Misplaced Pages

Boyd County
County
The Boyd County Courthouse in Catlettsburg, with a statue of John Milton Elliott
Motto(s): Unity and Progress
Location within the U.S. state of Kentucky
Kentucky's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 38°22′N 82°41′W / 38.36°N 82.69°W / 38.36; -82.69
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
Founded	1860
Named for	Linn Boyd
Seat	Catlettsburg
Largest city	Ashland
Area
• Total	162 sq mi (420 km)
• Land	160 sq mi (400 km)
• Water	2.2 sq mi (6 km)  1.3%
Population
• Total	48,261
• Estimate	47,826
• Density	300/sq mi (120/km)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts	4th, 5th
Website	boydcountyky.gov

Boyd County is a county located in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, its population was 48,261. The county seat is Catlettsburg, and its largest city is Ashland. The county was formed in 1860. The county spans 160 square miles (410 km), and is found at the northeastern edge of the state, near the Ohio River and Big Sandy River and situated in mountainous Appalachia. Boyd County is in the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH metropolitan statistical area.

History

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Boyd County, Kentucky" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Boyd County was the 107th of 120 counties formed in Kentucky and was established in 1860 from parts of surrounding Greenup, Carter, and Lawrence Counties. It was named for Linn Boyd of Paducah, former U.S. congressman, speaker of the United States House of Representatives, who died in 1859 soon after being elected lieutenant governor of Kentucky.

The earliest evidence of human habitation in Boyd County exists in the forms of numerous earthen mounds containing human skeletons and burial goods, giving evidence that prehistoric Native Americans inhabited the area. A 1973 archeological find revealed a serpent-shaped mound built of rocks dating to 2000 BC and stretching for 900 feet (270 m) along a ridge parallel to the Big Sandy River south of Catlettsburg.

One of the early settlers in what is now Boyd County was Charles ("One-handed Charley") Smith, from Virginia. A veteran of the French and Indian War who had served under Col. George Washington in 1754, Smith received for that service roughly 400 acres (1.6 km) around Chadwicks Creek, where he built a cabin in 1774. Smith died in 1776, and in 1797, this land passed to Alexander Catlett for whom the town of Catlettsburg is named.

The Poage family arrived from Staunton, Virginia, in October 1799 and formed Poage's Landing, later renamed the city of Ashland.

The first courthouse built in 1861 was replaced in 1912.

Industry

Members of the Poage family built the steam-powered Clinton iron furnace in 1832, the earliest industry in present-day Boyd County. A total of 29 charcoal-fueled iron furnaces operated on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River, seven of them in present-day Boyd County.

The Kentucky Iron, Coal and Manufacturing Company was incorporated on March 8, 1854, and it laid out the town of Ashland, then within Greenup County. The company purchased thousands of acres of coal, timber, and ore lands throughout the county. It invested US$210,000 in bonds of the Lexington & Big Sandy River Railroad Company, with the stipulation that the eastern division of that line extend into Ashland instead of ending, as originally planned, in Catlettsburg. The early presence of the railroad in Ashland was largely responsible for this city becoming the dominant municipality of the county.

Ashland furnace was sold to American Rolling Mill Company in 1921, which developed into Armco Steel Corporation. In 1963, Armco constructed the Amanda furnace, one of the largest blast furnaces in the world. Known today as AK Steel, the industry remains a major employer in northeastern Kentucky.

Ashland Oil, Inc., at one time the largest corporation headquartered in Kentucky, was started in 1924 at Leach Station, south of Catlettsburg, by Paul G. Blazer. Best known for their Valvoline Oil products, Ashland Oil relocated to Covington, Kentucky, in 1999, merged with Marathon Oil, and sold its remaining petroleum shares to Marathon in 2005, dissolving their petroleum division. The original oil refinery, located in Catlettsburg, is still in operation today and is currently owned by Marathon Petroleum Corporation.

Calgon Carbon constructed the Big Sandy Plant in 1961 and it has since become the world's largest producer of granular activated carbon. The facility produces in excess of 100 million pounds of granular activated carbon annually.

Alcohol sales

On November 3, 2020, residents voted in favor of allowing full retail sales of alcohol countywide. Prior to November 2020, Boyd County only allowed alcohol sales in restaurants that seated over 100 people and derived at least 70% of their income from food sales. The one exception was three election precincts within the city of Ashland, covering the downtown area, where all retail alcohol sales were permitted.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 162 square miles (420 km), of which 2.2 square miles (5.7 km) (1.3%) are covered by water.

Adjacent counties

• Greenup County (northwest)
• Lawrence County, Ohio (northeast)
• Wayne County, West Virginia (east)
• Lawrence County (south)
• Carter County (west)

Boyd County is one of the few counties in the US to border two counties of the same name in different states (Lawrence County in Kentucky and Ohio). - -

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, 49,752 people, 20,010 households, and 14,107 families were residing in the county. The population density was 311 per square mile (120/km). The 21,976 housing units had an average density of 137 per square mile (53/km). The racial makeup of the county was 95.97% White, 2.55% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.14% from other races, and 0.88% from two or more races. About 1.12% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

Of the 20,010 households, 28.9% had children under 18 living with them, 55.7% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.5% were not families. About 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.38, and the average family size was 2.86.

The age distribution was 21.80% under 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 28.70% from 25 to 44, 25.60% from 45 to 64, and 15.60% who were 65 or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.00 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 93.1 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,749, and for a family was $41,125. Males had a median income of $35,728 versus $22,591 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,212. About 11.5% of families and 15.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.4% of those under 18 and 12.10% of those 65 or over.

Infrastructure

The Federal Bureau of Prisons operates the Federal Correctional Institution, Ashland in Summit, unincorporated Boyd County, 5 miles (8.0 km) southwest of Ashland.

Kentucky State Police Post 14 is located on U.S. 60 in Summit, next to Armco Park. In addition to Boyd County, troopers from Post 14 serve Carter, Greenup, and Lawrence Counties.

Politics

Similar to many other Eastern Kentucky counties, Boyd County voted primarily for Democratic candidates at the presidential level before shifting hard to the right in the 2000s. However, local Democratic support remains strong, as Democrat Andy Beshear won the county by about 6 points over incumbent Republican Matt Bevin in the 2019 gubernatorial election.

Current Elected Officials Boyd County Judge Executive (since 2019): Eric Chaney Sheriff Jamie Reihs County Clerk Kevin Johnston County Attorney Curtis Dotson County Coroner Mark Hammond Current Boyd County Commissioners: District #1 David Salisbury District #2 Jeremy Holbrook District #3 Randy Stapleton

Voter registration

Education

Colleges

Ashland Community and Technical College, in Ashland, is one of 16 two-year, open-admissions colleges of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. Morehead State University also has a satellite campus located in Ashland.

Public school districts

The county has these school districts:

• Boyd County Public School District serves the city of Catlettsburg and the surrounding county communities outside the city of Ashland and Westwood census-designated place, as well as portions of Ashland and portions of Westwood.
• Ashland Independent School District serves most of the city of Ashland and some unincorporated areas.
• Fairview Independent School District serves most of the census-designated place of Westwood and a portion of Ashland.

Private schools

• Holy Family School is affiliated with the Holy Family Catholic Church and currently offers K-12 education.
• Rose Hill Christian is affiliated with the Rose Hill Baptist Church and also offers K-12 education.
• Calvary Christian School was housed at Grassland Community Church until it closed in August 2012. A group of parents and teachers continued the school immediately following the closure, formed a new board, and renamed it Faith Christian Academy, which continued for an additional three school years in grades K4 - 8 and was affiliated with the Holy Family Collegiate High School for grades 9 - 12. It formally closed in fall 2016.

Other schools

• Ramey-Estep High School

Communities

Cities

• Ashland
• Catlettsburg (county seat)

Census-designated places

• Cannonsburg
• Ironville
• Westwood

Unincorporated communities

• Burnaugh
• Coalton
• Durbin
• Kavanaugh
• Kilgore
• Lockwood
• Meads
• Normal
• Princess
• Rockdale
• Rush
• Summit
• Unity
• Westwood

• Winslow

See also

• Ashland Commercial Historic District
• Catlett House
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Boyd County, Kentucky

References

1. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. ^ "Boyd County". Kyenc.org. December 21, 1921. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
4. The Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society, Volume 1. Kentucky State Historical Society. 1903. pp. 34.
5. A history of Ashland, Kentucky, 1854–2004. Ashland Bicentennial Committee. 2004. August 11, 2014.
6. Hogan, Roseann Reinemuth (1992). Kentucky Ancestry: A Guide to Genealogical and Historical Research. Ancestry Publishing. p. 198. ISBN 9780916489496. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
7. Kleber, John E. (1992). John E. Kleber Editor-in Chief, The Kentucky Encyclopedia: Blazer, Paul Garrett (Lexington : University of Kentucky Press, 1992) Page 87. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0813128838.
8. Calgon Carbon Big Sandy Plant Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved March 21, 2014.
9. "Election 2020 — Boyd thirsty for growth: Voters make county go wet". November 3, 2020.
10. "All precincts but one vote yes". Ashland Independent. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013. Retrieved May 23, 2007.
11. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
12. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
13. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
14. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
15. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
16. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
17. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
18. "FCI Ashland Contact Information." Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved on February 1, 2011. "FCI ASHLAND FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION ST. ROUTE 716 ASHLAND, KY 41105."
19. "Admissions & Orientation (A&O) Handbook." Federal Correctional Institution, Ashland. 1 (1/51). Retrieved on February 1, 2011. "The Federal Correctional Institution of Ashland, Kentucky, is located five miles southwest of Ashland in Summit, Kentucky."
20. "FCI Ashland." Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved on February 1, 2011.
21. "Kentucky State Police: Home Page for Post 14 - Ashland". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
22. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 26, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
23. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
24. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Boyd County, KY" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 24, 2022. - Text list - For more detailed boundaries of the independent school districts see: "Appendix B: Maps Of Independent School Districts In Operation In FY 2014-FY 2015 Using 2005 Tax District Boundaries – Ashland ISD / Fairview ISD" (PDF). Research Report No. 415 – Kentucky's Independent School Districts: A Primer. Frankfort, KY: Office of Education Accountability, Legislative Research Commission. September 15, 2015. pp. 87 (Ashland) and 108 (Fairview) (PDF p. 101, 122/174).

External links

• The Kentucky Highlands Project

v t e Municipalities and communities of Boyd County, Kentucky, United States
County seat: Catlettsburg
Cities	Ashland Catlettsburg
CDPs	Cannonsburg Ironville Westwood
Unincorporated communities	Burnaugh Coalton Durbin England Hill Garner Kavanaugh Lockwood Meads Normal Princess Rockdale Rush‡ Summit Unity Winslow
Ghost town	Neal
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
Kentucky portal United States portal

v t e Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area
Principal cities	Ashland Huntington
Municipalities with population over 5,000	Flatwoods Hurricane Ironton Nitro Pea Ridge CDP Teays Valley CDP
Municipalities with population 1,000–5,000	Barboursville Buffalo Burlington Catlettsburg Ceredo Coal Grove Culloden CDP Eleanor Greenup Grayson Hamlin Kenova Lesage CDP Milton Olive Hill Raceland Russell Rush CDP South Point South Shore Wayne Westwood CDP Winfield Worthington Wurtland
Municipalities with population under 1,000	Athalia Bancroft Bellefonte Chesapeake Fort Gay Hanging Rock Lavalette CDP Poca Proctorville West Hamlin
West Virginia counties	Cabell Lincoln Putnam Wayne
Kentucky counties	Boyd Carter Greenup
Ohio counties	Lawrence

v t e Commonwealth of Kentucky
Frankfort (capital)
Topics	Index Cuisine Environment climate change Geography History History of education Music Mass media newspapers radio TV People Religion Symbols seal flag Theater Tourism tourist attractions Transportation Category Index
Society	Abortion Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Elections Gun laws Homelessness LGBT rights Politics Sports
Regions	Allegheny Plateau The Bluegrass Cumberland Mountains Cumberland Plateau Eastern Kentucky Coalfield Highland Rim The Knobs Mississippi Plain Northern Kentucky Pennyroyal Plateau The Purchase Ridge-and-Valley Tennessee Valley Western Coal Fields
25 largest cities	Louisville Lexington Bowling Green Owensboro Covington Richmond Georgetown Florence Hopkinsville Nicholasville Elizabethtown Independence Henderson Frankfort Jeffersontown Paducah Radcliff Ashland Murray Erlanger Winchester Madisonville Mount Washington St. Matthews Danville
Metropolitan areas	Ashland Bowling Green Clarksville, TN Elizabethtown Evansville, IN Lexington–Fayette Louisville/Jefferson County Northern Kentucky Owensboro
Counties	Adair Allen Anderson Ballard Barren Bath Bell Boone Bourbon Boyd Boyle Bracken Breathitt Breckinridge Bullitt Butler Caldwell Calloway Campbell Carlisle Carroll Carter Casey Christian Clark Clay Clinton Crittenden Cumberland Daviess Edmonson Elliott Estill Fayette Fleming Floyd Franklin Fulton Gallatin Garrard Grant Graves Grayson Green Greenup Hancock Hardin Harlan Harrison Hart Henderson Henry Hickman Hopkins Jackson Jefferson Jessamine Johnson Kenton Knott Knox LaRue Laurel Lawrence Lee Leslie Letcher Lewis Lincoln Livingston Logan Lyon Madison Magoffin Marion Marshall Martin Mason McCracken McCreary McLean Meade Menifee Mercer Metcalfe Monroe Montgomery Morgan Muhlenberg Nelson Nicholas Ohio Oldham Owen Owsley Pendleton Perry Pike Powell Pulaski Robertson Rockcastle Rowan Russell Scott Shelby Simpson Spencer Taylor Todd Trigg Trimble Union Warren Washington Wayne Webster Whitley Wolfe Woodford
Kentucky portal

38°22′N 82°41′W / 38.36°N 82.69°W / 38.36; -82.69

• Kentucky counties
• Boyd County, Kentucky
• Counties of Appalachia
• Kentucky counties on the Ohio River
• 1860 establishments in Kentucky
• Populated places established in 1860