McCreary County
McCreary County, McCreary County, Kentucky
Marker Inscription
McCreary County, 1912. Taken from parts of Pulaski, Wayne, and Whitley counties, it was the last formed of Kentucky's 120 counties. Named for James B. McCreary, 1838-1918. Lawyer, Col., 11th Ky. Cavalry, CSA. State legislature, 1869-75. Twice governor of Kentucky, 1875-79 and 1911-15. Delegate to International Monetary Convention, Brussels, 1892. US Congressman, 1885-97, 1903-09.
Erected by Kentucky Historical Society
The Story
Established in 1912 from parts of Pulaski, Wayne, and Whitley counties, McCreary County was the last of Kentucky's 120 counties. It took its name from James B. McCreary—a Confederate cavalry colonel who became a lawyer, twice governor of Kentucky, and a long-serving congressman between the 1860s and the early twentieth century.
Why it matters
Its late creation and namesake trace Kentucky's arc from Civil War service through decades of Gilded Age and Progressive-era politics.
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Related people
- · James B. McCreary
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
"Aunt Julia" Marcum
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Scott's Raid
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