Bracken County, Kentucky

Bracken County Education, Geography, and History

Bracken County is a county located in the state of Kentucky. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 8,488. Bracken County was created on December 14, 1796. The county seat is Brooksville. The county is named in honor of William Bracken, trapper and frontiersman.

Bracken County is included in the Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Bracken County Name

Bracken County received its name from Big and Little Bracken creeks, which were named after John Bracken. Bracken was a famed pioneer, hunter and Indian fighter.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Bracken County History

Bracken county was formed in 1797, named after two creeks, the Big and Little Bracken, which in turn were named for William Bracken, an 18th-century explorer and surveyor who visited the area in 1773. He was later killed by Indians during the Northwest Indian War.

It is located in the Outer Bluegrass region of the state. The elevation in the county ranges from 455 to 980 feet above sea level. In 2000 the county population was 8,279 in a land area of 203.22 square miles, an average of 40.7 people per square mile. The county seat is Brooksville.

Bracken was the birthplace of John Gregg Fee, founder of Berea College and Kentucky's most noted abolitionist. He was a graduate of Augusta College and Lane Theological Seminary. In 1822 Augusta College was founded as the first Methodist college in the world.

Notable residents

• Nick Clooney, a Cincinnati journalist and former news anchor, and his wife Nina live in Augusta.
• George Clooney, their son and an actor, grew up in Augusta and went to high school there.
• Heather French Henry, Miss America 2000, grew up in Augusta and still lives there. Heather and her husband, former Ky. Lt. Governor Steve Henry, are the curators of the Rosemary Clooney Museum in Augusta.
• Rosemary Clooney, singer and actress, lived in Augusta. Her most notable film was White Christmas.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 209 square miles (540 km²), of which 206 square miles (530 km²) is land and 3.3 square miles (8.5 km²) (1.6%) is water.

Bracken county is located in northeast Kentucky. The county in located on the Ohio River.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• North: Clermont County, Ohio
• Northeast: Brown County, Ohio
• Southeast: Mason County
• South: Robertson County
• Southwest: Harrison County
• West: Pendleton County
  

Education

Augusta Independent Schools in Augusta
Saint Augustine Elementary School in Augusta
Bracken County Schools in Brooksville

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