Formed January 23, 1843 (96th county)
Owsley County (4,052), Booneville (165)
The 1971 tan brick building serves Owsley County. It is on Main Street at Court Street. Kentucky State Highway 11 is Main Street in the town. Donald B. Shelton designed this Modern style courthouse. The building was enlarged in 1984. The grounds feature a Liberty Bell and veteran memorials. There were 1888 and 1929 courthouses earlier following the January 23, 1843 founding of the county. Booneville has always been the county seat. The county was taken from parts of Breathitt, Clay, and Estill counties as the 96th county. Governor William Owsley is the namesake of the county. The county seat is named for frontiersman Daniel Boone. He is also the namesake of Boone County.
Owsley 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.) One Circuit Court Judge and One District Court Judge serve Owsley, Estill, and Lee counties and a court clerk serves Owsley County (judicial.) The county lies in eastern Kentucky. Lexington, Kentucky is northwest and Huntington, West Virginia is northeast. The county center is 6.1 miles Southwest of Booneville. The county is surrounded clockwise by Lee, Breathitt, Perry, Clay, and Jackson counties.
The area of the county is 198 square miles. It is 104 out of 120 in the state. It ranks 119 out of 120 in population in the state. It has a density of 20.5 persons per square mile making it 118 out of 120 in the state. Owsley County has 4.1% of its population in its incorporated areas. There are no Interstates or United States Highways in the county. The county is shaped like a funnel. Booneville is located in the northern quarter of the county. Booneville is the county seat and the largest city since it is the only incorporated city. It is 4.1% of the county population. The county is pronounced OES-LEE.
Booneville
