Allen County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,588. Its county seat and only municipality is Scottsville. The county is named for Colonel John Allen, a state senator and soldier who was killed leading the 1st Regiment of Kentucky Rifleman at the Battle of Frenchtown, Michigan during the War of 1812. Allen County was a dry county until 2023, when it voted to legalize the sale of alcohol. It was formed in 1815 from parts of Barren and Warren counties. Allen County is included in the Bowling Green, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Allen County was established in 1815 from land given by Barren and Warren counties. A courthouse fire in 1902 resulted in the loss of some county records.

Geography

<!-- Broken image

right|thumb|Signs indicate the border of Allen County and Kentucky on State Route 231 -->

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.1%) is water.

Adjacent counties

  • Warren County northwest
  • Barren County northeast
  • Monroe County east
  • Macon County, Tennessee southeast
  • Sumner County, Tennessee southwest
  • Simpson County west

Demographics

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Allen County, like most of Kentucky, is increasingly solidly Republican, although it was like those counties to its east in Appalachia never a part of the "Solid South". The last Democrat to carry the county in a presidential election was Woodrow Wilson in 1912, although a number of other elections have given Democratic majorities as recently as the 1999 gubernatorial election.

Elected officials

{| class=wikitable

|-

| colspan="3" |Elected officials as of January 3, 2025

|-

! scope=row|U.S. House

| |James Comer (R)

| |

|-

! scope=row|Ky. Senate

| |Max Wise (R)

| |16

|-

! scope=row|Ky. House

| |Shawn McPherson (R)

| |22

|}

Voter registration

{| class=wikitable

! colspan = 6 | Allen County Voter Registration & Party Enrollment as of July 2024

|-

! colspan = 2 | Political Party

! Total Voters

! Percentage

|-

|

| Republican

| align = center | 10,332

| align = center | 67.17%

|-

|

| Democratic

| align = center | 3,696

| align = center | 24.03%

|-

|

| Others

| align = center | 795

| align = center | 5.17%

|-

|

| Independent

| align = center | 475

| align = center | 3.09%

|-

|

| Libertarian

| align = center | 60

| align = center | 0.39%

|-

|

| Green

| align = center | 13

| align = center | 0.08%

|-

|

|Constitution

| align = center | 7

| align = center | 0.04%

|-

|

|Socialist Workers

| align = center | 3

| align = center | 0.02%

|-

|

|Reform

| align = center | 1

| align = center | 0.01%

|-

! colspan = 2 | Total

! align = center | 15,382

! align = center | 100%

|}

Statewide elections

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

|+ Previous gubernatorial elections results

|- bgcolor=lightgrey

! Year

! Republican

! Democratic

! Third parties

|-

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|2023

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|70.40% 3,599

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|29.60% 1,513

|align="center" |0.00% 0

|-

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|2019

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|67.13% 3,564

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|31.06% 1,649

|align="center" |1.81% 96

|-

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|2015

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|69.00% 2,344

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|28.76% 977

|align="center" |2.24% 76

|-

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|2011

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|53.21% 1,540

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|42.19% 1,221

|align="center" |4.60% 133

|-

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|2007

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|51.79% 1,955

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|48.21% 1,820

|align="center" |0.00% 0

|-

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|2003

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|64.99% 2,202

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|35.01% 1,186

|align="center" |0.00% 0

|-

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|1999

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|28.68% 339

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|62.69% 741

|align="center" |8.63% 102

|-

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|1995

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|57.95% 1,829

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|42.05% 1,327

|align="center" |0.00% 0

|}

Communities

City

  • Scottsville (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

  • Adolphus
  • Allen Springs
  • Alonzo
  • Amos
  • Butlersville
  • Cedar Springs
  • Chapel Hill
  • Clare
  • Fleet
  • Forest Springs
  • Gainesville
  • Halfway
  • Halifax
  • Holland
  • Maynard
  • Meador
  • Mount Aerial
  • Mount Zion
  • New Roe
  • Oak Forest
  • Petroleum
  • Pope
  • Red Hill
  • Rodemer
  • Settle
  • Trammel
  • Yesse

Notable residents

  • Mordecai Ham, an evangelist born in Allen County
  • Jim McDaniels
  • Charles Napier (actor)
  • Norro Wilson
  • R. H. Wilson, Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction
  • Cal Turner Sr.

See also

  • Allen County Schools
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Allen County, Kentucky
  • List of counties in Kentucky

References