Formed December 21, 1825 (80th county)
Laurel County (62,613), London (7,586)
A remake of the old courthouse, the Modern Colonial Georgian building was built in 1961 and remodeled in 2004. It is sited at Main and 5th streets. United States Highway 25 is Main Street in the town. Bayless, Clotfelter, and Johnson are the architects of this red brick structure. The grounds have veteran memorials. A Judicial Center was added in 2010. There was an 1884 version of the courthouse in the county since on December 21, 1825 creation. London has always been the county seat. The county was taken from parts of Rockcastle, Clay, Knox, and Whitley counties as the 80th county. The county is named for the Laurel River. The county seat is named for London, England.
Laurel County government consists of a sheriff, County Judge Executive, and 6 Magistrates. Two Circuit Court Judges, Three District Court Judges, and One Family Court Judge serve Laurel and Knox counties. Laurel County is in southeast Kentucky. Laurel County was the birthplace of 1 Kentucky Governor, Flemon D. Sampson. Lexington, Kentucky is north and Bowling Green, Kentucky is west of the county. The county center is in London 1.7 miles South of the city center. The county is surrounded clockwise by Jackson, Clay, Knox, Whitley, McCreary, Pulaski, and Rockcastle counties.
The area of the county is 436 square miles. It is 25 out of 120 in the state. It ranks 15 out of 120 in population in the state. It has a density of 143.6 persons per square mile making it 19 out of 120 in the state. Laurel County has 12.1% of its population in its incorporated areas. Interstate Highway 75 crosses the county north to south from Rockcastle County to Whitley County. United States Highway 25 parallels Interstate Highway 75 from Rockcastle to Whitley counties. The county looks like a Christmas tree. London is located near the center of the county. London is the county seat and, as the only incorporated city, it is the largest city. It is 12.1% of the county population. This county is in the London Micropolitan Statistical Area.
London
