Daviess County, Kentucky: History
Daviess County was established in 1815. The county is named for Major Joseph Hamilton Daveiss (a recording error in the State Clerk's office accounts for the error in spelling, which was never corrected), the United States Attorney who unsuccessfully prosecuted Aaron Burr. The county's borders were altered in 1829 to form Hancock County, in 1830 to absorb a small area surrounding Whitesville, in 1854 to cede land to McLean County, and finally in 1860 to annex 44 square miles (110 km2) from Henderson County.
The courthouse was burned in January 1865 during the American Civil War, but the county records were spared destruction because they had been transferred to a church.