Bell County
Sign in to savecounty in Kentucky, United States
Key facts
- Country
- United States
- State
- Kentucky
- Founded
- February 5, 1867
- Named after
- Joshua Fry Bell
- Seat
- Pineville
- Largest city
- Middlesboro
- Judge executive
- Albey Brock (R)
- Total
- 361 sq mi (930 km )
- Land
- 359 sq mi (930 km )
- Water
- 2.1 sq mi (5.4 km ) 0.6%
- Estimate 2025
- 22,829
- Density
- 67.1/sq mi (25.9/km )
- Time zone
- UTC−5 ( Eastern )
- Summer dst
- UTC−4 ( EDT )
- Congressional district
- 5th
- Website
- bellcounty .ky .gov
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
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. Its county seat is Pineville and its largest city is Middlesboro. The county was formed in 1867, during the Reconstruction era from parts of Knox and Harlan counties and augmented from Knox County in 1872. The county is named for Joshua Fry Bell, a U.S. Representative. It was originally called "Josh Bell County", but on January 31, 1873, the Kentucky legislature shortened the name to "Bell".
History