Beech Tree News Network

This week, we pick up our county origin review with Nelson County, KY.  Nelson County was formed November 29, 1784 from Jefferson County and was named for Virginian governor and signer of the Declaration of Independence, General Thomas Nelson, Jr. It was the 4th county created in what is now Kentucky.  The county seat and largest city is Bardstown.  Estimated population as of 2015 was 45,126(down from 2010, which was 43,437).  In 1808, after Kentucky had become a state, a new Virginia county was named for Governor Nelson(Nelson County, Virginia).
Nicholas County was formed in 1799 from land given by Bourbon and Mason Counties.  Located on the northeastern edge of the inner Bluegrass region of Kentucky.  It was named for Colonel George Nicholas, a Revolutionary War veteran from Fayette County.  He is known as the “Father of the Kentucky Constitution”. It’s county seat is Carlisle, which is also the only incorporated community in the county.  Estimated population, as of 2015, was 7,131. Notable residents were Daniel Boone, moving there in 1795 after living in Kanawha Valley, Virginia, author Barbara Kingsolver and lawyer, plantation owner and Colonel in the Civil War, Joseph Drake.
Ohio County has six incorporated cities: Beaver Dam is the largest and Hartford is the county seat.  Other cities are Centertown, Fordsville, McHenry and Rockport.  Ohio County is 35th in order of formation and was created December 17, 1798.  The first county court was organized in 1799.  The county was originally a part of Hardin County and was named for the Ohio River.  Several adjacent counties were formed from Ohio County.
Ohio County is Kentucky’s fifth largest county, in area, with 596 square miles.  Our current population is approximately 23,481.  We have approximately 418 miles of state maintained highways and approximately 600 miles of county roads.
Ohio County is governed by the Fiscal Court consisting of five (5) Magistrates and the County Judge Executive, who is the presiding officer of the Fiscal Court.  Terms of these elected county officials are for four (4) years.
The Fiscal Court must appropriate county funds for various purposes required by law.  The Fiscal Court is also required to provide for the construction, operation and maintenance of county buildings, roads and other property and for the incarceration of persons arrested in the county.  There are many other laws which delegate certain powers or assign duties to the Fiscal Court.  The county was named for the Ohio River, the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River.  Estimated 2015 population was 24,216.
Oldham County was founded December 15, 1823.  It was named for American Revolutionary War Colonel William Oldham.  The county seat and largest city is La Grange.  Estimated population, as of 2015, was 64,875.  Next week, we get into Owen County.