Henry

Formed December 14, 1798 (28^th county)

Henry County (15,682), New Castle (882), Eminence (2,709)

A clock tower sits on top of the 1875 red brick courthouse.  It sits on a square at Main, East Cross, Berry, and Court streets.  United States Highway 421 is Main Street passing in front of the courthouse.  H. P. McDonald Brothers are the architects of this Italianate and Second Empire courthouse.  The courthouse is under renovation in 2019.  Veteran memorials are on the grounds.  There was an 1804 courthouse also in New Castle, the only county seat.  Henry County was formed on December 14, 1798 and named for American Statesman Patrick Henry.  The county was taken from Shelby County as the 28^th county.  The county seat is presumably named for New Castle, Virginia. 

Henry 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.)  Two Circuit Court Judges, Two District Court Judges, and One Family Court Judge serve Henry, Oldham, and Trimble counties and a court clerk serves Henry County (judicial.) Located in northern Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky is southwest and Lexington, Kentucky is southeast of the county.  The county center is 1.6 miles East-Northeast of New Castle.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Carroll, Owen, Franklin, Shelby, Oldham, and Trimble counties. 

The area of the county is 289 square miles.  It is 70 out of 120 in the state.  It ranks 72 out of 120 in population in the state.  It has a density of 54.3 persons per square mile making it 66 out of 120 in the state.  Henry County has 33.5% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 71 clips the northwest corner of the county from Carroll County to Oldham County.  United States Highway 421 enters from Trimble County, northwest, and exits to Franklin County, southeast.  The county is diamond shaped overall.  New Castle is in the southwest quarter of the county.  Eminence is on the southern border.  New Castle is the county seat and Eminence is the largest city.  New Castle is 5.6% of the county population while Eminence is 17.3% of the county population.  This county is in the Louisville/Jefferson County Metropolitan Statistical Area.