Editing Rowan County, Kentucky (section)

==History==
[[File:Moreheadky1890.jpg|thumb|left|235px|The town of Morehead in 1890]]
It is believed that Rowan County was first explored by those of European descent in 1773 by a party of surveyors from Pennsylvania. The first settlement was established in [[Farmers, Kentucky|Farmers]], a town 10 miles west of Morehead. Its population rapidly increased due its fertile farming land and proximity to water sources. Additional settlers came to Rowan County from [[Virginia]] in the late 18th century after being awarded land grants at the end of the [[American Revolutionary War]]. [[Clearfield, Kentucky|Clearfield]] was the second settlement established in the county, being colonized by a Virginia aristocrat named Dixon Clack in the early 1800s. It accommodated the first sawmill in the county.<ref name="farmers">{{Cite web |date=February 2, 1977 |title=Farmers Once Industrial Center of Rowan County |url=http://www.kentuckystewarts.com/RowanCounty/RowanCountyHistory.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150227053423/http://www.kentuckystewarts.com/RowanCounty/RowanCountyHistory.htm |archive-date=February 27, 2015 |access-date=February 26, 2015 |publisher=The Morehead News}}</ref>

In 1854, Morehead became the third community to be settled in the area. Colonel John Hargis founded the city after purchasing land in the county, naming it after governor [[James Turner Morehead (Kentucky politician)|James Morehead]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pearce |first=John Ed |title=Days of Darkness: The Feuds of Eastern Kentucky |publisher=The University Press of Kentucky |year=2010 |isbn=978-0813126579}}</ref> Rowan County came into existence in May 1856, seceding from [[Morgan County, Kentucky|Morgan County]] and [[Fleming County, Kentucky|Fleming County]]. It was divided into four districts with Morehead being declared the county seat.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 30, 1936 |title=Early history of Rowan County as taken from the records of the first established {{as written|wome|ns [sic]}} club here |url=http://www.kentuckystewarts.com/RowanCounty/RowanCountyHistory.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150227053423/http://www.kentuckystewarts.com/RowanCounty/RowanCountyHistory.htm |archive-date=February 27, 2015 |access-date=February 26, 2015 |publisher=The Rowan County News}}</ref> In 1896, a tax was levied on Morehead, sourcing it with the revenue needed to construct hard surface roads. The road system was extended to Farmers by 1920.<ref name="farmers" /> In 1961, [[Rowan County Senior High School]] was built.

In summer 2015, Rowan County attracted national attention when County Clerk [[Kim Davis]] refused, on grounds of religion, to follow a court order requiring her to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 1, 2015 |title=Kentucky Clerk Denies Same-Sex Marriage Licenses, Defying Court |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/02/us/same-sex-marriage-kentucky-kim-davis.html?_r=0 |access-date=September 1, 2015 |work=New York Times}}</ref>