Formed December 11, 1801 (44th county)
Adair County (18,903), Columbia (4,845)
The light tan brick Second Empire courthouse was built in 1884 and sits in a city square. Campbellsville Road, Greensburg Road, Burkesville Road, and Jamestown Road meet at the square. Kentucky State Highways 80 is Burkesville Road. H. P. McDonald Brothers are the architects. The building was renovated in 1975. A Justice Center was added in 2010. The courthouse features a tower with a working clock and columns. Adair County was organized on December 11, 1801 from Green County as the 44th county with Columbia as the only county seat. The county is named for Governor John Adair. The county seat is named for explorer Christopher Columbus.
Adair County government consists of a sheriff, County Judge Executive, and 7 Magistrates. One Circuit Court Judge and One District Court Judge serve Adair and Casey counties. The county is situated in south central Kentucky. Louisville, Kentucky is northwest and Bowling Green, Kentucky is west of the county. The county center is 2.4 miles North of Columbia. The county is surrounded clockwise by Taylor, Casey, Russell, Cumberland, Metcalfe, and Green counties.
The area of the county is 407 square miles. It is 32 out of 120 in the state. It ranks 63 out of 120 in population in the state. It has a density of 46.4 persons per square mile making it 74 out of 120 in the state. Adair County has 25.6% of its population in its incorporated areas. There are no Interstates or United States Highways in the county. The county is shaped like a wheel barrel. Columbia is in the southwest quarter of the county. Columbia is the county seat and the largest city, as it is the only incorporated city. It is 25.6% of the county population.
Columbia
