Lone Oak is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and former city in McCracken County,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, United States. The population was 454 at the 2000 census, the last before its disincorporation. It is a part of the

Paducah Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky. The largest city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Miss ...

, KY- IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The area was named "Pepper's Mill" in 1875 after Dr. W.T. Pepper, an early resident of the area, who constructed a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

near the intersection of Lovelaceville Road and what is now US Highway 45. After "Pepper's Mill" was declined as a post office name in 1900, the name "Lone Oak" was chosen due to the large oak tree that stood at the intersection. The tree was cut down for a Christmas bonfire in 1903. A historical marker now sits on the site where the tree once stood. On November 4, 2008, the citizens of Lone Oak voted 75–64 to dissolve the city. The area is still referred to as the community of Lone Oak, but all government jobs, including the mayor, city council, and police, were eliminated when the city was dissolved. The measure went into effect 30 days after the date of the vote.

Geography

Lone Oak is located at (37.036165, -88.666131). The area of the former city is split between the

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

s of Hendron to the east and Massac to the west, with

U.S. Route 45 U.S. Route 45 (US 45) is a major north-south United States highway and a border-to-border route, from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. A sign at the highway's northern terminus notes the total distance as . US 45 is notable for incorporatin ...

(Lone Oak Road) serving as the boundary. The Paducah city limits touch what had been the northeast corner of Lone Oak. Downtown Paducah is to the northeast and Mayfield is to the south via US 45. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city of Lone Oak had a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 454 people, 220 households, and 128 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 250 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.83%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 1.76%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.22%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 2.64% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.54% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 4.19% of the population. There were 220 households, out of which 22.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.8% were non-families. 38.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.06 and the average family size was 2.68. The age distribution was 17.4% under the age of 18, 12.1% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $31,250, and the median income for a family was $35,938. Males had a median income of $30,417 versus $19,833 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $17,512. About 10.6% of families and 15.3% 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 t ...

, including 20.4% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Former municipalities in Kentucky Unincorporated communities in McCracken County, Kentucky Populated places established in 1979 Populated places disestablished in 2008 Paducah micropolitan area Unincorporated communities in Kentucky