Formed December 20, 1792 (14th county)
Clark County (36,993), Winchester (19,149)
The classic Greek Revival courthouse in Winchester was built in 1852 and remodeled in 1889, 1938, and 1978. The courthouse is on a square surrounded by Court, Wall, Cleveland, and Main streets. Main Street is United States Highway 60 in the town. The white brick courthouse was designed by John McMurtry. The building features a tower with a working clock. Veteran memorials are on the grounds. An old post office was converted to the Justice Center in 1990. The county was formed on December 20, 1792 from Fayette County as the 14th county with Winchester as the only county seat. It is named for Revolutionary War hero George Rogers Clark. The county seat is named for Winchester, Virginia.
Clark County government consists of a County Judge Executive, a sheriff, a clerk, an attorney, a treasurer, a coroner, and an appraiser (executive). It has 6 Magistrates (legislative.) Three Circuit Court Judges, Four District Court Judges, and Two Family Court Judges serve Clark and Madison counties and a court clerk serves Clark County (judicial.) The county is in eastern Kentucky directly southeast of Lexington, Kentucky. The county center is 4 miles Southeast of Winchester nearer Ruckerville. The county is surrounded clockwise by Bourbon, Montgomery, Powell, Estill, Madison, and Fayette counties.
The area of the county is 254 square miles. It is 80 out of 120 in the state. It ranks 27 out of 120 in population in the state. It has a density of 145.6 persons per square mile making it 18 out of 120 in the state. Clark County has 51.8% of its population in its incorporated areas. Interstate Highway 64 goes east to west through the county from Montgomery County to Fayette County. United States Highway 60 parallels Interstate Highway 64 from Montgomery to Fayette counties. The county is shaped like the State of Vermont tipping toward the west. Winchester is west of center in the county. Winchester is the county seat and, as the only incorporated city, it is the largest city. It is 51.8% of the county population. This county is in the Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Winchester
