2000 Population:
15,637 County Seat: Morganfield
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History from
Collins' History of Kentucky, 1877
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Union county, the 55th formed in the
state, was taken entirely from the W. part of Henderson county, in 1811,
and thus described: Beginning at the upper point of the Eighteen-mile island
(formerly called Elk island, and in 1840 known to boatmen as Slim island),
on the Ohio river; thence a straight line to Highland creek, one mile above
Higgins' mill (measured along the meanders of the creek); thence up the
said creek to the White-lick fork thereof; thence a direct and straight
line, by "Harpe's Head," to the line of Hopkins county; thence, with that
line, to Tradewater river; thence down the same to the Ohio river, and
up the Ohio to the beginning. The origin of the name is in doubt; but the
generally received opinion is that it was so named because of the hearty
unanimity with which the people assented to the proposed division of the
old county. Thus, it is bounded N., N.W., and W. by the Ohio river, for
41 miles; N.E. by Henderson county; S. E. by Webster; an S.W. by Crittenden
county; and embraces about 316 square miles of territory. Shawneetown,
Illinois, and the mouths of the Wabash an Saline rivers, are all opposite
this county. The face of the country is level, undulating, and in some
parts hilly. The soil is good. Corn and tobacco are the staple products,
but all other crops usual in the state are cultivated, and horses, mules,
cattle, sheep, and hogs exported. |
