Hickman County, Kentucky

Hickman County
Hickman County
County
	Hickman County Courthouse in Clinton
	Location within the U.S. state of Kentucky
	Kentucky's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 36°41′N 88°59′W / 36.68°N 88.98°W
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
Founded	1821
Named for	Paschal Hickman
Seat	Clinton
Largest city	Clinton
Area
• Total	253 sq mi (660 km2)
• Land	242 sq mi (630 km2)
• Water	11 sq mi (30 km2) 4.3%
Population (2020)
• Total	4,521
• Estimate (2023)	4,447
• Density	18/sq mi (6.9/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	hickmancounty.ky.gov

Hickman County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,521,^[1] making it the third-least populous county in Kentucky. Its county seat is Clinton.^[2] The county was formed in 1821.^[3] It is the least densely populated county in the state and is a prohibition or dry county.

History

Founded in 1821, Hickman County was the seventy-first in order of formation. It was named for Captain Paschal Hickman of the 1st Rifle Regiment, Kentucky Militia.^[4]^[5] A resident of Franklin County, Kentucky, Hickman was wounded and captured at the Battle of Frenchtown in January 1813 and was killed by Indians in the Massacre of the River Raisin.

Columbus, Kentucky, in the northwest of the county and located on the Mississippi River, was the original county seat. A log structure built in 1823 served as the courthouse. In 1830, the county seat was moved to the more centrally located Clinton. Since 1845 when Fulton County, Kentucky was partitioned, Hickman County has maintained its current borders.

In 1861, early in the American Civil War, the Confederate Army established Fort de Russey on the strategically located bluffs at Columbus across the river from Belmont, Missouri. Confederate General Leonidas Polk knew it was important to control the river, and wanted to extend a massive chain across the Mississippi to block Union forces from going downstream. (This was never achieved.) The fort was garrisoned with several thousand troops and a six-gun battery was installed; a smaller force was based at a Confederate camp in Belmont.

Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant moved troops from his base at Cairo, Illinois, and attacked Belmont in November 1861, his first battle of the war. He was ultimately defeated by Confederate troops sent from Columbus across the river to reinforce the Confederate defense; they were led by Polk.^[6]^[7] The former site of the Confederate fortifications near Columbus, Kentucky is now the Columbus-Belmont State Park, commemorating all the actions of the day that led to Union defeat here.^[8]

Geography

The Mississippi River, viewed from Columbus-Belmont State Park

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 253 square miles (660 km²), of which 242 square miles (630 km²) is land and 11 square miles (28 km²) (4.3%) is water.^[9] The elevation in the county ranges from 276 to 510 feet (84 to 155 m) above sea level. The county's western border is formed by the Mississippi River, nearly a mile wide here, with the state of Missouri on the other side. Some portions of the county are landlocked to Missouri west of the Mississippi.

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1830	5,198		—
1840	8,968		72.5%
1850	4,791		−46.6%
1860	7,008		46.3%
1870	8,453		20.6%
1880	10,651		26.0%
1890	11,637		9.3%
1900	11,745		0.9%
1910	11,750		0.0%
1920	10,244		−12.8%
1930	8,725		−14.8%
1940	9,142		4.8%
1950	7,778		−14.9%
1960	6,747		−13.3%
1970	6,264		−7.2%
1980	6,065		−3.2%
1990	5,566		−8.2%
2000	5,262		−5.5%
2010	4,902		−6.8%
2020	4,521		−7.8%
2023 (est.)	4,447	^[10]	−1.6%
U.S. Decennial Census^[11] 1790-1960^[12] 1900-1990^[13] 1990-2000^[14] 2010-2021^[15]

As of the census^[16] of 2000, there were 5,262 people, 2,188 households, and 1,542 families residing in the county. The population density was 22 per square mile (8.5/km²). There were 2,436 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile (3.9/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.35% White, 9.90% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 0.17% from other races, and 1.24% from two or more races. 1.03% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,188 households, out of which 28.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.50% were married couples living together, 10.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.50% were non-families. 27.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.10% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 25.90% from 45 to 64, and 18.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 91.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,615, and the median income for a family was $37,049. Males had a median income of $28,438 versus $18,506 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,279. About 14.20% of families and 17.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.70% of those under age 18 and 13.80% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Clinton (county seat)
Columbus

Unincorporated communities

Bugg
Hailwell
Moscow
New Cypress
Oakton

Notable people

Robert Burns Smith, third Governor of Montana^[17]

Politics

United States presidential election results for Hickman County, Kentucky^[18]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	1,714	77.94%	458	20.83%	27	1.23%
2016	1,657	76.82%	449	20.82%	51	2.36%
2012	1,431	66.90%	686	32.07%	22	1.03%
2008	1,406	62.49%	812	36.09%	32	1.42%
2004	1,395	59.56%	926	39.54%	21	0.90%
2000	1,151	54.19%	940	44.26%	33	1.55%
1996	695	31.98%	1,220	56.14%	258	11.87%
1992	861	35.04%	1,296	52.75%	300	12.21%
1988	1,142	49.33%	1,158	50.02%	15	0.65%
1984	1,380	56.63%	1,049	43.04%	8	0.33%
1980	1,143	42.84%	1,456	54.57%	69	2.59%
1976	585	21.54%	2,035	74.93%	96	3.53%
1972	1,430	56.66%	976	38.67%	118	4.68%
1968	623	23.19%	880	32.76%	1,183	44.04%
1964	613	22.10%	2,149	77.47%	12	0.43%
1960	968	30.79%	2,176	69.21%	0	0.00%
1956	785	24.82%	2,367	74.83%	11	0.35%
1952	871	30.40%	1,988	69.39%	6	0.21%
1948	326	12.26%	2,143	80.59%	190	7.15%
1944	588	22.60%	2,005	77.06%	9	0.35%
1940	490	15.05%	2,758	84.73%	7	0.22%
1936	385	13.04%	2,548	86.31%	19	0.64%
1932	446	11.77%	3,327	87.81%	16	0.42%
1928	767	26.12%	2,163	73.67%	6	0.20%
1924	618	21.27%	2,270	78.14%	17	0.59%
1920	866	22.01%	3,045	77.40%	23	0.58%
1916	539	21.05%	1,982	77.42%	39	1.52%
1912	365	17.66%	1,540	74.50%	162	7.84%
1908	658	25.44%	1,890	73.09%	38	1.47%
1904	702	28.68%	1,680	68.63%	66	2.70%
1900	862	30.98%	1,876	67.43%	44	1.58%
1896	727	26.53%	1,928	70.36%	85	3.10%
1892	460	24.31%	1,155	61.05%	277	14.64%
1888	383	25.31%	1,053	69.60%	77	5.09%
1884	489	28.36%	1,204	69.84%	31	1.80%
1880	386	26.01%	1,069	72.04%	29	1.95%
1876	381	22.44%	1,317	77.56%	0	0.00%
1872	401	34.04%	777	65.96%	0	0.00%
1868	41	3.99%	987	96.01%	0	0.00%
1864	289	56.45%	223	43.55%	0	0.00%
1860	1	0.10%	66	6.81%	902	93.09%
1856	0	0.00%	631	72.11%	244	27.89%
1852	155	29.03%	379	70.97%	0	0.00%
1848	169	32.38%	353	67.62%	0	0.00%
1844	304	29.12%	740	70.88%	0	0.00%
1840	393	36.49%	684	63.51%	0	0.00%
1836	198	27.54%	521	72.46%	0	0.00%