Bell County, Kentucky

Bell County
Bell County
County
	Bell County Courthouse in Pineville
	Flag
	Location within the U.S. state of Kentucky
	Kentucky's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 36°44′N 83°40′W / 36.74°N 83.67°W
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
Founded	February 5, 1867
Named for	Joshua Fry Bell
Seat	Pineville
Largest city	Middlesboro
Area
• Total	361 sq mi (930 km2)
• Land	359 sq mi (930 km2)
• Water	2.1 sq mi (5 km2) 0.6%
Population (2020)
• Total	24,097
• Estimate (2023)	23,317
• Density	67/sq mi (26/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	5th
Website	bellcounty.ky.gov/default.htm

Bell County is a county located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,097.^[2] Its county seat is Pineville and its largest city is Middlesboro.^[3] The county was formed in 1867, during the Reconstruction era from parts of Knox and Harlan counties^[4] and augmented from Knox County in 1872.^[5] The county is named for Joshua Fry Bell, a US Representative. It was originally called "Josh Bell", but on January 31, 1873, the Kentucky legislature shortened the name to "Bell",^[5]^[1]

^ ^a ^b Bell County About Us
^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on July 4, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
^ "Bell County, Kentucky" Genealogy Inc. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
^ ^a ^b Census Office. Tenth Census of the United States (1880) I:62.

[about-1] Bell County About Us

[QF-2] "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 28, 2022.

[3] "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on July 4, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2011.

[4] "Bell County, Kentucky" Genealogy Inc. Retrieved July 6, 2010.

[CO-5] Census Office. Tenth Census of the United States (1880) I:62.

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