Graves County, Kentucky
| Graves County, Kentucky | |
 Graves County Courthouse in Mayfield, Kentucky
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 Location in the state of Kentucky |
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 Kentucky's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1824 |
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| Named for | Major Benjamin F. Graves (1771–1813), killed at the Battle of River Raisin. |
| Seat | Mayfield |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
556.46 sq mi (1,441 km²) 555.59 sq mi (1,439 km²) 0.87 sq mi (2 km²), 0.16% |
| Population - (2010) - Density |
37,121 67/sq mi (26/km²) |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
| Website | www.gravescountyky.com |
Graves County is a county located in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. It was formed in 1824. As of 2010, the population was 37,121. Its county seat is Mayfield[1]. The county is named for Major Benjamin Franklin Graves, soldier in the War of 1812. The Mayfield Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Graves County.
Graves County is a “limited” dry county, meaning that sale of alcohol in the county is prohibited except for wine and beer in restaurants in Mayfield which have seating for at least 100 patrons or at the Mayfield Golf & Country Club.
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History [edit]
One of Kentucky's largest counties, Graves's history includes a US Vice President, four US Congressmen, famous heroes, singers and songwriters, noted writers, and a legacy of historic sites.
The fertile land attracted early settlers from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, who brought with them education and culture and a fierce determination to succeed. They put down roots to blend a political, economic, and social environment unique, perhaps only to Graves County.
Tobacco was important the local economy and Graves County has a rich history of the dark-fired and dark-air-cured leaf tobacco used in smokeless tobacco farming. A woolen mill began operating before the Civil War and continued to grow with the men's clothing market. Several clothing companies were added and the county seat's minor league baseball team was named the Mayfield Clothiers.
Graves County made national news in September 2011 for jailing Amish men who refused to use orange safety triangles on thei buggies. The Swartzentruber Amish instead used reflective tape. After the appeal of their 2008 conviction was denied, Menno Zook, Danny Byler, Mose Yoder, Levi Hotetler, David Zook and Eli Zook refused to pay the small fines associated with their conviction. All served sentences ranging from three to 10 days, according to the jail's website. The men were "very polite, respectful, everything you would expect", said Graves County Chief Deputy Tim Warren. He said the men dressed in their "Sunday best" to report to jail. The men were not forced to wear orange county jail uniforms, Warren said and wore dark gray. They they were not allowed to wear their own clothes.[2]
Geography [edit]
According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 556.46 square miles (1,441.2 km2), of which 555.59 square miles (1,439.0 km2) (or 99.84%) is land and 0.87 square miles (2.3 km2) (or 0.16%) is water.[3]
Adjacent counties [edit]
- McCracken County (north)
- Marshall County (northeast)
- Calloway County & Henry County, Tennessee (southeast)
- Weakley County, Tennessee (south)
- Hickman County (southwest)
- Carlisle County (northwest)
National protected area [edit]
Demographics [edit]
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1830 | 2,504 |
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| 1840 | 7,465 | 198.1% | |
| 1850 | 11,397 | 52.7% | |
| 1860 | 16,233 | 42.4% | |
| 1870 | 19,398 | 19.5% | |
| 1880 | 24,138 | 24.4% | |
| 1890 | 28,534 | 18.2% | |
| 1900 | 33,204 | 16.4% | |
| 1910 | 33,539 | 1.0% | |
| 1920 | 32,483 | −3.1% | |
| 1930 | 30,778 | −5.2% | |
| 1940 | 31,763 | 3.2% | |
| 1950 | 31,364 | −1.3% | |
| 1960 | 30,021 | −4.3% | |
| 1970 | 30,939 | 3.1% | |
| 1980 | 34,049 | 10.1% | |
| 1990 | 33,550 | −1.5% | |
| 2000 | 37,028 | 10.4% | |
| 2010 | 37,121 | 0.3% | |
| http://ukcc.uky.edu/~census/21083.txt | |||
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 37,028 people, 14,841 households, and 10,566 families residing in the county. The population density was 67 per square mile (26 /km2). There were 16,340 housing units at an average density of 29 per square mile (1.1×10−11 km2). The racial makeup of the county was 92.73% White, 4.44% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.30% from other races, and 1.11% from two or more races. 2.40% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 14,841 households out of which 31.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.90% were married couples living together, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.80% were non-families. 26.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the county the population was spread out with 24.50% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 27.30% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 16.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.50 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $30,874, and the median income for a family was $38,054. Males had a median income of $32,016 versus $20,177 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,834. About 13.10% of families and 16.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.70% of those under age 18 and 14.10% of those age 65 or over.
Cities, towns, and communities [edit]
Notable natives [edit]
- Lucien Anderson — U.S. Representative
- Alben W. Barkley — U.S. Representative, Senator, and Vice President
- Lon Carter Barton — Historian, state representative
- Andrew Boone — U.S. Representative
- Herschel Green - World War II flying ace in the United States Army Air Forces
- Noble Jones Gregory — U.S. Representative
- William Voris Gregory — U.S. Representative
- Carroll Hubbard — U.S. Representative
- John Paul Hogan
- Bobbie Ann Mason — author
- Kevin Skinner — country singer and reality show winner
- Adrian Smith — former NBA player
- Jimmy Work-Song Writer [1]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ^ "Amish men jailed over refusal to use orange safety triangle on buggies". CNN. 2011-09-14.
- ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
External links [edit]
- Graves County Schools
- Mayfield and Graves County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism
- Graves County Cluster of United Methodist Churches
- Mayfield Graves County Airport
- www.gravescountyky.com/
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