Formed January 1, 1858 (105th county)
Jackson County (12,958), McKee (804)
The red brick Modern courthouse was built in 1950 on Main, 1st, Water, and 2nd streets. United States Highway 421 is Main Street in the town. J. M. Ingram is the building architect. A Judicial Center was added in 2009. A working clock is set on the building front and veteran memorials are on the grounds. McKee has always been the county seat. Jackson County was created on January 1, 1858 and named for President Andrew Jackson. He is also the namesake of the county seat of Breathitt County. The county was taken from parts of Madison, Estill, Owsley, Clay, Laurel, and Rockcastle counties as the 105th county. McKee is named for Judge George R. McKee.
Jackson County government consists of a County Judge Executive, a sheriff, a clerk, an attorney, a treasurer, a coroner, and an appraiser (executive). It has 3 Magistrates (legislative.) Two Circuit Court Judges, Two District Court Judges, and One Family Court Judge serve Jackson, Clay, and Leslie counties and a court clerk serves Jackson County (judicial.) The county is situated in southeast Kentucky. Lexington, Kentucky is northwest and Huntington, West Virginia is northeast of the county. The county center is 2.1 miles South-Southwest of McKee. The county is surrounded clockwise by Estill, Lee, Owsley, Clay, Laurel, Rockcastle, and Madison counties.
The area of the county is 346 square miles. It is 50 out of 120 in the state. It ranks 85 out of 120 in population in the state. It has a density of 37.5 persons per square mile making it 93 out of 120 in the state. Jackson County has 6.2% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 421 goes northwest to south through the county from Madison County to Clay County. The county’s overall shape is rectangular although none of the lines are straight. McKee is located near the center of the county. McKee is the county seat and, as the only incorporated city, it is the largest city. It is 6.2% of the county population.
McKee
