TOWNS
Boone County Administrative Offices and Courthouse are located at 2950 Washington Street, Burlington, KY 41005; phone: 859-334-2220.
Beginnings [1]
Boone County was established in 1798 and inhabited by 1,500 persons. From the early 1800's until the 1850's Boone County experienced relatively steady population growth. This population growth was related to the County's position on the Ohio River and the dominant form of travel at the time, the steamboat. The steamboat era resulted in the growth and prosperity of Boone County's river towns, such as Belleview, Petersburg, and Taylorsport. The inland crossroad towns of Burlington, Florence, Walton, Union, and Verona were dominated by farming activities and the harvesting of hardwood forests.
In the mid to late 1800's, Boone County's population growth began to stagnate and experience losses. The dominant form of travel was shifting from the steamboat to the locomotive. The rail lines that traversed Boone County only passed through Florence, Walton, and Verona. Accordingly those areas and towns that were served by the railroads prospered and gained population, while the unserved areas stagnated and lost population.
The 1940's marked the beginning of the automobile era, and Boone County subsequently reversed its decline in population into positive population growth. Boone County's population has increased dramatically since the early 1960's due in large part to the readily available transportation access provided by the interstates and related roadways, as well as from the airport. Unincorporated Boone County has experienced the greatest population growth, while the City of Florence is the Boone County city that has experienced the greatest level of population growth. Most of this growth is due to in-migration rather than natural population growth.