thumb|Historic Thomas Montgomery House in Stanford

Lincoln County is a county located in south-central Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,275. Its county seat is Stanford. Lincoln County is part of the Danville, KY Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Lincoln County—originally Lincoln County, Virginia—was established by the Virginia General Assembly in June 1780, and named in honor of Revolutionary War general Benjamin Lincoln. It was one of three counties formed out of Virginia's Kentucky County (The other two were Fayette and Jefferson), and is one of Kentucky's nine original counties.

The county's original seat was at Harrodsburg; but in 1785, Lincoln County was partitioned, and Harrodsburg became the seat of the new Mercer County. Afterward, Stanford became Lincoln County's permanent seat.

thumb|center|upright=1.05|Lincoln County was formed in 1780, when the [[Virginia General Assembly partitioned Kentucky County.]]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.7%) is water.

Lincoln County is located in south-central Kentucky astride the southern part of the ring of Knobs, which separate the Bluegrass region from the Eastern Pennyroyal Plateau, the Lincoln County part of which includes the source and headwaters of the Green River. Lincoln County is part of Appalachia.

Adjacent counties

  • Boyle County (northwest)
  • Garrard County (northeast)
  • Rockcastle County (east)
  • Pulaski County (south)
  • Casey County (west)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 24,275. The median age was 42.3 years. 23.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.5 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 93.4% White, 1.9% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.8% from some other race, and 3.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.0% of the population.

There were 9,711 households in the county, of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 25.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 27.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. and the median income for a family was $32,284. Males had a median income of $26,395 versus $20,517 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,602. About 16.40% of families and 21.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.10% of those under age 18 and 22.90% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

  • Crab Orchard
  • Eubank (shared with Pulaski County)
  • Hustonville
  • Junction City (mostly in Boyle County)
  • Stanford (county seat)

Census-designated place

  • McKinney

Other unincorporated places

  • Blue Lick
  • Chicken Bristle
  • Dog Walk
  • Halls Gap
  • Highland
  • Hubble
  • Jumbo
  • Kings Mountain
  • Miracle
  • Moreland
  • Ottenheim
  • Preachersville
  • Rowland
  • Turkeytown
  • Walnut Flat
  • Waynesburg

Politics

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Lincoln County has been reliably Republican for several decades now, last voting for a Democratic candidate for president in 1976.

Elected officials

{| class=wikitable

|-

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

|-

! scope=row|U.S. House

| |Hal Rogers (R)

| |

|-

! scope=row|Ky. Senate

| |Brandon J. Storm (R)

| |21

|-

! scope=row|Ky. House

| |David Meade (R)

| |80

|}

Education

There is one school district, the Lincoln County School District.

See also

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Lincoln County, Kentucky

References

  • Lincoln County Kentucky Web Site
  • The Kentucky Highlands Project