Sandy Hook is a home rule-class city beside the Little Sandy River in Elliott County,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, in the United States. The population was 675 at the 2010 census. Sandy Hook is the county seat of Elliott County, which is a

dry county In the United States, a dry county is a county whose local government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. The vast majority of counties n ...

. It is illegal to sell alcohol within the city. The Little Sandy Correctional Complex, a medium-security prison operated by the Kentucky Department of Corrections, is located northeast of Sandy Hook.

History

The head of navigation on the Little Sandy River was first settled in the 1820s. By the time of its establishment by the

state legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

in 1850, it was known as "Sandy Hook" for the fishhook-shaped bend in the river at that point. It was chosen as the

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of the newly established Elliott County over nearby

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in 1869, owing to a generous donation of land for public buildings by resident James Hunter. In 1872, the city was incorporated as "Martinsburg" in honor of

Congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

John P. Martin. The priority of another Martinsburg, Kentucky, meant that the post office (est. 1874) had to be named "Sandy Hook". The city resumed the name shortly afterRennick, Robert. ''Kentucky Place Names''. University Press of Kentucky (Lexington), 1987. and was reincorporated as "Sandy Hook" in 1888.

Geography

Sandy Hook is located near the center of Elliott County at the head of navigation on the Little Sandy River in eastern

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , all land.

Kentucky Route 7 Kentucky Route 7 (KY 7) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Route description Kentucky Route 7 begins at a junction with KY 15 at Jeff in Perry County. The route continues through the cities of Blackey in Letcher County, W ...

passes through the center of town, leading northeast to Grayson and southwest to West Liberty. Kentucky Route 32 leads east to Louisa and heads north out of Sandy Hook with KY 7, eventually leading northwest to Morehead.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 678 people, 292 households, and 167 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 332 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 99.26%

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, 0.15%

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, 0.15% Native American, and 0.44% from two or more races. There were 292 households, out of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 18.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.8% were non-families. 41.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.90. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.5% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 22.1% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 25.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 65.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 60.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $14,313, and the median income for a family was $21,071. Males had a median income of $40,417 versus $22,031 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $13,278. About 28.2% of families and 31.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 43.1% of those under age 18 and 26.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Sandy Hook has a

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, the Rocky J. Adkins Public Library.

Notable person

Sandy Hook is the hometown of late country music singer Keith Whitley. A statue of Whitley playing his guitar can be seen in the local cemetery, and a local street was renamed "Keith Whitley Boulevard."

References

{{authority control Cities in Elliott County, Kentucky Cities in Kentucky County seats in Kentucky Populated places established in 1850 1850 establishments in Kentucky