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Leslie County, Kentucky
Leslie County Kentucky Courthouse
Leslie County courthouse in Hyden
Map of Kentucky highlighting Leslie County
Location in the state of Kentucky
Map of the U.S
Kentucky's location in the U.S.
Founded 1878
Named for Preston Leslie
Seat Hyden
Largest city Hyden
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

404 sq mi (1,046 km²)
401 sq mi (1,039 km²)
3.6 sq mi (9 km²), 0.9
Population
 - (2020)
 - Density

10,513
Congressional district 5th
Time zone Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website www.lesliecounty.ky.gov

Leslie County is located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Its county seat is Hyden.[1] Leslie is a prohibition or dry county.

History[]

Leslie County was founded in 1878. It was named for Preston H. Leslie, Governor of Kentucky (1871-1875).[2]

The Hurricane Creek mine disaster in a Leslie County coal mine in 1970 killed 38 people.[3]

After resigning the presidency, Richard Nixon made his first public appearance, in July 1978, at the Leslie County dedication of a recreation facility named for him. County Judge-Executive C. Allen Muncy claimed the Nixon invitation prompted the U.S. Department of Justice to obtain indictments of him and his associates on vote-fraud charges; while on appeal for his conviction, he won renomination in the Republican primary but lost the 1981 general election to independent Kermit Keen.[4]

Geography[]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 404 square miles (1,050 km2), of which 401 square miles (1,040 km2) is land and 3.6 square miles (9.3 km2) (0.9%) is water.[5]

Adjacent counties[]

Demographics[]

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1880 3,740
1890 3,964 6.0%
1900 6,753 70.4%
1910 8,976 32.9%
1920 10,097 12.5%
1930 10,765 6.6%
1940 14,981 39.2%
1950 15,537 3.7%
1960 10,941 −29.6%
1970 11,623 6.2%
1980 14,882 28.0%
1990 13,642 −8.3%
2000 12,401 −9.1%
2010 11,310 −8.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8]
1990-2000[9] 2010-2020[10]

As of the census[11] of 2000, there were 12,401 people, 4,885 households, and 3,668 families residing in the county. The population density was 31 per square mile (12 /km2). There were 5,502 housing units at an average density of 14 per square mile (5.4 /km2). The racial makeup of the county was 97.18% White, 0.07% Black or African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.05% from other races, and 0.50% from two or more races; 0.62% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,885 households, out of which 35.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.30% were married couples living together, 12.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.90% were non-families. 22.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.60% under the age of 18, 9.20% from 18 to 24, 30.90% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 11.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $18,546, and the median income for a family was $22,225. Males had a median income of $28,708 versus $18,080 for females. The per capita income for the county was $10,429. About 30.20% of families and 32.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.80% of those under age 18 and 27.00% of those age 65 or over.

Life expectancy and health[]

Of 3,142 counties in the United States in 2014, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation ranked Leslie County 3,120 in the average life expectancy at birth of male residents and 3,130 in the life expectancy of female residents. Life expectancy in Leslie county ranked in the bottom 10 percent among U.S. counties. Males in Leslie County lived an average of 70.0 years and females lived an average of 74.7 years compared to the national average for life expectancy of 76.7 for males and 81.5 for females. In the 1980-2014 period, the average life expectancy in Leslie County for females decreased by 4.0 years while male longevity decreased by 0.1 years compared to the national average for the same period of an increased life expectancy of 4.0 years for women and 6.7 years for men. Factors contributing to the short, and declining, life expectancy of residents of Leslie county included obesity, smoking, and low amounts of exercise.[12][13]

In 2020, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ranked Leslie country 107 of 120 counties in Kentucky in "health outcomes," as measured by length and quality of life.[14]

Economy[]

Coal companies in Leslie County[]

Infrastructure[]

Transportation[]

Public transportation is provided by LKLP Community Action Partnership with demand-response service and scheduled service from Hyden to Hazard.[17]

Communities[]

  • Asher
  • Bear Branch
  • Big Rock
  • Causey
  • Chappell
  • Cinda
  • Confluence
  • Cutshin
  • Essie
  • Frew
  • Grassy
  • Hare
  • Hell for Certain
  • Helton
  • Hoskinston
  • Hyden (county seat)
  • Kaliopi
  • Middlefork
  • Mozelle
  • Roark
  • Sizerock
  • Smilax
  • Stinnett
  • Thousandsticks
  • Toulouse
  • Warbranch
  • Wendover
  • Wooton
  • Yeaddis

Politics[]

Leslie County is one of forty-four United States counties[lower-alpha 1] to have never voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since its creation in 1878. In 1892,[18] 1908, and 1916[19] it was the most Republican county in the nation. Leslie's fierce Unionist sympathies, so strong that areas surrounding it contributed more troops to the Union Army relative to population than any other part of the United States,[20] meant that between 1896 and 1928 no Democrat could receive even ten percent of the county's vote,[21] and none received so much as twenty-five percent until Lyndon Johnson managed over 47 percent in his landslide national triumph against Barry Goldwater in 1964.

Despite Goldwater's relatively poor performance, every Republican candidate since the county's formation has obtained an absolute majority in Leslie County, and only William Howard Taft in the divided 1912 election,[21] George H. W. Bush in 1992, and Bob Dole in 1996 have otherwise received under seventy percent for the GOP. Both Mitt Romney and Donald Trump received almost ninety percent of the vote in this county, making Leslie the strongest GOP county in Kentucky (see chart below).

United States presidential election results for Leslie County, Kentucky[22]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 4,321 89.78% 446 9.27% 46 0.96%
2016 4,015 89.38% 400 8.90% 77 1.71%
2012 4,439 89.62% 433 8.74% 81 1.64%
2008 3,574 81.28% 766 17.42% 57 1.30%
2004 3,661 73.75% 1,266 25.50% 37 0.75%
2000 3,159 71.24% 1,210 27.29% 65 1.47%
1996 2,296 56.14% 1,466 35.84% 328 8.02%
1992 2,879 58.33% 1,591 32.23% 466 9.44%
1988 3,280 74.39% 1,105 25.06% 24 0.54%
1984 3,385 75.64% 1,075 24.02% 15 0.34%
1980 3,536 71.86% 1,327 26.97% 58 1.18%
1976 3,770 71.52% 1,478 28.04% 23 0.44%
1972 3,299 77.88% 913 21.55% 24 0.57%
1968 2,615 71.08% 828 22.51% 236 6.41%
1964 1,971 52.23% 1,795 47.56% 8 0.21%
1960 3,894 83.05% 795 16.95% 0 0.00%
1956 3,770 87.37% 531 12.31% 14 0.32%
1952 3,239 81.81% 705 17.81% 15 0.38%
1948 2,397 73.94% 783 24.15% 62 1.91%
1944 2,679 84.30% 499 15.70% 0 0.00%
1940 3,292 83.96% 626 15.97% 3 0.08%
1936 2,716 81.39% 618 18.52% 3 0.09%
1932 2,810 82.96% 569 16.80% 8 0.24%
1928 2,806 94.45% 159 5.35% 6 0.20%
1924 2,052 88.91% 223 9.66% 33 1.43%
1920 2,576 94.22% 142 5.19% 16 0.59%
1916 1,516 91.60% 133 8.04% 6 0.36%
1912 606 52.97% 105 9.18% 433 37.85%
1908 1,399 92.90% 95 6.31% 12 0.80%
1904 953 92.08% 71 6.86% 11 1.06%
1900 1,186 91.23% 110 8.46% 4 0.31%
1896 913 91.39% 81 8.11% 5 0.50%
1892 528 87.13% 76 12.54% 2 0.33%
1888 660 90.91% 66 9.09% 0 0.00%
1884 518 87.21% 76 12.79% 0 0.00%
1880 518 90.09% 57 9.91% 0 0.00%



See also[]

  • Dry counties
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Leslie County, Kentucky

References[]

  1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. 
  2. ^ The Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society, Volume 1. Kentucky State Historical Society. 1903. pp. 36. https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_luoxAQAAMAAJ. 
  3. ^ "Leslie County". http://www.kyenc.org/entry/l/LESLI02.html. 
  4. ^ "The Big Lever," Appalshop Inc., 1982
  5. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_21.txt. 
  6. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html. 
  7. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu. 
  8. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/ky190090.txt. 
  9. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf. 
  10. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/21/21131.html. 
  11. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov. 
  12. ^ "US Health Map". University of Washington. https://vizhub.healthdata.org/subnational/usa. 
  13. ^ "County Profiles: Leslie County, Kentucky". University of Washington. http://www.healthdata.org/sites/default/files/files/county_profiles/US/2015/County_Report_Leslie_County_Kentucky.pdf. 
  14. ^ "2020 Kentucky Report". https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/kentucky/2020/rankings/leslie/county/outcomes/overall/snapshot. 
  15. ^ James River Coal Company – Blue Diamond complex
  16. ^ James River Coal Company – Bledsoe complex
  17. ^ "LKLP Community Action Council, Inc. > Programs > Public Transportation". http://www.lklp.org/Programs/Public-Transportation. 
  18. ^ Góelections; Popular Vote at the Presidential Election of 1892
  19. ^ Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas; 1916 Presidential Election Statistics
  20. ^ Marshall, Anne E.; Creating a Confederate Kentucky: The Lost Cause and Civil War Memory in a Border State, pp. 114-115 ISBN 1469609835
  21. ^ a b Robinson, Edgar Eugene; The Presidential Vote 1896-1932, p. 270 ISBN 9780804716963
  22. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS. 

Notes[]

  1. ^ Thirty-eight counties have never voted Democratic since the Civil War, whilst Clinton County and Cumberland County in Kentucky last did so in 1868, while Mitchell County, North Carolina and Lewis County, Kentucky alongside Tennessee’s Henderson County and Wayne County last voted Democratic for Samuel J. Tilden in 1876.

External links[]

Template:Eastern Mountain Coal Fields (Kentucky)

Coordinates: 37°05′N 83°23′W / 37.09, -83.38


This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Leslie County, Kentucky. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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