Formed March 12, 1912 (120th county)
McCreary County (16,887), Whitley City* (968)
The red brick 1953 Modern Colonial Revival courthouse was added to in 1975 and 2001. The building is on Main Street between Geary and Court streets. United States Highway 27 is one block east of the site. CMW, Inc., are the courthouse architects. There was a 1929 courthouse previously. The courthouse features a tower and columns. Veteran memorials are on the grounds. The county was established on March 12, 1912 and named for Governor James B. McCreary. The county was taken from Wayne, Whitley, and Pulaski counties as the 120th and last county. The county seat is named for frontiersman and War of 1812 hero, William Whitley. He is also the namesake of Whitley County and its county seat. Whitley City has always been the McCreary County seat.
McCreary County government consists of a County Judge Executive, a sheriff, a clerk, an attorney, a treasurer, a coroner, and an appraiser (executive). It has 4 Magistrates (legislative.) Two Circuit Court Judges and Two District Court Judges serve McCreary and Whitley counties and a court clerk serves McCreary County (judicial.) The county is on the southern border with Tennessee. Lexington, Kentucky is north and Bowling Green, Kentucky is northwest of the county. The county center is 2.3 miles North-Northeast of Whitley City nearer Marshes Siding. The county is surrounded clockwise by Laurel and Whitley counties and Tennessee and Wayne and Pulaski counties.
The area of the county is 428 square miles. It is 27 out of 120 in the state. It ranks 68 out of 120 in population in the state. It has a density of 39.5 persons per square mile making it 81 out of 120 in the state. McCreary County has 0.0% of its population in its incorporated areas since there are no incorporated cities. United States Highway 27 crosses north to south in the county from Pulaski County to Tennessee. The county is shaped like a diamond. Whitley City is in the southern third of the county. Whitley City is the county seat and the largest populated area. It is 5.7% of the county population. The county is pronounced MAC-KREE-REE.
