Johnson County, Kentucky

Infobox U.S. County
county = Johnson County
state = Kentucky


founded year = 1843
founded date =
seat wl = Paintsville
area_total_sq_mi = 264
area_total_km2 = 684
area_land_sq_mi = 262
area_land_km2 = 677
area_water_sq_mi = 2
area_water_km2 = 6
area percentage = 0.91%
census yr = 2000
pop = 23445
density_sq_mi = 90
density_km2 = 35
time zone = Eastern
UTC offset = -5
DST offset = -4
footnotes =
web = www.johnsoncountyky.com
named for = Richard Mentor Johnson, Vice President of the United States (1837–1841)

Johnson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1843. As of 2000, the population was 23,445. Its county seat is PaintsvilleGR|6. The county is named for Richard Mentor Johnson, War of 1812 general, United States Representative, Senator, and Vice President of the United States. Johnson is a prohibition or dry county.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau (as of 2000), the county has a total area of 264 square miles (684 km²), of which, 262 square miles (677 km²) of it is land and 2 square miles (6 km²) of it (0.91%) is water.

Adjacent counties

*Lawrence County (north)
*Martin County (east)
*Floyd County (south)
*Magoffin County (southwest)
*Morgan County (northwest)

Demographics

USCensusPop
1850= 3873
1860= 5306
1870= 7494
1880= 9155
1890= 11027
1900= 13730
1910= 17482
1920= 19622
1930= 22968
1940= 25771
1950= 23846
1960= 19748
1970= 17539
1980= 24432
1990= 23248
2000= 23445
estimate=
estyear=
estref=
footnote=http://ukcc.uky.edu/~census/21115.txt

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 23,445 people, 9,103 households, and 6,863 families residing in the county. The population density was 90 people per square mile (35/km²). There were 10,236 housing units at an average density of 39 per square mile (15/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.64% White, 0.25% Black or African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.09% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. 0.61% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 9,103 households out of which 34.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.50% were married couples living together, 11.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.60% were non-families. 22.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.00% 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 2.93.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.00% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 28.90% from 25 to 44, 25.70% from 45 to 64, and 12.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 93.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $24,911, and the median income for a family was $29,142. Males had a median income of $29,762 versus $20,136 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,051. About 21.70% of families and 26.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.50% of those under age 18 and 19.30% of those age 65 or over.cite web
url= http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/21/21115.html
title= Johnson County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau
accessdate= 2007-06-06
author= US Census Bureau
format= HTML]

Cities and towns

Schools in Johnson County

Public

Johnson County is home to two public school districts.

Johnson County Schools

The Johnson County district, which operates schools throughout the county except in the city of Paintsville, operates the following schools:

Porter Elementary, W.R. Castle Elementary, Meade Memorial Elementary, Highland Elementary, Flat Gap Elementary, Central Elementary, Johnson County Middle School, Johnson Central High School, and Johnson County Alternative School.

Central Elementary was ranked top-performing elementary school in 5-6 statewide CTBS/CATS testing. Central Elementary was also the top-performing elementary school (based on national CTBS testing) in the Southeastern US.

Johnson County Middle School's academic team has won the most State Governor's Cups. It won in 1999, 2000, 2004, 2006, and 2007, 2008.. It won numerous State Quick Recall awards and its Future Problem Solving team has won State and International awards and acclaim.

Johnson Central High School performs well in various areas and are well known statewide for their academic, football, and basketball teams. The high school was recently named a US News and World Report Top American High School, being given a bronze award. Also, the school recently became WSAZ's first 'Cool School'. Johnson Central High school is considered a "powerhouse" in the high school Quick Recall scene, starting with the 1994-1995 season. They are also noted as a well-performing national quiz bowl competitor. Their football team, coached by Jim Matney, in recent years, has been noted for their up-and-coming program and very successful seasons. In fact, the 2006 Season was a record one, having a 13-1 record. The basketball team is coached by Tommy McKenzie and played in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) State basketball tournament. Johnson Central offers many clubs including STLP, FBLA, DECA, Beta, FFA, HOSA, SkillsUSA and FCCLA. Johnson Central is also home to a new Career Technology Center.

Paintsville Independent Schools

The city of Paintsville operates its own school district with two schools: Paintsville Elementary School, a K-6 facility, and the 7-12 Paintsville High School. Paintsville High also has earned numerous sport titles. Although much smaller than Johnson Central, the school has won boys' state championships in golf, baseball and basketball and made it to the finals of the state football playoffs. Note that in Kentucky, the only sports in which schools are divided into enrollment classes are football, cross-country and track.

Both the Johnson County and Paintsville Independent districts met all of the No Child Left Behind standards set by the national government. [cite web
url= http://www.schoolmatters.com/app/location/q/stid=18/llid=118/stllid=221/locid=988440/stype=/catid=-1/secid=-1/compid=-1/site=pes
title= Paintsville High School, Kentucky Public School - Overview
accessdate= 2007-06-06
author= SchoolMatters
date= 2006
format= HTML] [cite web
url= http://www.schoolmatters.com/app/location/q/stid=18/llid=118/stllid=221/locid=988056/stype=/catid=-1/secid=-1/compid=-1/site=pes
title= Johnson Central High School, Kentucky Public School - Overview
accessdate= 2007-06-06
author= SchoolMatters
date= 2006
format= HTML]

Private

Two private schools also operate in the county: Our Lady of the Mountain School (K-8) and Johnson County Christian School.

History

Formation

In 1843, Johnson County was formed. The land now occupied by Johnson County was previously part of Floyd County. At that time, its county seat of Paintsville had already been a chartered city for nine years. Homes had been built in Paintsville as early as the 1810s. [cite book
last= Wells
first= J.K.
title= The Gathering of the Trades People: The Early and Pre-History of Paintsville and Johnson County, Kentucky
format= Hardcover
date= 1992
isbn= B0006EZ726
pages= 98 pages]

Most of the families at the beginning of Johnson County's formation were of Scottish, Irish, English, or German decent. May of them moved from North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia following their participation in the Revolutionary War.

For approximately the first twenty-five years, Johnson County and Paintsville struggled along. Roads and highways were nonexistent. Mail and supplies reached Johnson County from the Bluegrass region by means of horseback and steamboat. Years later, stage coaches began to connect eastern Kentucky and Johnson County to the bluegrass region and the rest of civilization.

Civil War era

As Johnson County and its county seat had begun to thrive, in 1860 the Civil War became a disrupter. Like other border areas, brothers fought against brothers, tearing families apart. Johnson County was not only part of a border state during the Civil War, but it was a border county as well.

Sometime between 1860-1862, the Fiscal Court enacted a county ordinance that neither the Union or Confederate flags were to be flown within the county. This was repealed quickly, following Colonel James Garfield's Union brigade marching through Paintsville on their way to defeat the Confederate cavalry at the Battle of Middle Creek in Floyd County.

John C. C. Mayo

Following the Civil War, Thomas Jefferson Mayo moved to Paintsville to fulfill a need role as a gifted and talented teacher. He fathered John C. C. Mayo, an important figure in the development of eastern Kentucky. John Mayo assisted in the development of Paintsville, and as a result, its parent, Johnson County. He helped to bring about the development of banks, churches, streets, public utilities and railroad transportation.

Coal was important for Johnson County and the rest of eastern Kentucky even before the Civil War, but its development was quickly halted at the start of the war. The financing was slow to returning to the coal industry in eastern Kentucky and development in Johnson County was limited because of this inhibitor. Mayo was invaluable to Johnson County's growth, as he opened up the coal fields of eastern Kentucky to the industrialized north which spurred the development of railroads in the area.

The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway first opened its Paintsville depot on September 1, 1904, following 25 years of work connecting it to Lawrence County. Following the development of the railroad, tens of thousands of tons of coal were being transported out of eastern Kentucky by 1910.

Mayo went on to be a political lobbyist, and eastern Kentucky's only member of the Democratic National Committee. He had influence in electing Kentucky's governors, members of Congress and the election of President Woodrow Wilson.

He died on May 11, 1914, after becoming fatally ill following a trip to Europe. During his life, he built a historic mansion in Paintsville which has become known as simply "Mayo Mansion". [cite web
url= http://www.johnsoncountykyhistory.com/people/mayo.html
title= John C. C. Mayo
accessdate= 2007-06-05
author= Johnson County Historical Society
format= HTML]

Apple Festival

In the same year as Mayo's death (1914), the first county fair was held in Paintsville, where the first Apple King was also crowned.

In 1962, Johnson County hosted the first Kentucky Apple Festivalcite web
url= http://www.johnsoncountykyhistory.com/history.html
title= Overview of Paintsville and Johnson County History
accessdate= 2007-06-05
author= Johnson County Historical Society
format= HTML] , which has been held annually in Paintsville since. The streets of downtown Paintsville are closed to vehicular traffic and festivities to include live music and entertainment are held.

Famous residents

*Loretta Lynn, country singer, raised here. The title song on her 2004 album, "Van Lear Rose", references her Johnson County upbringing.
*Crystal Gayle, country singer and younger sister of Loretta Lynn.
*Jenny Wiley, held captive by native Americans.
*John C. C. Mayo, visionary and entrepreneur, assisted in bringing railroad service to eastern Kentucky.
*Jim Ford, singer-songwriter
*Johnnie LeMaster, former major league baseball player

ee also

*Dry counties

References

External links

* [http://www.johnson.k12.ky.us/ Johnson County Schools]
* [http://www.kentuckyhighlands.com/kh/counties/johnson_county.asp The Kentucky Highlands Project]