Follow
Please add profiles of those who were born, lived or died in Knox County, Kentucky.
Official Website
Knox County was formed on December 19, 1799. It is usually assumed to be named for Henry Knox of Massachusetts, a Revolutionary War general and the first United States Secretary of War. However, there is strong evidence that it was actually named for James Knox. Knox was a pre-war explorer and long hunter, a veteran of Dunmore's War and the Revolutionary War, a pioneer guide, road-builder, and legislator. Knox had used the Wilderness Road, which traverses the county, as an explorer and later oversaw its improvement into a wagon road.
The Civil War Battle of Barbourville was fought on September 19, 1861, between 800 Confederate soldiers from General Felix Zollicoffer's command and 300 Union troops who attempted to defend the Union's Camp Andrew Johnson. The Union men tore up the planks on the bridge in an attempt to keep the Confederates from crossing, but the more numerous Confederates succeeded anyway. They destroyed the camp and seized the arms and equipment it contained.
The county has long relied on coal production as the basis for its economy. Unlike other areas of southeastern Kentucky, it has continued to maintain jobs and much of its population.
Adjacent Counties
Cities & Communities
- Artemus
- Barbourville (County Seat)
- Corbin (part)
- Flat Lick
- Gray
- North Corbin (part)
Cemeteries
Links
National Register of Historic Places
