Grayson is a home rule-class city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Carter County, Kentucky, United States, on U.S. Route 60 and

Interstate 64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at Interstate 70, I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and U.S. Route 61, US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern ter ...

in the state's northeastern region. It is approximately 21 miles west of Ashland. Within the city limits, the population was 4,217 at the 2010 census. Along with Carter County, the city is closely associated with the nearby Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area and is often erroneously included in the MSA being just 9 miles west of the MSA's western boundary. The city has grown in size substantially since the opening of

in 1975 through Carter County. Immediately afterwards, Grayson experienced several years of commercial sector growth, mainly to serve the Interstate 64 traffic. Since 1990, the city has also seen significant growth in the residential sector with the Interstate making for a faster trip to and from Ashland. Beginning in 1995,

AA Highway The AA Highway is a State highway (US), state highway maintained by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The mainline route parallels the Ohio River from Interstate 275 (Ohio–Indiana–Kentucky), Interstate ...

terminates in Grayson making the city a gateway to the Huntington-Ashland urban area.

History

After the Revolutionary War,

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

's '' aide-de-camp'' Col.

William Grayson William Grayson (1742 – March 12, 1790) was a planter, lawyer and statesman from Virginia. After leading a Virginia regiment in the Continental Army, Grayson served in the Virginia House of Delegates before becoming one of the first two U ...

received a tract of land for his service during the war from the state of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. Retrieved on 9 October 2010. By 1838, a small portion of this tract was set aside for the development of a town named for him. Although Grayson had only five streets and eighty lots, it was established by the General Assembly on February 6, 1844, and it was incorporated on February 22, 1860. Grayson, Kentucky was a stop on the

Eastern Kentucky Railway The Eastern Kentucky Railway was a railroad in northeastern Kentucky, United States. It served mainly mine traffic, running north from Webbville, Kentucky, Webbville through Grayson, Kentucky, Grayson to Riverton, Kentucky, Riverton (now part of ...

Geography

Grayson is located in east-central Carter County along the Little Sandy River, a tributary of the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

. Route 60 passes through the city as Main Street and is intersected in downtown by Kentucky Routes 1 and 7 (Carol Malone Boulevard).

runs through the northern end of the city, with access to KY 7 at Exit 172. Kentucky Route 9, the AA Highway, begins from KY 1-and-7 just north of the city limits and runs to the

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

area.

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell County, West Virginia, Cabell and Wayne County, West Virginia, Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The County seat, seat of Cabell County, the city is located at the confluence of the Ohio River, O ...

, is east of Grayson via I-64, and Lexington is to the west. 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 ...

, Grayson has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.95%, is water.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Grayson has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. Since 2002, nine different severe storms have struck Grayson, with each storm causing enough damage to warrant federal assistance for disaster recovery.

Education

Grayson is served by Carter County Schools. Schools located within the city include: *Heritage Elementary School *Prichard Elementary School *East Carter Middle School *East Carter High School The campus of Kentucky Christian University (formerly Kentucky Christian College) is located in Grayson. Grayson has a lending library, a branch of the Carter County Public Library.

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 3,877 people, 1,415 households, and 938 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,538 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.32%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.52%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.39% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.18% from other races, and 0.28% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.77% of the population. There were 1,415 households, out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.9% 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, 16.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.86. In the city the population was spread out, with 21.9% under the age of 18, 19.0% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 18.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $19,683, and the median income for a family was $26,280. Males had a median income of $32,022 versus $18,875 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 $11,879. About 27.7% of families and 31.4% 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 44.8% of those under age 18 and 22.3% of those age 65 or over.

Notable residents

* Charlie Borders, former Kentucky State Senator * Montana Fouts, All American softball pitcher for

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

* Jason Smith, chef, TV personality * Robin L. Webb, Kentucky State Senator and former Kentucky State Representative * Jill York, former member of the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a ...

References

External links

City website
{{authority control Populated places established in 1844 Cities in Carter County, Kentucky County seats in Kentucky Cities in Kentucky