Menifee County was formed on May 29, 1869, from portions of Bath, Montgomery, Morgan, Powell, and Wolfe counties. In the 2008 Presidential Election Menifee County was one of eight in the state of Kentucky where the majority of voters voted for Barack Obama. On March 2, 2012 an EF3 tornado hit Menifee county and several other surrounding counties. Many were injured, and three were killed.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. Menifee County is mountainous and heavily forested. Much of the land is within Daniel Boone National Forest. Only about 10% of the county's land is in cultivated farms, and the county ranks 102nd of Kentucky's 120 counties in agricultural revenue.
Menifee County is home to the Menifee Community Theatre Group, a small-town local and regional arts organization that has produced 17 theatrical productions to date. The group has over 40 members and hosts an annual locally-written theatrical and film presentation, taking place at the Menifee Mountain Memories Festival and centering on local and Appalachian stories collected from local citizens.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,556 people, 2,537 households, and 1,900 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 3,710 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 97.64% White, 1.37% Black or African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.03% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.14% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. 1.11% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 2,537 households out of which 32.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.40% were married couplesliving together, 8.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.10% were non-families. 22.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.88. In the county, the population was spread out with 24.90% under the age of 18, 10.10% from 18 to 24, 28.10% from 25 to 44, 25.20% from 45 to 64, and 11.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $22,064, and the median income for a family was $26,325. Males had a median income of $25,670 versus $17,014 for females. The per capita income for the county was $11,399. About 23.40% of families and 29.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.50% of those under age 18 and 23.40% of those age 65 or over.
Politics
The county has historically been Democratic-dominated, voting for the Democratic nominee in every election from 1912 to 2008, with the only exceptions being Herbert Hoover in 1928 and George W. Bush in 2000. Like almost all the rest of Kentucky, however, it has seen dramatic shifts to the Republican Party in the past couple of elections.
