Caldwell County, Kentucky

Caldwell County Education, Geography, and History

Caldwell County is a county located in the state of Kentucky. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 12,984.  The county was created in 1809. The county seat is Princeton.  Caldwell county is named for John Caldwell, who participated in the George Rogers Clark Indian Campaign of 1786 and was the second lieutenant governor of Kentucky.

Etymology - Origin of Caldwell County Name

General John Caldwell (1757-1804), participated in the George Rogers Clark Indian Campaign of 1786, was a Kentucky Senator and Kentucky's 2nd Lieutenant Governor.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Caldwell County History

Caldwell County was formed from Livingston County in 1809. Prior to that, Caldwell County had been part of Christian, Logan, and Lincoln Counties - Lincoln County having been one of the three original counties of Kentucky.

In the early nineteenth-century, Caldwell County witnessed the passage of the forced migration of the Cherokee to the West on the Trail of Tears during Indian removal. The Cherokee camped for several weeks in Caldwell County during the winter of 1838, mainly at Big Springs, now in downtown Princeton; at Skin Frame Creek, and in the Centerville area near Fredonia.

It is located in the Pennyrile region of the state. The elevation in the county ranges from 339 to 767 feet above sea level. In 2000 the county population was 13,060 in a land area of 346.98 square miles, an average of 37.6 people per square mile. The county seat is Princeton. Caldwell was a prohibition or dry county until 2013, when the citizens voted to lift the ban.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 348 square miles (900 km²), of which 345 square miles (890 km²) is land and 3.4 square miles (8.8 km²) (1.0%) is water.

Caldwell county is located in west Kentucky.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Northeast: Webster County; Hopkins County
• Southeast: Christian County
• South: Trigg County
• Southwest: Lyon County
• Northwest: Crittenden County

Education

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