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Office: McLean County Emergency Management – Calhoun, KY 42327 | Director Terry Dossett
Sheriff: McLean County Sheriff’s Office – 210 Main St, Calhoun, KY 42327 | (270) 273-3276 or (270) 684-7777 | Office Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-4:30 PM
Dispatch: McLean County 911 Center – (270) 273-3551, serving the county since 2019.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: KY-81 serves Calhoun, the county seat, on the north bank of the Green River – the longest river entirely within Kentucky; the Army Corps of Engineers’ Lock and Dam #2 is located there. Livermore, the county’s largest city, sits at the confluence of the Green and Rough Rivers.
Notes: McLean County is part of the Owensboro metropolitan area, about 21 miles south of Owensboro via KY-81.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: McLean County Planning and Zoning Commission – confirm current phone via mcleancounty.ky.gov; building permit applications available online.
Notes: McLean County, formed February 6, 1854 from portions of Daviess, Ohio, and Muhlenberg Counties, is named for Judge Alney McLean, founder of Greenville, Kentucky. McLean County is a genuine dry (prohibition) county under Kentucky law. Calhoun, originally settled as “Rhoadsville” in 1784-85 near the Long Falls of the Green River, was later known as “Fort Vienna” and “Vienna Station” before taking the name Calhoun (spelled “Calhoon” in its original 1849 post office designation) – one of the more unusual town-naming histories in the state.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: McLean County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via mcleancounty.ky.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Livermore Public Library – 116 East 2nd Street, Livermore, KY 42352, (270) 278-9184
Services: Housed in a circa-1880 building individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places; holds a large children’s collection alongside local genealogy, Kentucky history, and Civil War resources, plus an art gallery of original local artwork.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: McLean County’s identity is genuinely tied to Green River Valley coal mining and river commerce history, documented at the McLean County History Museum & Regional Family Research Center (540 Main Street, Calhoun) and a companion museum in Livermore. The 1956 rebuilding of Lock and Dam Number Two at Calhoun was celebrated with what local newspapers called “the biggest river celebration in Kentucky history,” drawing roughly 7,000 people, including Governor Albert B. Chandler. The area was historically home to numerous coal camps supplying the Green River Valley coal trade
Notes: McLean County’s Green River coal and river-commerce heritage, anchored by the historic 1956 Lock and Dam Number Two celebration at Calhoun, is a genuine and well-documented piece of local economic history.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: McLean County Property Valuation Administrator (PVA) – confirm current contact via mcleancounty.ky.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: McLean County Animal Shelter – 86 Sanitation Lane, Calhoun, KY 42327 | Shelter (270) 499-4449 | Animal Control (270) 499-2556 | Hours: Mon-Thu 9 AM-2 PM, Fri closed, Sat 8 AM-12 PM, Sun closed
Services: County-operated animal control and shelter serving Calhoun, Livermore, Sacramento, Island, Beech Grove, and Rumsey; a small facility that cannot hold animals long-term due to space/budget constraints, so it works closely with rescue partners; adoption fees include spay/neuter and rabies vaccination. Friends of the McLean County KY Animal Shelter, a volunteer group, helps promote adoptable animals.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: McLean County Transfer Site – 1508 Hwy 136, Calhoun, KY 42327 | (270) 273-5028 or (270) 273-5307 | Hours: Mon-Fri 7 AM-3:30 PM, Sat 7 AM-12 PM
Services: Recycling accepted (cardboard, paper, plastic); rotating monthly recycle trailer schedule serving Beech Grove, Sacramento, Island, and Livermore.
NOTES
McLean County’s Green River coal and river-commerce heritage, anchored by the historic 1956 Lock and Dam Number Two celebration at Calhoun, is a genuine and well-documented piece of local economic history, and the county’s status as a dry county under Kentucky law is a distinctive local fact. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of mid-August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About McLean County County
McLean County is western Kentucky’s Green River and coal-to-agriculture transition county – the Green River’s bottomland corridor and the shift from coal mining to agricultural economy define a small Pennyrile Region community where Calhoun’s courthouse serves the surrounding farming communities in the rolling hills between Owensboro and Madisonville.
Calhoun (the county seat, population ~800) is McLean County’s governmental hub on the Green River, a small western Kentucky river community on US 431 serving the county’s agricultural and former coal communities in the Pennyrile Region.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
McLean County Property Valuation Administrator at 210 Main Street, Calhoun, KY 42327, phone 270-273-3291. KY assessed at 100% fair cash value.
Courts & Legal
McLean County Circuit Court at 210 Main Street, Calhoun, KY 42327, phone 270-273-5291, 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)
210 Main St., Calhoun, KY 42327
(270) 273-3082
CIRCUIT COURT CLERK (Court Records)
210 Main St., Calhoun, KY 42327
(270) 273-5004
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
210 Main St., Calhoun, KY 42327
(270) 273-3082
Genealogy
County-level record sources
McLean County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated McLean 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
McLean County District Court Courthouse Annex, 210 East Main Street, P.O. Box 145, Calhoun, KY 42327 (270) 273-3966
McLean County was founded 1854, named for Judge Alney McLean. Its seat is Calhoun; its largest city is Livermore.
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
210 Main St., Calhoun, KY 42327
(270) 273-3337
SHERIFF / TAX COLLECTOR
210 Main St., Calhoun, KY 42327
(270) 273-3337
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections, Marriage Licenses)
210 Main St., Calhoun, KY 42327
(270) 273-3082
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
210 Main St., Calhoun, KY 42327
(270) 273-3082
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: McLean County Health Department – confirm current contact via mcleancounty.ky.gov.
Hospital: Confirm current nearest hospital via mcleancounty.ky.gov; residents commonly access care in Owensboro.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Calhoun
Population: 9,400
Area: 260 sq mi
Established: 1854
Public Records
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