HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) – Ohio County, Kentucky has connections to a famous bluegrass musician and an Impressionist painter.
Ohio County’s official website says the county was created December 17, 1798. The county website says the county was originally a part of Hardin County and was named for the Ohio River. The county seat is Hartford.
According to the Ohio County Historical Society, Bill Monroe, known as the Father of Bluegrass music, was born near Rosine and inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and International Bluegrass Music Association. The society says Ray Chapman, born in Beaver Dam, was a shortstop for the Cleveland Indians from 1912-1920, and is the only Major League Baseball player to be killed in a game. The Ohio County Historical Society says Charles Courtney Curran, born in Hartford, was an American Impressionist most well-known for his depictions of ladies in pastel colors, often in outdoor settings.
According to the Ohio County Fiscal Court, the county was once big in coal and farming, and the county still farms, but now the county has diversified into manufacturing. As a result, the county’s main industry is now manufacturing. The Ohio County Fiscal Court says the biggest companies in the county include poultry processor Perdue Farms, Young Manufacturing Company, Inc., Dunaway Timber Co. and Kimball Furniture Group Inc.
According to the United States Census Bureau, as of the 2020 census, the population of Ohio County was 23,772.
This is the ninteenth of a weekly twenty-one-part series that will help educate about each of the counties in the Eyewitness News viewing area. Check in every Tuesday at 9 a.m. for the next one! Last week’s story can be found here.
