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Office: Bracken County Emergency Management – 207 Madison St, P.O. Box 246, Brooksville, KY 41004 | (606) 301-1290 | Email: [email protected]. Residents can sign up for Smart911 alerts by calling the same number.
Sheriff: Bracken County Sheriff’s Office – 116 W Miami Street, Brooksville, KY 41004 (P.O. Box 186) | (606) 735-3233; Sheriff Robert Boody III.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. Bracken County Dispatch: (606) 735-2700.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: KY-8 and KY-19 serve Brooksville, the county seat, in Kentucky’s far northeast, along the Ohio River; Augusta is the county’s largest city and best-known community.
Notes: Bracken County, organized in 1796 as Kentucky’s 23rd county from parts of Mason and Campbell counties, is named for the Big and Little Bracken creeks, themselves named for 18th-century explorer William Bracken.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Bracken County Courthouse – Brooksville, KY.
Notes: Augusta, on the Ohio River, is genuinely the hometown of the Clooney entertainment family – actress and singer Rosemary Clooney lived at 106 East Riverside Drive for more than 20 years (now the Rosemary Clooney Museum, housing over 700 pieces of Hollywood costume history), while her brother, journalist Nick Clooney, and his wife Nina raised their son George Clooney in Augusta, where he graduated from Augusta High School. Augusta is also home to the Augusta Ferry (the “Jenny Ann”), which has operated across the Ohio River since 1798, making it one of the oldest continuously operating ferry services on the river. The 1811 Augusta Jail, still standing on the town square, is believed to be the oldest jail in Kentucky, and Baker-Bird Winery holds the oldest wine cellar in the country, the only one to have survived a Civil War battle. Augusta native Heather French Henry was crowned Miss America 2000, the only Kentuckian to hold the title.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Bracken County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via brackencounty.ky.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Bracken County Public Library (Brooksville) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Rosemary Clooney Museum, the historic Augusta Ferry, the 1811 Augusta Jail, Baker-Bird Winery & Distillery, and the Bracken Creek Horse and Hiking Trails (20 miles) are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine Clooney family heritage and one of the Ohio River’s oldest ferry crossings are among the most distinctive cultural facts covered in this project.
Bracken County Animal Shelter – 188 Hamilton Rd, Brooksville, KY 41004 | (606) 735-3475 | Email: [email protected]. ⚠️ A small rural shelter that houses dogs only (no cat intake, due to facility limitations); $40 adoption fee; five-day stray hold before dogs become available for adoption. Hours: Mon-Fri 9 AM-2 PM (or per some listings, limited weekday windows) – confirm current hours before visiting.
Bracken County Animals in Need (BCAIN) – a 501(c)(3) support nonprofit operating the Animal Allies thrift store at 115 Locust Street, Brooksville, benefiting the shelter.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Bracken County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via brackencounty.ky.gov.
NOTES: Bracken County is the fifth county in Kentucky’s second batch under the Round 3 A+ sourced standard. The genuine Clooney family heritage and one of the Ohio River’s oldest ferry crossings are among the most distinctive cultural facts covered in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Bracken County County
Bracken County is northern Kentucky’s Augusta riverfront and burley tobacco county – the intact 19th-century Ohio River town with its working ferry and Augusta’s remarkably preserved streetscape define a small northern Kentucky county where tobacco farming heritage and river heritage coexist in a quiet agricultural landscape above the Ohio.
Brooksville (the county seat, population ~600) is Bracken County’s governmental hub, a small northern Kentucky agricultural community on KY-19 serving the county’s farming communities while Augusta on the Ohio River holds the county’s most distinctive heritage assets.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Bracken County Property Valuation Administrator at 116 W. Miami Street, Brooksville, KY 41004, phone 606-735-2228. KY assessed at 100% fair cash value.
Courts & Legal
Bracken County Circuit Court at 116 W. Miami Street, Brooksville, KY 41004, phone 606-735-2228, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections, Marriage Licenses)
116 W. Miami St., Brooksville, KY 41004
(606) 735-2952
CIRCUIT COURT CLERK (Court Records)
116 W. Miami St., Brooksville, KY 41004
(606) 735-3400
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
116 W. Miami St., Brooksville, KY 41004
(606) 735-2952
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Bracken County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Bracken County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Bracken County District Court Bracken County Judicial Center, 132 West Miami Street, P.O. Box 205, Brooksville, KY 41004 (606) 735-3328
Bracken County was founded 1796, named for William Bracken. Its seat, Brooksville, differs from its largest city, Augusta.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Kentucky has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code; probate is governed by KRS Chapter 395 (Administration of Estates), handled by the District Court in the county where the decedent resided (KRS 24A.120).
Dispensing with Administration – Kentucky’s simplified small-estate procedure, governed by KRS 395.450, 395.455, and 395.470. Available when the value of the personal estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $30,000, and the petitioner is a surviving spouse, adult child, or other qualifying heir/preferred creditor. The petitioner files a Petition to Dispense with Administration (Form AOC-830) with an affidavit listing assets, debts, and proposed distribution – no personal representative or full administration is required. Real estate is generally not covered by this procedure.
Regular (Full) Administration – for larger or more complex estates, the District Court appoints a personal representative (executor if named in a will, administrator if intestate), who gathers assets, pays debts, and distributes what remains under court oversight.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File a Petition for Probate of Will and Appointment of Executor/Administrator (Form AOC-805) with the District Court in the county of residence.
If there’s a will, the court admits it to probate; it is then recorded with the county clerk (KRS 394.140).
The personal representative files an Inventory and Appraisement (Form AOC-841) of estate assets.
Notice to creditors is published; creditors generally have 6 months from appointment to file claims.
The personal representative pays valid debts, taxes, and expenses.
A Settlement of Estate (Form AOC-846) is filed, and the court closes the estate upon approval.
What it costs
Filing fees and publication costs are collected by the clerk and vary somewhat by county.
Kentucky does not require an attorney for probate, though it is commonly recommended, especially for formal administration.
Typical timelines: full probate generally takes 6-12 months; the creditor claims period is 6 months. Dispensing with Administration can move significantly faster once the estate qualifies.
Before distribution, a surviving spouse may petition for release of up to $2,500 from the estate as an exempt charge against estate property.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
116 W. Miami St., Brooksville, KY 41004
(606) 735-3195
SHERIFF / TAX COLLECTOR
116 W. Miami St., Brooksville, KY 41004
(606) 735-3195
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections, Marriage Licenses)
116 W. Miami St., Brooksville, KY 41004
(606) 735-2952
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
116 W. Miami St., Brooksville, KY 41004
(606) 735-2952
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Bracken County Health Dept
(606) 735-3444
KY CHFS — Northern KY Region
(859) 344-7900
KY Medicaid
(855) 306-8959
St. Elizabeth Healthcare (Edgewood)
stelizabeth.com (primary regional hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Bracken County Health Department – confirm current contact via chfs.ky.gov local health department directory.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Brooksville
Population: 8,400
Area: 204 sq mi
Established: 1796
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