Magoffin County, Kentucky: History
The area now encompassed by Kentucky's Magoffin County was first bounded in 1772, when all of what is now the state of Kentucky was in the frontier county of Fincastle County, Virginia. Fincastle was divided in 1776, with the western portion named Kentucky County, Virginia. In 1780, the Virginia legislature set aside all land in Kentucky County for soldiers who had served in the Revolutionary War. In 1780, Kentucky County was divided into three counties: Jefferson, Fayette, and Lincoln. Fayette County was divided in 1785, with part becoming Bourbon County. In 1792, the southern part of Bourbon County was partitioned off to form Clark County The area was further divided in 1796 to form Montgomery County, with Fleming County being partitioned from the area in 1798. In 1800, Floyd County was created from portions of Fleming, Mason, and Montgomery Counties. In 1843, Johnson County was carved out of the previous Bath County area, which was created in 1811 from Montgomery County, and which lost a portion of its territory in 1843 for the creation of Johnson County.
In 1860, the Kentucky Legislature partitioned parts of Johnson, Floyd, and Morgan Counties, to create Magoffin County. Its boundaries have remained unchanged since that time.
During the Civil War, Magoffin County had a unionist majority existing in the area, albeit with highly divided sentiment. While about 123 men enlisted in the Confederate Army, roughly 308 men served in the Union Army.
According to sworn testimony accepted by the U.S. House of Representatives, more than 100 former Confederate soldiers voted in Magoffin County in the 1867 election for John D. Young over Samuel McKee.
As the late 19th century progressed, Magoffin County became a leading supplier in oil and gas production in the area, with some of the first oil wells in Eastern Kentucky being built in the county.