Johnson County
County
Johnson County Judicial Center in Paintsville
Location within the U.S. state of Kentucky
Kentucky's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 37°50′N 82°50′W / 37.84°N 82.83°W / 37.84; -82.83
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
Founded	February 24, 1843
Named for	Richard Mentor Johnson
Seat	Paintsville
Largest city	Paintsville
Area
• Total	264 sq mi (680 km2)
• Land	262 sq mi (680 km2)
• Water	2.2 sq mi (6 km2)  0.8%
Population  (2020)
• Total	22,680
• Estimate  (2023)	22,116
• Density	86/sq mi (33/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	5th
Website	www.johnsoncoky.com

Johnson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,680.^[1] Its county seat is Paintsville.^[2] The county was formed in 1843 and named for Richard Mentor Johnson, a colonel of the War of 1812, United States Representative, Senator, and Vice President of the United States.^[3]

Johnson County is classified as a moist county, which is a county in which alcohol sales are not allowed (a dry county), but containing a "wet" city, in this case Paintsville, where alcoholic beverage sales are allowed.

History

Formation

Johnson County was formed on February 24, 1843, by the Kentucky General Assembly from land given by Floyd, Lawrence, and Morgan counties.^[4][5] 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.^[6]

Many of the families at the beginning of Johnson County's formation were of Scottish, Irish, English, or German descent. Also, a fact lost to most historians is the large population of French Huguenots who were confused as English because they fled via England en route to the United States. Many of these settlers migrated from North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia following their participation in the Revolutionary War.

For about its 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 horseback and steamboat. Years later, stage coaches began to connect eastern Kentucky and Johnson County to the bluegrass region and the rest of civilization.^[7]

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 and 1862, the county enacted an ordinance that neither the Union or Confederate flags were to be flown within the county. This was repealed quickly after Colonel James Garfield's Union brigade marched through Paintsville, (with the United States Flag being raised above the town courthouse) on its way to defeat the Confederate cavalry at the Battle of Middle Creek in Floyd County.^[7]

John C. C. Mayo

Following the Civil War, Thomas Jefferson Mayo moved to Paintsville to fulfill a role as a gifted and talented teacher. He fathered John C. C. Mayo, an important figure in the development of eastern Kentucky. The county citizenry is divided on their loyalty to his memory. Some^[who?] would say he was a benefactor who assisted in the development of Paintsville, and as a result, Johnson County. That he helped develop banks, churches, streets, public utilities and railroad transportation. Others^[who?] would say he was directly responsible for the huge influence coal companies had over the county's vast coal resources and the reason the region remains so economically depressed to this day.

Coal was important for Johnson County and the rest of eastern Kentucky even before the Civil War, but its development halted at the start of the war. Financing was slow to return to the coal industry in eastern Kentucky and this inhibited development in Johnson County. The people were suspicious of outsiders and Mayo, a school teacher, was a known quantity and one of their own. So he was invaluable in helping the coal industry to gain a firm foothold in the coal fields of eastern Kentucky and to the industrialized north which spurred the development of railroads in the area. Carpetbaggers from the North became a common sight in the area. It was during this time that many of the citizens of Johnson County were given misleading information and sold all mineral rights to their property for pennies on the dollar of what the rights were worth. In some cases, for a new shotgun. It was also during this time that many people lost their property due to a strange rash of fires in several county seats, destroying deeds and records of ownership, which paved the way for land-grabbers to take what the owners did not want to relinquish.

The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway first opened its Paintsville depot on September 1, 1904, following 25 years of work connecting it to Lawrence County. The rails were paid for by donations, stocks and bonds, and the hard work of local citizens.^{[citation needed]} History shows that the rail companies leaked information and frequently changed planned routes to create bidding wars and to finance the rails. 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 ill following a trip to Europe. During his life, he built a historic mansion in Paintsville which has become known as Mayo Mansion.^[7][8]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 264 square miles (680 km²), of which 262 square miles (680 km²) is land and 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²) (0.8%) is water.^[9]

The county's highest point is Stuffley Knob, with an elevation of 1,496 feet (456 m).^[10] Its lowest point is the Levisa Fork on the Lawrence County border, with an elevation of about 550 feet (170 m).^[11]

Adjacent counties

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

Transportation

Major highways

• U.S. Route 23
• U.S. Route 460
• Kentucky Route 40
• Kentucky Route 321
• Kentucky Route 3

Air

Big Sandy Regional Airport, located in adjacent Martin County, is the nearest airport. It is used as a general aviation airport.

The nearest airport that provides commercial aviation services is Tri-State Airport, which is located 55 miles (89 km) northeast in Ceredo, West Virginia.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 23,445 people, 9,103 households, and 6,863 families residing in the county. The population density was 90 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.

Government

• County Judge/Executive: Mark McKenzie
• Commissioner District 1: Jessica Click
• Commissioner District 2: Mike Jarrell
• Commissioner District 3: Tim Salyer
• County Attorney: Michael S. Endicott
• County Court Clerk: Sallee Holbrook
• Circuit Court Clerk: Penny Adams Castle
• PVA: Michael "Dip" Stafford
• Sheriff: Doug Saylor
• Jailer: Steve Rose
• Coroner: J.R. Frisby
• Constable District 1: James Castle
• Constable District 2: Bruce Ritz
• Constable District 3: David Pridemore
• County Surveyor: Clarence Scarberry

Politics

Johnson County is at present and historically a powerfully Republican county. No Democrat has ever won a majority of the county's vote since at least 1880,^[17] though Bill Clinton did gain narrow pluralities in 1992 and 1996, and Lyndon Johnson lost to Barry Goldwater by a mere twenty-two votes in 1964.