Boyle County, Kentucky

Boyle County
Boyle County
County
	Boyle County Courthouse in Danville
	Flag Seal
	Location within the U.S. state of Kentucky
	Kentucky's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 37°37′N 84°52′W / 37.62°N 84.87°W
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
Founded	1842
Named for	John Boyle
Seat	Danville
Largest city	Danville
Area
• Total	183 sq mi (470 km2)
• Land	180 sq mi (500 km2)
• Water	2.5 sq mi (6 km2) 1.4%
Population (2020)
• Total	30,614
• Estimate (2023)	30,988
• Density	158/sq mi (61/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	www.boyleky.com

Boyle County is a county located in the central part of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,614.^[1] Its county seat is Danville.^[2] The county was formed in 1842 and named for John Boyle (1774–1835), a U.S. Representative, chief justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals, and later federal judge for the District of Kentucky,^[3] and is part of the Danville, KY Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

In 1820, a portion of Casey County, now south of KY Route 300, was annexed to Mercer County. This became part of Boyle County when Boyle County was formed on February 15, 1842, from sections of Lincoln County and Mercer County. It is named for John Boyle, Congressman, Chief Justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals, and U.S. District Judge.

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States John Marshall Harlan, a supporter of civil rights and the sole dissenter in the Civil Rights Cases and Plessy v. Ferguson, was born in Boyle County in 1833.

A courthouse fire in 1860 resulted in the loss of some county records.^[4]

During the American Civil War, the Battle of Perryville took place here on October 8, 1862, fought between the Confederate Army of Mississippi and the Union Army of the Ohio. 7407 men fell in the battle.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 183 square miles (470 km²), of which 180 square miles (470 km²) is land and 2.5 square miles (6.5 km²) (1.4%) is water.^[5]

Adjacent counties

Mercer County (north)
Garrard County (east)
Lincoln County (southeast)
Casey County (south)
Marion County (southwest)
Washington County (northwest)

Major highways

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1850	9,116		—
1860	9,304		2.1%
1870	9,515		2.3%
1880	11,930		25.4%
1890	12,948		8.5%
1900	13,817		6.7%
1910	14,668		6.2%
1920	14,998		2.2%
1930	16,282		8.6%
1940	17,075		4.9%
1950	20,532		20.2%
1960	21,257		3.5%
1970	21,090		−0.8%
1980	25,066		18.9%
1990	25,641		2.3%
2000	27,697		8.0%
2010	28,432		2.7%
2020	30,614		7.7%
2023 (est.)	30,988	^[6]	1.2%
U.S. Decennial Census^[7] 1790-1960^[8] 1900-1990^[9] 1990-2000^[10] 2010-2020^[1]

As of the census^[11] of 2000, there were 27,697 people, 10,574 households, and 7,348 families residing in the county. The population density was 152 per square mile (59/km²). There were 11,418 housing units at an average density of 63 per square mile (24/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.77% White, 9.68% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.56% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.65% from other races, and 1.12% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.44% of the population.

There were 10,574 households, of which 31.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.70% were married couples living together, 12.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.50% were non-families. 27.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.87.

By age, 22.70% of the population was under 18, 11.00% from 18 to 24, 28.60% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 14.10% were 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was US $35,241, and the median income for a family was $42,699. Males had a median income of $33,411 versus $23,635 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,288. About 9.10% of families and 11.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.80% of those under age 18 and 12.10% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

United States presidential election results for Boyle County, Kentucky^[12]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	8,872	61.28%	5,298	36.59%	308	2.13%
2016	8,040	62.10%	4,281	33.07%	625	4.83%
2012	7,703	62.26%	4,471	36.14%	199	1.61%
2008	7,701	60.95%	4,769	37.74%	165	1.31%
2004	7,764	62.16%	4,646	37.20%	80	0.64%
2000	6,126	59.33%	3,963	38.38%	237	2.30%
1996	4,157	47.34%	3,877	44.15%	748	8.52%
1992	4,019	43.32%	3,894	41.97%	1,365	14.71%
1988	4,746	56.81%	3,575	42.79%	33	0.40%
1984	5,675	62.53%	3,378	37.22%	23	0.25%
1980	3,848	44.88%	4,429	51.66%	297	3.46%
1976	3,511	45.58%	4,095	53.16%	97	1.26%
1972	4,317	63.66%	2,395	35.32%	69	1.02%
1968	2,715	40.29%	2,663	39.52%	1,360	20.18%
1964	1,972	28.33%	4,976	71.47%	14	0.20%
1960	3,624	52.28%	3,308	47.72%	0	0.00%
1956	3,427	49.81%	3,436	49.94%	17	0.25%
1952	2,969	43.90%	3,771	55.76%	23	0.34%
1948	1,897	34.89%	3,338	61.39%	202	3.72%
1944	2,195	38.38%	3,490	61.02%	34	0.59%
1940	2,257	35.55%	4,081	64.28%	11	0.17%
1936	2,431	36.80%	4,148	62.79%	27	0.41%
1932	2,208	32.90%	4,473	66.65%	30	0.45%
1928	3,517	54.01%	2,992	45.95%	3	0.05%
1924	2,673	43.00%	3,197	51.42%	347	5.58%
1920	3,205	43.65%	4,099	55.83%	38	0.52%
1916	1,494	41.83%	2,052	57.45%	26	0.73%
1912	701	21.59%	1,798	55.37%	748	23.04%

Government

County Judge/Executive^[13]

Trille Bottom^[14]

County Magistrates

Tom V. Ellis^[14]
Paula Bodner^[14]
Barry Harmon^[14]
Jason M. Cullen^[14]
Jamey Gay^[14]
Steve Sleeper^[14]

County Attorney

Christopher K. Heron^[15]

County Treasurer

Darlene Lanham^[16]

County Coroner

Eric Guerrant

Sheriff

Taylor Bottom^[17]

County Clerk

Casey McCoy^[18]

Property Valuation Administrator

Lacresha Gibson^[19]

District Court Judge^[20]

Patrick Barsoti^[21]

Circuit Court Judge

Jeff L. Dotson^[21]

Family Court Judge

Bruce Petrie^[21]

Circuit Clerk

Courtney Shewmaker^[21]

Jailer

Brian Wofford^[22]

Education

Public schools

There are two school districts in the county.^[23]

Boyle County Schools is the school district that serves all of Boyle County except Danville with three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. Danville Schools is the school district that serves the city of Danville with three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school.

Kentucky School for the Deaf, a state-operated school, provides education to Kentucky's deaf and hard-of-hearing children from elementary through high school

Private schools

Two private schools operate in Boyle County: Danville Christian Academy and Danville Montessori School.

Colleges and universities

Centre College, a nationally recognized liberal arts college, is located in Danville. Four other colleges and universities have (or HAD) campuses in Boyle County: