Leslie County in Kentucky was organized from parts of Clay, Harlan and Perry Counties in 1878 and is named for Preston H. Leslie who was governor of Kentucky from 1871 to 1875. It is located in the Eastern Coal Field region of the state. The elevation in the county ranges from 757 to 2600 feet above sea level. In 1990 the county population was 13,642 in a land area of 404 square miles. The county population on July 1, 1999, was 13,558, a decrease of 84 over the 1990 census . The county seat is Hyden. The Frontier Nursing Service has its headquarters in Wendover, just south of Hyden.

Hyden,Kentucky , the seat of Leslie county, was founded in 1878 and named for state Senator John Hyden (1814 - 1883), then state senator from Clay County and one of the commissioners appointed to establish Leslie County. The first settlers to live on the land at the mouth of Rockhouse Creek on the Middle Fork of the Kentucky River, where the town of Hyden is located, was the Sizemore family. John Sizemore, sold the land to the John Lewis Family. The land was later donated to the county and Hyden was founded there on the site of John Lewis' farm. Hyden is served by US 421, KY 80, and the Daniel Boone Parkway. The Hyden post office opened in 1879 with Leander Crawford as Postmaster.

Leslie County Vital Records Office Leslie County Clerk P.O. Box 916 Hyden, KY 41749 (606) 672-2193