Formed February 6, 1854 (103rd county)
McLean County (9,152), Calhoun (726), Livermore (1,228)
A red brick courthouse in Calhoun was built in 1908. It is on 2nd Street at Main Street. Kentucky State 81 is Main Street. Harris & Shopbell provided the building designs. The building features columns and a Liberty Bell replica is on the grounds. There was an 1870 courthouse earlier also in Calhoun, the only county seat. The county was organized on February 6, 1854 from parts of Ohio, Daviess, and Muhlenberg counties as the 103rd county. It is named for Judge Alney McLean. The county seat is named for Congressman John Calhoon.
McLean 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.) One Circuit Court Judge and One District Court Judge serve McLean and Muhlenberg counties and a court clerk serves McLean County (judicial.) McLean County is in the northwest part of the state directly south of Owensboro, Kentucky. The county center is 1.8 miles North of Calhoun. The county is surrounded clockwise by Daviess, Ohio, Muhlenberg, Hopkins, Webster, and Henderson counties.
The area of the county is 254 square miles. It is 82 out of 120 in the state. It ranks 101 out of 120 in population in the state. It has a density of 36.0 persons per square mile making it 95 out of 120 in the state. McLean County has 30.8% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 431 cuts the eastern tip of the county north to south from Daviess County to Muhlenberg County. The county is shaped like a trumpet. Calhoun is actually located near the county’s center although it looks like it is west. Livermore is on the eastern border of the county. Calhoun is the county seat and Livermore is the largest city. Calhoun is 7.9% of the county population while Livermore is 13.4% of the county population. This county is in the Owensboro Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Calhoun
Island
Livermore
Sacramento
