Campbell County, Kentucky

Campbell County was founded December 17, 1794, two years after the creation of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, becoming the state's 19th county. Campbell County was carved out of Scott, Harrison and Mason counties. The original county included all of present Boone, Kenton, Pendleton, and most of Bracken and Grant counties. Campbell County is named in honor of John Campbell, an Irish immigrant who was a soldier, explorer, statesman and one of the drafters of the Kentucky Constitution. The first courthouse, built of logs, was replaced in 1815 by a brick structure. The present courthouse dates from 1884. County seat Wilmington, a pioneer settlement, was the original county seat of Campbell County from 1794 until 1797. The original justices in the Campbell County Court were John Roberts, Thomas Kennedy, Samuel Bryan, John Cook, James Little, Robert Benham and John Bush. Newport was designated as the county seat until 1823, when it was moved to Visalia, at that time closer to the geographical center of the county. This was an unpopular action, however, as the overwhelming majority of residents lived in the north, along the Ohio River. The county court returned to Newport in 1824 and remained there until 1840. In 1840, Kenton County was created, primarily out of a significant portion of Campbell. The Kentucky General Assembly forced the county to move its seat to Alexandria, closer to the center of the new, smaller Campbell County. In 1883, after years of lobbying, the General Assembly established a special provision to allow Newport to designate a Court House District separate from the offices in Alexandria. The special Courthouse Commission legislation led to the misconception that the county was dual seated, but Alexandria remained the sole de jure county seat. It was not until November 24, 2010, that a court ruling granted Newport equal status as a county seat. ==Geography==

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (5.1%) is water. It is the fourth-smallest county in Kentucky by land area and fifth-smallest by total area. It lies along the Ohio and Licking Rivers. Adjacent counties • Hamilton County, Ohio (north) • Clermont County, Ohio (east) • Pendleton County (south) • Kenton County (west) Major highways • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ==Demographics==

2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 93,076. The median age was 38.5 years. 21.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.2 males age 18 and over. The racial makeup of the county was 89.6% White, 3.0% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.2% from some other race, and 4.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.5% of the population. There were 38,466 households in the county, of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 28.1% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. of 2000, there were 88,616 people, 34,742 households, and 23,103 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 36,898 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.64% White, 1.57% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.31% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. 0.86% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. There were 34,742 households, out of which 32.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.30% were married couples living together, 12.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.50% were non-families. 28.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.09. The age distribution was 25.60% under 18, 9.80% from 18 to 24, 30.60% from 25 to 44, 21.30% from 45 to 64, and 12.60% who were 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 93.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $41,903, and the median income for a family was $51,481. Males had a median income of $37,931 versus $27,646 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,637. About 7.30% of families and 9.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.20% of those under age 18 and 7.90% of those age 65 or over. ==Education==

There are six school districts in Campbell County. • Bellevue Independent Schools, Bellevue • Campbell County Schools, Alexandria • Dayton Independent Schools, Dayton • Fort Thomas Independent Schools, Fort Thomas • Newport Independent Schools, Newport • Southgate Independent School District has but one PreK-8th school in it. ; former • Silver Grove Independent Schools, Silver Grove - merged with the Campbell County district on July 1, 2019. Northern Kentucky University located in Highland Heights provides the area with access to higher education. Public high schools Students in the county attend one of 6 public and 2 parochial high schools. Private high schools • Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington • Bishop Brossart High School, Alexandria • Newport Central Catholic High School, Newport ==Communities==

Cities • Alexandria (county seat) • Bellevue • California • Cold Spring • Crestview • Dayton • Fort Thomas • Highland Heights • Melbourne • Mentor • Newport (county seat) • Silver Grove • Southgate • Wilder • Woodlawn Census-designated place • Claryville Other unincorporated places • Brayville • Camp Springs • Oneonta - probably named after Oneonta, New York. Located midway between Ross and California, the settlement was conveniently located beside the Ohio River as a docking place for ferrying people and supplies especially from New Richmond, Ohio (once the largest and most flourishing village in Clermont County) toward Alexandria, Kentucky. ==Politics==

Politically, Campbell County is very Republican. In presidential elections it has only voted Democratic once since 1948. The county voted "No" on 2022 Kentucky Amendment 2, an anti-abortion ballot measure, by 57% to 43%, and backed Donald Trump with 58% of the vote to Joe Biden's 40% in the 2020 presidential election. Elected officials ==See also==