McLean County, Kentucky

McLean County is a located in the  of ; its population was 9,938 in the 2000 Census. It is included in the. McLean County's  is at. McLean County, with and  Counties, is part of the  Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of some 110,314 ( estimate). McLean is a prohibition or.

History
The county was formed by act of the Kentucky legislature in from portions of surrounding Daviess,, and  Counties, and was named for Judge , founder of , the county seat of.

Geography
The county has a total area of 663 (256 ). 659 km² (254 sq mi) of it is land and 5 km² (2 sq mi) of it (0.73%) is water.

Geographic features
McLean County is part of the region of.

The county is transected southeast to northwest by, the longest river entirely within the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Bridge crossings of Green River are at Calhoun, Livermore and west of Beech Grove. Green River is navigable throughout McLean County, with Army Corps of Engineers Lock and Dam #2 at Calhoun assisting boat navigation.

Adjacent counties

 * (northwest)
 * (northeast)
 * (east)
 * (south)
 * (southwest, across the )
 * (west)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 9,938 people, 3,984 households, and 2,880 families residing in the county. The was 15/km² (39/sq mi). There were 4,392 housing units at an average density of 7/km² (17/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 98.58%, 0.36% or , 0.16% , 0.04% , 0.01% , 0.31% from , and 0.53% from two or more races. 0.84% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 3,984 households out of which 32.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.00% were living together, 8.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.70% were non-families. 24.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.20% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 25.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,675, and the median income for a family was $35,322. Males had a median income of $28,446 versus $19,432 for females. The for the county was $16,046. About 13.70% of families and 16.00% of the population were below the, including 21.10% of those under age 18 and 18.50% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns
The county has four incorporated cities.


 * , population 837, sits on the north bank of Green River in the central area of the county and is the seat of government.


 * , The largest community in McLean County is the city of Livermore, population 1,482, which lies in the eastern part of the county at the scenic confluence of Rough and Green Rivers. Livermore's bridge are noteworthy, as it begins in McLean County, crosses the Rough River, passes over and has a pylon on a sliver of Ohio County territory, crosses Green River, then ends back in McLean County.

The two remaining cities, Sacramento and Island, are situated in the south of the county.


 * is home to the annual Battle of Sacramento Civil War Reenactment, the largest tourist event in the county, and has a population of 517.


 * is noted for its annual Wooden Bridge Festival and has a population of 435.

McLean County has two other sizable, but unincorporated, towns.


 * Beech Grove, The larger of the two, is situated in the hills of the county panhandle.


 * Rumsey, is an historic community that lies across from Calhoun on the south bank of Green River.

Other notable hamlets in the county include:

Comer, Congleton, Wrightsburg, Elba, Poverty, Cleopatra, Lemon, Wyman, Pack, Semiway, Poplar Grove, Guffie, Buel, Nuckols, Livia, Glenville, and Buttonsberry.

Education
McLean County has a county-wide public school district of some 1,700 students with one high school.


 * McLean County High School of approximately 500 students and one grade 6-8 middle school


 * McLean County Middle School of roughly 350 students. Mclean County Middle School in the 2006 and 2007 year ranked third in final year testing and second in public schools to Hancock County.

Both schools are located just east of Calhoun on Highway 136 and have the cougar as mascots.

Additionally, the county school system has three grade K-5 elementary schools in the towns of Calhoun, Livermore and Sacramento. The Calhoun and Livermore elementaries have about 300 students each, while Sacramento Elementary has 125 students. The future of the Sacramento school is still in question, although the local board of education has endorsed plans to renovate the school if costs can be contained.

At any time, between 350 and 400 county residents are enrolled in higher education of some form.