Greenup County, Kentucky

Infobox U.S. County
county = Greenup County
state = Kentucky


founded year = 1792
founded date =
seat wl = Greenup
largest city wl = Flatwoods
area_total_sq_mi = 355
area_total_km2 = 918
area_land_sq_mi = 346
area_land_km2 = 896
area_water_sq_mi = 8
area_water_km2 = 22
area percentage = 2.37%
census yr = 2000
pop = 36891
density_sq_mi = 107
density_km2 = 41
time zone = Eastern
UTC offset = -5
DST offset = -4
footnotes =
web = www.tourgreenupcounty.com
named for = Christopher Greenup, Governor of Kentucky (1804–1808)

Greenup County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1804. As of 2000, the population was 36,891. Its county seat is GreenupGR|6. The county is named in honor of Christopher Greenup.

Greenup County is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 288,649. Greenup County is one of 54 counties in the Kentucky that is a dry county, meaning the sale of alcoholic beverages is prohibited everywhere in the county.

History

Greenup County was formed by an act of the General Assembly of Kentucky on December 12, 1803 from Mason County which covered the majority of eastern Kentucky at the time.

Greenup County natives of note include:

Kentucky Poet Laureate Jesse Stuart

Major League Baseball pitcher Don Gullett

Negro League great Clint "Hawk" Thomas of the New York Black Yankees

WWE Wrestling Diva Jillian Fletcher Hall

Singer/Actor Billy Ray Cyrus

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 355 square miles (918 km²), of which, 346 square miles (896 km²) of it is land and 8 square miles (22 km²) of it (2.37%) is water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 23 is the primary route for travel through Greenup County. It enters Greenup County at the southeastern most point and follows the Ohio River north along the eastern border passing through Russell, Flatwoods, Raceland, Wurtland, and Greenup. It then exits just west of South Shore crossing the Ohio River again via the U.S. Grant Bridge into Portsmouth, Ohio and continuing north towards Columbus, Ohio.

The AA Highway begins at U.S. Highway 23 and connects to U.S. Highway 52 via the Jesse Stuart Memorial Bridge. The AA Highway (also known as Route 10) runs west intersecting Route 7 and eventually exiting west into Lewis County. Since its completion in 1995, the AA Highway has allowed Greenup residents to more easily travel to Maysville, Kentucky as well as Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio.

The northern terminus of the Industrial Parkway (Kentucky State Route 67) ends at U.S. Highway 23 at Wurtland. This highway serves to connect Wurtland and the surrounding towns of Greenup, Flatwoods and the unincorporated area of Argillite to the EastPark industrial park and Interstate 64 in Carter County.

Geographic Features

Like most eastern Kentucky counties, Greenup County is predominantly made up of rolling hills and valleys. The land in the Ohio River valley is generally flat and mostly populated by industry, commerce and residential development. Beyond this the land gives way to a series of hills and valleys that are representative of the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and is relatively sparsely inhabited by farmers. Among these hills, popular fishing spots can be found among the Little Sandy River, Greenbo Lake, and Tygart Creek. Greenup County's land is still predominantly covered by forest with minimal clear cutting of the old forests.

Greenup County's soil has long been supportive of a healthy agriculture and livestock industry. Traditionally, this has meant a sizeable tobacco base and cattle ranching, but in recent years, as traditional agriculture products have come under the dominance of agri-corporations, growth has been seen in non-traditional products such as American Quarter Horses, ostriches, and marijuana.

Adjacent counties

*Scioto County, Ohio (north, across the Ohio River)
*Lawrence County, Ohio (east, across the Ohio River)
*Boyd County (southeast)
*Carter County (southwest)
*Lewis County (west)

Demographics

USCensusPop
1810= 2369
1820= 4311
1830= 5852
1840= 6297
1850= 9654
1860= 8760
1870= 11463
1880= 13371
1890= 11911
1900= 15432
1910= 18475
1920= 20062
1930= 24554
1940= 24971
1950= 24887
1960= 29238
1970= 33192
1980= 39132
1990= 36742
2000= 36891
estimate=
estyear=
estref=
footnote=http://ukcc.uky.edu/~census/21089.txt

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 36,891 people, 14,536 households, and 11,032 families residing in the county. The population density was 107 people per square mile (41/km²). There were 15,977 housing units at an average density of 46 per square mile (18/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.07% White, 0.57% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.15% from other races, and 0.64% from two or more races. 0.55% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 14,536 households out of which 32.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.30% were married couples living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.10% were non-families. 21.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.60% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 27.90% from 25 to 44, 26.00% from 45 to 64, and 14.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 92.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,142, and the median income for a family was $38,928. Males had a median income of $35,475 versus $21,198 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,137. About 11.60% of families and 14.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.60% of those under age 18 and 9.90% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Education

Public school districts

* Greenup County School District serves the cities of Greenup, Wurtland, South Shore and rural Greenup County.
* Russell Independent School District serves the cities of Russell, Flatwoods and Bellefonte.
* Raceland-Worthington Independent School District serves the cities of Raceland and Worthington.

Places of interest

*EastPark
*Greenbo Lake State Resort Park

ee also

*Dry counties

References

External links

* [http://www.kentuckyhighlands.com/kh/counties/greenup_county.asp The Kentucky Highlands Project]
* [http://ukcc.uky.edu:8002/%7Emaps/greenup.gifDetailed Road Map of Greenup County]
* [http://www.tourgreenupcounty.com Greenup County Tourism and Convention Commission]