Garrard County, Kentucky
|Garrard County, Kentucky|
Garrard County courthouse in Lancaster
Location in the state of Kentucky
Kentucky's location in the U.S.
|Founded||December 17, 1796|
|Named for||James Garrard|
|• Total||234 sq mi (606 km2)|
|• Land||230 sq mi (596 km2)|
|• Water||3.9 sq mi (10 km2), 1.7%|
|• Density||74/sq mi (29/km²)|
|Time zone||Eastern: UTC-5/-4|
Garrard County (// GAIR-id;) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2010 census, the population was 16,912. Its county seat is Lancaster. The county was formed in 1796 and was named for James Garrard, Governor of Kentucky from 1796 to 1804. It is a prohibition or dry county but Lancaster is wet.
Garrard County was formed in 1796 from parts of Lincoln County, Madison County and Mercer County. It was named for Col. James Garrard, second Governor of Kentucky and acting governor at the time of the county's establishment.
Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, visited the Thomas Kennedy home located in the Paint Lick section of Garrard County in her only visit to the South while gathering material for the book. The cabin of the inspiration for Uncle Tom stood behind the plantation house. County officials intend to recreate the slave cabin on the grounds of the Governor William Owsley House.
- Jessamine County (north)
- Madison County (northeast)
- Rockcastle County (southeast)
- Lincoln County (southwest)
- Boyle County (west)
- Mercer County (northwest)
Law and government
In the United States Senate, Garrard County is represented by US Senator Mitch McConnell and US Senator Rand Paul. Garrard County is in the 6th Congressional District, represented by US Rep. Andy Barr; in the 22nd State Senatorial District represented by State Senator Tom Buford and in the 36th State Legislative District represented by State Representative Jonathan Shell.
Garrard County is governed by the Garrard County Fiscal Court, composed of the [County Judge Executive], who is elected county wide, and five Magistrates who are elected in magisterial districts representing different geographic areas of the county. Each member of the Fiscal Court is elected to a four-year term, pursuant to the Kentucky Constitution.
- Judge Executive Hon. John Wilson (R)
- Deputy Judge Executive Hon. James Bushnell (R)
- County Attorney, Hon. Mark H. Metcalf (R)
- County Magistrates:
- Magistrate Dist. 1 Joe Leavell (R)
- Magistrate Dist. 2 Doan Adkison (R)
- Magistrate Dist. 3 Bill Warren (R)
- Magistrate Dist. 4 Bobbie Preston (R)
- Magistrate Dist. 5 Betty Von Gruenigen (R)
- County Clerk Kevin Montgomery
- SheriffTim Davis (R)
- Circuit Clerk Dana Hensley (R)
- PVA Kay Hall (R)
- Jailer Kevin Middleton (R)
- Coroner Daryl Hodge (R)
- John Michael Montgomery's 1995 hit "Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)" was filmed at the Garrard County Stockyards.
- Portions of John Michael Montgomery's 1997 hit "I miss you a little" were filmed in Garrard County.
- Portions of the 1957 movie "Raintree County" were filmed in Garrard County.
- In 2009, Garrard Economic Development Director Nathan Mick and local filmmaker Parker Young produced a short video titled: "It's Garrard County" a community effort to introduce the county to the world using new media.
|U.S. Decennial Census
As of the census of 2000, there were 14,792 people, 5,741 households, and 4,334 families residing in the county. The population density was 64 per square mile (25/km2). There were 6,414 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile (11/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 95.75% White, 3.06% Black or African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.04% Asian, 0.43% from other races, and 0.59% from two or more races. 1.32% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 5,741 households out of which 33.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.60% were married couples living together, 9.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.50% were non-families. 21.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 2.95.
By age, 24.40% of the population was under 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 30.90% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 13.00% were 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $34,284, and the median income for a family was $41,250. Males had a median income of $30,989 versus $21,856 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,915. About 11.60% of families and 14.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.10% of those under age 18 and 17.00% of those age 65 or over.
- Simeon H. Anderson (1802–1840) was a United States Representative from Kentucky.
- John Boyle (1774–1834) was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Chief Justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals. He was one of Kentucky's earliest federal judges. Boyle County is named for him.
- William O. Bradley (1847–1914) was an American politician, the first Republican governor of Kentucky, and later served as a U.S. senator from Kentucky. By age 14, he had run away from his home in Lancaster twice to join the Union Army. With the permission of his parents, he joined the Army at age 16 in 1863 and served in the ranks through the end of the war.
- Kenny Davis (1949-) A Georgetown College basketball standout, Kenneth "Kenny" Davis was selected to the 1972 U.S. Olympic Basketball Team that played in the "Munich Games."
- Bradley Kincaid (1895–1989) "The Kentucky Mountain Boy," was radio's pioneer singer of folk songs and ballads in the 1920s-40s.
- Robert P. Letcher(1788–1861) was an American politician, a Whig and close ally of Henry Clay, who served as a U.S. Representative, diplomat and governor of Kentucky.
- Eddie Montgomery (1963 - ) is a member of American country music duo Montgomery Gentry and brother of John Michael Montgomery was raised in Garrard County.
- John Michael Montgomery (1965- ) is an American country music artist raised in Garrard County. He is the brother of Eddie Montgomery.
- Carrie (or Carry) Amelia Nation (1846–1911) founded the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), a movement that opposed alcohol in pre-Prohibition America.
- Jody Payne Guitarist who played with American country music star Willie Nelson for 34 years and retired in 2008.
- Cicero Price (1805-1888) was a United States Navy commodore who fought in the American Civil War and was commander of the East India Squadron.
- William Owsley (1782–1862) was an American politician, a Whig and Kentucky Court of Appeals judge, who became the sixteenth Governor of Kentucky. His home, Pleasant Retreat, still stands on the southern end of Lancaster.
- Henry Smith (1788–1851) ia known as the first American-born governor of Texas, serving during the Texas revolution. Though defeated for the Texas presidency in 1836 by Sam Houston, Smith later accepted appointment from Houston as the first Treasury Secretary of the Republic of Texas. In 1840, he was elected to the 5th Congress of the Texas Republic. His portrait hangs in the Texas State Capitol. He was born in Garrard County in 1788 and raised there to adulthood.
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Garrard County, Kentucky
- Garrard County High School
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- Stephenson, David (2007-06-13). "Garrard Stockyards Prepares to Close". Lexington Herald Leader. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
- "Barbara Montgomery v John Michael Montgomery, Atlantic Records Corporation, and Maureen Ryan". Supreme Court of Kentucky. 2001-11-21. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
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