Christian

Formed January 1, 1797 (25^th county)

Christian County (72,818), Hopkinsville (31,178)

The 1869 red brick Greek Revival and Italianate courthouse is at Main, Court, Weber, and 6^th streets.  United States Highway 41 is Main Street.  The courthouse was remodeled in 1960.  J. K. Frick is the building architect.  A brick 2003 Justice Center sits at Campbell and 11^th streets and an Annex is near the courthouse.  The courthouse features columns.  Christian County was formed on January 1, 1797 from Logan County as the 25^th county with Hopkinsville as the only county seat.  The county’s namesake is Revolutionary War hero Colonel William Christian.  Hopkinsville is named for Congressman and General Samuel Hopkins.  He is also the namesake for Hopkins County.  Christian County was the birthplace of 1 Kentucky Governor, Edward T. Breathitt, Jr. 

Christian County government consists of a County Judge Executive, a sheriff, a clerk, an attorney, a treasurer, a coroner, and an appraiser (executive).  It has 8 Magistrates (legislative.)  Two Circuit Court Judges, Three District Court Judges, One Family Court Judge and a court clerk serve Christian County (judicial.) Christian County is on the southwest border with Tennessee.  Bowling Green, Kentucky is east and Clarksville, Tennessee is south of the county.  The county center is in Hopkinsville 2.4 miles Northeast of the city center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Hopkins, Muhlenberg, and Todd counties and Tennessee and Trigg and Caldwell counties. 

The area of the county is 721 square miles.  It is 2 out of 120 in the state.  It ranks 11 out of 120 in population in the state.  It has a density of 101.0 persons per square mile making it 29 out of 120 in the state.  Christian County has 56.0% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 24 goes west to south in the county from Trigg County to Tennessee.  United States Highway 41 enters from the north, Hopkins County, and exits to the southeast, Todd County.  United States Highway 41 Alternate originates in the county and heads south into Tennessee.  United States Highway 68 crosses east to west from Todd County to Trigg County.  The overall shape of the county is a tall rectangle.  Hopkinsville is located in the southern third of the county.  Hopkinsville is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 42.8% of the county population.  This county is in the Clarksville Metropolitan Statistical Area.