Native Americans had once inhabited a large late historic village in Petersburg that contained "at least two periods of habitation dating to 1150 A.D. and 1400 A.D." In 1729 an unknown Frenchman sketched an area on his chart at what is now Big Bone Lick State Park with a note that it was "where they found the bones of an elephant." Another Frenchman, Charles le Moyne de Longueuil, would later be credited with being the first to investigate the Big Bone Lick area. In 1789, 10-year-old John Tanner was captured by Shawnee Indians across from the mouth of the Great Miami River, while his Baptist minister father, brother, and their slaves were planting corn. Boone County was created in 1798, and named after Daniel Boone.
On January 28, 1856, Robert and a pregnant Margaret "Peggy" Garner, together with family members, escaped and fled to Cincinnati, Ohio, along with several other slave families. Seventeen people were reported to have been in their party. In the coldest winter in 60 years, the Ohio River had frozen. The group crossed the ice just west of Covington, Kentucky at daybreak, and escaped to Cincinnati, then divided to avoid detection. They set out for Joseph Kite's house in Cincinnati. Margaret Garner would become famous for slitting her own daughter's throat to prevent her from going back into slavery when Archibald K. Gaines and his posse, along with Federal Marshals, caught up to the fleeing slaves at Joseph Kite's house. Margaret Garner was first owned by, and may have been the daughter of, the plantation ownerJohn Pollard Gaines himself. In December 1849, the plantation was along with all the slaves to John P. Gaines' younger brother, Archibald K. Gaines. The Gaines family lived on a farm called Maplewood in Boone County, Kentucky, just west of Richwood Presbyterian Church, of which Archibald K. Gaines was a. 3 of Margaret Garner's children, including Mary, the daughter whose throat Margaret Garner slashed, were likely the children of Archibald K. Gaines, the only adult white male at Maplewood. The timing suggests they were each conceived after his wife had become pregnant and was unavailable to him. Margaret Garner's story was the inspiration for the novel Beloved by Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison, as well as for her libretto for the early 21st century opera Margaret Garner, composed by Richard Danielpour.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. Its location along the Ohio River was key to its early development, as the river was the major transportation route.
As of the census of 2000, there were 85,991 people, 31,258 households, and 23,443 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 33,351 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 95.15% White, 1.52% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 1.29% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.75% from other races, and 1.03% from two or more races. 1.98% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 31,258 households out of which 39.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.60% were married couplesliving together, 9.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.00% were non-families. 20.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.17. In the county, the population was spread out with 28.70% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 33.50% from 25 to 44, 21.30% from 45 to 64, and 8.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 97.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $53,593, and the median income for a family was $61,114. Males had a median income of $42,105 versus $27,414 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,535. About 4.40% of families and 5.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.40% of those under age 18 and 7.70% of those age 65 or over.
