% |
| 2004 | 1,869 | 60.82% | 1,188 | 38.66% | 16 | 0.52% |
| 2008 | 1,840 | 57.63% | 1,278 | 40.03% | 75 | 2.35% |
| 2012 | 1,758 | 57.43% | 1,238 | 40.44% | 65 | 2.12% |
| 2016 | 2,443 | 73.19% | 749 | 22.44% | 146 | 4.37% |
| 2020 | 2,955 | 76.77% | 822 | 21.36% | 72 | 1.87% |
| 2024 | 3,109 | 79.37% | 761 | 19.43% | 47 | 1.20% |
Gallatin County used to be Democratic. In 1984, it was tied betweenWalter Mondale and Ronald Reagan, even as Reagan won Kentucky in a landslide. However, more recently it has turned more Republican, giving 73% of the vote to Donald Trump (even as Trump lost the popular vote nationally) in 2016.
| Elected officials as of January 3, 2025[25][26] | ||
| U.S. House | Thomas Massie (R) | KY 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Ky. Senate | Gex Williams (R) | 20 |
| Ky. House | Savannah Maddox (R) | 61 |
Interstate 71 runs through Gallatin County, with three exits around Sparta and Glencoe. Public transportation is provided by Senior Services of Northern Kentucky with demand-response service.[27]
Proposals to build an airport in Gallatin County first circulated in 2004. Funding was officially granted by federal, state, and local authorities in 2019.[28] TheGallatin County Airport opened in June 2023.[29]
Municipalities and communities ofGallatin County, Kentucky,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost town | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
