The county was formed in 1842, taken from Livingston County.
The county is named for John J. Crittenden, one of Kentucky's most famous U. S. Senators of all time (1848-60).
Marion was named for Gen. Francis Marion, the famous "Swamp Fox" of the Revolutionary War.
The area has an abundance of pioneer and Indian history.
The Chickasaw Road, part of the old Saline Trace used by Indians in pursuit of herds of buffalo, deer and elk, ran across the northern part of the county.
These large game animals crossed the Ohio River here to the salt licks in Illinois. The trail crossing here became an important route of migration and commerce when Flynn's Ferry was established on the site in 1803.
The county's mining history goes back to around 1815, when Andrew Jackson organized a prospecting venture to hunt for silver ore in the area.
Small quantities of silver were found in the lead sulfide, too small for the cost of mining so Jackson disposed of the large tracts of land he had acquired.
Many years later Andrew Jackson Jr. built one of the first iron furnaces in the area, near Hurricane church off of Hwy 135.
Near Dycusburg are the ruins of another pioneer iron furnace, the last of several iron works operated by the Cobb and Lyon families who came to the area when Jackson told them about the ore deposits.
The history of these furnaces parallels that of the other early iron-making ventures in Kentucky, which lasted from around 1792 to 1865.
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