Daviess County, Kentucky | |
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Daviess County courthouse in Owensboro
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Location in the U.S. state of Kentucky |
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Kentucky's location in the U.S. |
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Founded | 1815 |
Named for | Joseph Hamilton Daveiss |
Seat | Owensboro |
Largest city | Owensboro |
Area | |
• Total | 477 sq mi (1,235 km2) |
• Land | 458 sq mi (1,186 km2) |
• Water | 18 sq mi (47 km2), 3.8% |
Population (est.) | |
• (2013) | 98,218 |
• Density | 198/sq mi (76/km²) |
Congressional district | 2nd |
Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
Website | www |
Daviess County (/ˈdeɪvᵻs/ or incorrectly /ˈdeɪviːz/), is a county in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2010 census, the population was 96,656. Its county seat is Owensboro, which was named for Colonel Abraham Owen, killed at the Battle of Tippecanoe. The county was formed from part of Ohio County on January 14, 1815.
Daviess County is included in the Owensboro, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area. Daviess County also shares its namesake with another nearby Daviess County of Indiana. Both Counties are in the Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky Tri-State Area.
Daviess County was established in 1815. The county is named for Major Joseph Hamilton Daveiss (a recording error in the State Clerk's office accounts for the error in spelling, which was never corrected), the United States Attorney who unsuccessfully prosecuted Aaron Burr. The county's borders were altered in 1829 to form Hancock County, in 1830 to absorb a small area surrounding Whitesville, in 1854 to cede land to McLean County, and in 1860 to annex 44 square miles (110 km2) from Henderson County.