Bourbon County, Kentucky

Bourbon County
Bourbon County
County
	Bourbon County Courthouse in Paris
	Location within the U.S. state of Kentucky
	Kentucky's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 38°12′N 84°13′W / 38.2°N 84.21°W
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
Founded	1785
Named for	House of Bourbon
Seat	Paris
Largest city	Paris
Area
• Total	292 sq mi (760 km2)
• Land	290 sq mi (800 km2)
• Water	1.9 sq mi (5 km2) 0.6%
Population (2020)
• Total	20,252
• Estimate (2023)	20,134
• Density	69/sq mi (27/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	6th
Website	www.bourbonky.com

Bourbon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,252.^[1] Its county seat is Paris.^[2] Bourbon County is part of the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is one of Kentucky's nine original counties, and is best known for its historical association with bourbon whiskey.

History

Old Bourbon

Bourbon County was established in 1785 from a portion of Fayette County, Virginia,^[3]^[4] and named after the French House of Bourbon,^[5] in gratitude for Louis XVI of France's assistance during the American Revolutionary War.

Bourbon County, Virginia, originally comprised 34 of Kentucky's 120 current counties, including the current Bourbon County.^[6]^[7]^[8] This larger area later became known as Old Bourbon. Bourbon became part of the new state of Kentucky when it was admitted to the Union in 1792.

Birthplace of Bourbon whiskey

Whiskey was an early product of the area, and whiskey barrels from the area were marked Old Bourbon when they were shipped downriver from the local port on the Ohio River.^[8]^[9] As it was made mostly from corn (maize), it had a distinctive flavor, and the name bourbon came to be used to distinguish it from other regional whiskey styles, such as Monongahela, a product of western Pennsylvania, which may have generally been a rye whiskey. The use of the term Old in the phrase Old Bourbon, was likely misconstrued as a reference to the aging of the whiskey rather than part of the name of the geographic area.^[8] The port, originally known as Limestone, now Maysville, was in Bourbon County until the borders were redrawn in 1789 when it became part of the Mason County of Virginia, and it is now in Mason County, Kentucky.^[8] Thirty-four modern Kentucky counties were once part of the original Bourbon County, including the current county of that name.^[7]

Except for a few distilleries that were authorized to produce it for medicinal purposes, the bourbon industry was wiped out in 1919 when Prohibition took effect. Kentucky adopted prohibition a year earlier than the national prohibition.^[10] Within the boundaries of Bourbon County as it stands today there were, by some counts, 26 distilleries. All of these were shut down in 1919, and no distilleries resumed operation there until late 2014, a period of 95 years.^[11] At present, alcohol production and sales in Kentucky are regulated by a patchwork of laws which the Kentucky Supreme Court called a "maze of obscure statutory language".^[12]

Courthouse

The courthouse was destroyed by fire in 1872 and 1901, resulting in the loss of county records. The current courthouse is the county's fourth.^[13]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 292 square miles (760 km²), of which 290 square miles (750 km²) is land and 1.9 square miles (4.9 km²) (0.6%) is water.^[14]

There are no sizable lakes in the county, although there are several streams. Primary among these is Stoner Creek, on which the county seat is situated. This large stream is a principal tributary of the South Fork of the Licking River.

The county's topography is predominantly gently rolling hills. Due to agricultural development, very little of the county's land area can be characterized as forested, though deciduous trees are a common feature of the landscape.

Adjacent counties

Harrison County (northwest)
Nicholas County (northeast)
Bath County (east)
Montgomery County (southeast)
Clark County (south)
Fayette County (southwest)
Scott County (west)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1790	7,837		—
1800	12,825		63.6%
1810	18,009		40.4%
1820	17,664		−1.9%
1830	18,436		4.4%
1840	14,478		−21.5%
1850	14,466		−0.1%
1860	14,860		2.7%
1870	14,863		0.0%
1880	15,956		7.4%
1890	16,976		6.4%
1900	18,069		6.4%
1910	17,462		−3.4%
1920	18,418		5.5%
1930	18,060		−1.9%
1940	17,932		−0.7%
1950	17,752		−1.0%
1960	18,178		2.4%
1970	18,476		1.6%
1980	19,405		5.0%
1990	19,236		−0.9%
2000	19,360		0.6%
2010	19,985		3.2%
2020	20,252		1.3%
2023 (est.)	20,134	^[15]	−0.6%
US Decennial Census^[16] 1790-1960^[17] 1900–1990^[18] 1990-2000^[19] 2010–2020^[1]

As to the census of 2010, there were 19,985 people and 8,128 households residing in the county. The population density was 66 per square mile (25/km²). There were 8,349 housing units at an average density of 29 per square mile (11/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 90.38% White, 6.94% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.36% from other races, and 1.02% from two or more races. 2.60% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 7,681 households, out of which 32.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.70% were married couples living together, 12.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.10% were non-families. 24.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.00% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 28.60% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 13.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,038, and the median income for a family was $42,294. Males had a median income of $30,989 versus $23,467 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,335. About 12.30% of families and 14.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.10% of those under age 18 and 11.90% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated Communities

Politics

For most of the 20th century Bourbon county was a fairly reliable Democratic county. However, since the dawn of the 21st century it has now become a solidly Republican county.

United States presidential election results for Bourbon County, Kentucky^[20]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	6,190	64.16%	3,296	34.16%	162	1.68%
2016	5,569	63.26%	2,791	31.71%	443	5.03%
2012	4,692	59.22%	3,075	38.81%	156	1.97%
2008	4,820	57.86%	3,385	40.64%	125	1.50%
2004	4,953	60.28%	3,198	38.92%	66	0.80%
2000	3,881	54.65%	3,048	42.92%	173	2.44%
1996	2,592	41.42%	3,030	48.42%	636	10.16%
1992	2,707	39.12%	2,895	41.84%	1,318	19.05%
1988	3,308	53.57%	2,793	45.23%	74	1.20%
1984	3,836	58.54%	2,649	40.42%	68	1.04%
1980	2,475	39.00%	3,641	57.37%	230	3.62%
1976	2,260	38.28%	3,504	59.35%	140	2.37%
1972	3,180	62.02%	1,860	36.28%	87	1.70%
1968	1,848	33.85%	2,566	47.00%	1,046	19.16%
1964	1,222	22.99%	4,068	76.52%	26	0.49%
1960	2,379	42.98%	3,156	57.02%	0	0.00%
1956	2,475	42.75%	3,263	56.36%	52	0.90%
1952	2,229	40.02%	3,339	59.95%	2	0.04%
1948	1,610	29.64%	3,562	65.57%	260	4.79%
1944	1,957	33.72%	3,828	65.97%	18	0.31%
1940	2,673	38.57%	4,254	61.38%	4	0.06%
1936	2,471	38.83%	3,872	60.84%	21	0.33%
1932	2,820	37.09%	4,759	62.59%	25	0.33%
1928	4,512	58.34%	3,218	41.61%	4	0.05%
1924	3,691	47.06%	4,034	51.43%	118	1.50%
1920	4,029	42.30%	5,452	57.24%	43	0.45%
1916	2,167	44.04%	2,715	55.18%	38	0.77%
1912	1,744	38.32%	2,362	51.90%	445	9.78%

Notable people

Mitchell Dazey (1820–1896), Illinois politician and farmer; was born in Bourbon County.
Mary Rootes Thornton McAboy (1815–1892), poet

References

^ ^a ^b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
^ Collins, Lewis (1882). Collins' Historical Sketches of Kentucky: History of Kentucky, Volume 2. Collins & Company. p. 26.
^ "Bourbon County". Kyenc.org. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
^ The Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society, Volume 1. Kentucky State Historical Society. 1903. pp. 34.
^ City of Cynthiana, "Early History of Kentucky County Virginia" Archived January 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
^ ^a ^b The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, John T. Edge, volume editor, Volume 7: Foodways, p. 128.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Cowdery, Charles K. (July 1996). "How Bourbon Whiskey Really Got Its Famous Name". The Bourbon Country Reader. 3 (1).
^ Cowdery, Charles K. (2004). Bourbon, Straight: The Uncut and Unfiltered Story of American Whiskey. p. 25. ISBN 9780975870303.
^ Warren, Jim (October 18, 2011). "Revisiting Prohibition: Kentucky was ahead of the times". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved February 4, 2018 – via kentucky.com.
^ Buchanan, Andrew (July 25, 2016). "Gurkha Partners with Hartfield & Co. for Bourbon Collection". hartfieldandcompany.com. Hartfield & Co. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
^ Brammer, Jack (August 10, 2012). "Want to buy or sell an alcoholic drink in Kentucky? That'll depend on where you are". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
^ Hogan, Roseann Reinemuth (1992). Kentucky Ancestry: A Guide to Genealogical and Historical Research. Ancestry Publishing. p. 197. ISBN 9780916489496. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
^ "U.S. Decennial Census". census.gov. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". census.gov. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). census.gov. United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved June 29, 2018.