Crittenden County, Kentucky | |
|---|---|
 Crittenden County Courthouse in Marion | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofKentucky | |
| Coordinates:37°22′N88°05′W / 37.36°N 88.09°W /37.36; -88.09 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Kentucky |
| Founded | 1842 |
| Named after | John J. Crittenden |
| Seat | Marion |
| Largest city | Marion |
| Area | |
• Total | 371 sq mi (960 km2) |
| • Land | 360 sq mi (930 km2) |
| • Water | 11 sq mi (28 km2) 3.0% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 8,990 |
• Estimate (2024)[1] | 8,982 |
| • Density | 25/sq mi (9.7/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 1st |
| Website | www |
Crittenden County is acounty in theU.S. state ofKentucky. At the2020 census, the population was 8,990.[2] Itscounty seat and only municipality isMarion.[3] The county was formed in 1842 and named forJohn J. Crittenden, senator and futureGovernor of Kentucky.[4][5]
Crittenden County, located on the Ohio and Tradewater Rivers in thePennyroyal region of Kentucky, was created by the state legislature on April 1, 1842, from a portion ofLivingston County. It became the state's 91st county, and was named forJohn J. Crittenden, a U.S. senator, attorney general, and governor of Kentucky. The first county seat was in Crooked Creek, but it was moved to Marion just two years later.
Crittenden County was once crossed by the Chickasaw Road, which was a part of the Old Saline Trace. This footpath was used byNative Americans when hunting game that crossed theOhio River to thesalt licks in Illinois. The first settler in the area was James Armstrong, who arrived fromSouth Carolina in 1786 and built a log cabin. His family joined him five years later, along with other families who came to settle there. Early in the nineteenth century, Flynn's Ferry was established where the trail crossed the river.
Generally pro-Confederate during theAmerican Civil War, the county saw little fighting, although both armies passed through it repeatedly. However, several skirmishes did place there, and the county courthouse was burned byConfederateBrigadier GeneralHylan B. Lyon during his raid across western Kentucky in December 1864. Lyon's men, all Kentuckians, burned a total of seven courthouses, since theUnion Army was using them for barracks. The Confederates allowed the locals to remove the records before setting fire to the courthouses.[6]
Crittenden County has valuable deposits offluorspar, zinc, porcelain, coal, limestone, and sand for making glass. Marion was primarily an industrial town in the 1840s associated with the large fluorspar mining industry. This industry peaked in 1947 and has been in slow decline since. Iron production was also a prominent industry in the mid-19th century, with several furnaces being built in the county, one owned byAndrew Jackson. Other products produced in the county include lumber, glass, modular homes, and blue crystal that was made famous by Ball canning jars. Today the county has a strong agricultural economy. In 1992, 66 percent of the population lived on farms, with 45 percent of the population reporting farming as their primary occupation.[6][7]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 371 square miles (960 km2), of which 360 square miles (930 km2) is land and 11 square miles (28 km2) (3.0%) is water.[8] Its northwestern border with Illinois is formed by theOhio River.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1850 | 6,351 | — | |
| 1860 | 8,796 | 38.5% | |
| 1870 | 9,381 | 6.7% | |
| 1880 | 11,688 | 24.6% | |
| 1890 | 13,119 | 12.2% | |
| 1900 | 15,191 | 15.8% | |
| 1910 | 13,296 | −12.5% | |
| 1920 | 13,125 | −1.3% | |
| 1930 | 11,931 | −9.1% | |
| 1940 | 12,115 | 1.5% | |
| 1950 | 10,818 | −10.7% | |
| 1960 | 8,648 | −20.1% | |
| 1970 | 8,493 | −1.8% | |
| 1980 | 9,207 | 8.4% | |
| 1990 | 9,196 | −0.1% | |
| 2000 | 9,384 | 2.0% | |
| 2010 | 9,315 | −0.7% | |
| 2020 | 8,990 | −3.5% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 8,982 | −0.1% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1790-1960[10] 1900-1990[11] 1990-2000[12] 2010-2021[13] 2024[14][1] | |||
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 8,990. The median age was 43.8 years. 22.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.4 males age 18 and over.[15][16]
The racial makeup of the county was 95.2% White, 0.9%Black or African American, 0.2%American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%Asian, 0.1%Native Hawaiian andPacific Islander, 0.4% from some other race, and 3.2% fromtwo or more races.Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.3% of the population.[16]
0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.[17]
There were 3,604 households in the county, of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 25.2% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[15]
There were 4,331 housing units, of which 16.8% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 74.9% were owner-occupied and 25.1% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.4%.[15]
As of thecensus[18] of 2000, there were 9,384 people, 3,829 households, and 2,707 families residing in the county. Thepopulation density was 26 per square mile (10/km2). There were 4,410 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile (4.6/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 98.24%White, 0.65%Black orAfrican American, 0.15%Native American, 0.09%Asian, 0.14% fromother races, and 0.74% from two or more races. 0.51% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race.
There were 3,829 households, out of which 29.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.80% weremarried couples living together, 8.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.30% were non-families. 27.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.20% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 26.10% from 25 to 44, 26.40% from 45 to 64, and 16.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 93.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.50 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $29,060, and the median income for a family was $36,462. Males had a median income of $30,509 versus $18,961 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $15,262. About 14.70% of families and 19.10% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 30.80% of those under age 18 and 15.70% of those age 65 or over.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1912 | 1,367 | 45.52% | 1,230 | 40.96% | 406 | 13.52% |
| 1916 | 1,794 | 54.50% | 1,455 | 44.20% | 43 | 1.31% |
| 1920 | 3,149 | 59.29% | 2,138 | 40.26% | 24 | 0.45% |
| 1924 | 2,539 | 56.75% | 1,869 | 41.77% | 66 | 1.48% |
| 1928 | 3,000 | 68.46% | 1,376 | 31.40% | 6 | 0.14% |
| 1932 | 2,185 | 50.58% | 2,119 | 49.05% | 16 | 0.37% |
| 1936 | 2,441 | 55.79% | 1,926 | 44.02% | 8 | 0.18% |
| 1940 | 2,624 | 58.68% | 1,834 | 41.01% | 14 | 0.31% |
| 1944 | 2,690 | 63.16% | 1,544 | 36.25% | 25 | 0.59% |
| 1948 | 1,927 | 55.09% | 1,497 | 42.80% | 74 | 2.12% |
| 1952 | 2,471 | 63.13% | 1,427 | 36.46% | 16 | 0.41% |
| 1956 | 2,548 | 62.64% | 1,494 | 36.73% | 26 | 0.64% |
| 1960 | 2,770 | 67.74% | 1,319 | 32.26% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1964 | 1,863 | 53.27% | 1,627 | 46.53% | 7 | 0.20% |
| 1968 | 1,942 | 54.97% | 838 | 23.72% | 753 | 21.31% |
| 1972 | 2,248 | 71.52% | 859 | 27.33% | 36 | 1.15% |
| 1976 | 1,596 | 47.61% | 1,715 | 51.16% | 41 | 1.22% |
| 1980 | 2,219 | 58.84% | 1,508 | 39.99% | 44 | 1.17% |
| 1984 | 2,167 | 59.16% | 1,483 | 40.49% | 13 | 0.35% |
| 1988 | 2,211 | 60.31% | 1,443 | 39.36% | 12 | 0.33% |
| 1992 | 1,576 | 41.26% | 1,740 | 45.55% | 504 | 13.19% |
| 1996 | 1,509 | 44.33% | 1,480 | 43.48% | 415 | 12.19% |
| 2000 | 2,469 | 59.44% | 1,610 | 38.76% | 75 | 1.81% |
| 2004 | 2,726 | 65.06% | 1,438 | 34.32% | 26 | 0.62% |
| 2008 | 2,604 | 66.26% | 1,254 | 31.91% | 72 | 1.83% |
| 2012 | 2,839 | 73.66% | 960 | 24.91% | 55 | 1.43% |
| 2016 | 3,290 | 81.50% | 617 | 15.28% | 130 | 3.22% |
| 2020 | 3,451 | 81.35% | 731 | 17.23% | 60 | 1.41% |
| 2024 | 3,349 | 83.52% | 608 | 15.16% | 53 | 1.32% |
Although Crittenden County was by no means pro-Union during the Civil War – only 4.02 percent of its white male population served in theUnion Army vis-à-vis over six percent for Kentucky as a whole[20] – the county became strongly Republican in later years due to its deep ties to Illinois areas which came to support that party as a result of the war. Since 1884, the solitary Democrat to gain a majority in Crittenden County has beenJimmy Carter in 1976, althoughWilliam Jennings Bryan won by two votes in 1896 andBill Clinton obtained a plurality of 164 votes in 1992.
In gubernatorial elections, Crittenden was during the twentieth century likewise frequently the only county west of the Western Coalfield to support the Republican candidate – a scenario observed in 1979,[21] and with one exception in 1995.[22]
| Elected officials as of January 3, 2025[23][24] | ||
| U.S. House | James Comer (R) | KY 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Ky. Senate | Jason Howell (R) | 1 |
| Ky. House | Jim Gooch Jr. (R) | 12 |
Students in Crittenden County attendCrittenden County Schools located inMarion.
Municipalities and communities ofCrittenden County, Kentucky,United States | ||
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| Other unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
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