Rowan County, Kentucky

Rowan County
County
Rowan County Arts Center (formerly Rowan County Courthouse) in Morehead
Location within the U.S. state of Kentucky
Kentucky's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 38°11′N 83°25′W / 38.19°N 83.42°W / 38.19; -83.42
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
Founded	1856
Named for	John Rowan
Seat	Morehead
Largest city	Morehead
Area
• Total	286 sq mi (740 km2)
• Land	280 sq mi (700 km2)
• Water	6.5 sq mi (17 km2)  2.3%
Population  (2020)
• Total	24,662
• Estimate  (2023)	24,409
• Density	86/sq mi (33/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	5th
Website	www.moreheadrowan.org /rowancounty

Rowan County (/raʊn/, /ˈroʊ.ɪn/) is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Kentucky, in the Eastern Kentucky Coalfield region. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,662.^[1] Its county seat is Morehead.^[2]

The county was created in 1856 from parts of Fleming and Morgan counties, and named after John Rowan, who represented Kentucky in the House of Representatives and the Senate.^[3]

With regard to the sale of alcohol, it is classified as a moist county in which alcohol sales are prohibited, but unlike a dry county, it contains a "wet" city, Morehead, where packaged alcohol sales are allowed.^[4]