Kuttawa is a home rule-class city in Lyon 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 ...

, in the United States. The population was 649 as of the 2010 census, up from 596 in 2000.

History

Former

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Charles Anderson founded the town on land he purchased in 1866. Originally spelled "Cuttawa" and "Kittawa", Kuttawa seems to have been the name of a

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, th ...

village near the site, whose meaning is a matter of dispute: it has been variously translated as "beautiful", "city in the woods", and "great wilderness". The city was formally incorporated by the

state assembly State Assembly is the name given to various legislatures, especially lower houses or full legislatures in states in federal systems of government. Channel Islands States Assembly is the name of the legislature of the Bailiwick of Jersey. The Bail ...

in 1872,Commonwealth of Kentucky. Office of the Secretary of State. Land Office. "Kuttawa, Kentucky". Accessed 1 August 2013. the same year it received its post office.Rennick, Robert. ''Kentucky Place Names''
p. 163
University Press of Kentucky (Lexington), 1987. Accessed 1 August 2013. In the early 1960s, the

Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolin ...

constructed a dam across the

Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...

at Grand Rivers, forming Lake Barkley. Eddyville and Kuttawa were both moved from their original locations owing to the impounded lake.

Geography

Kuttawa is located in north-central Lyon County at (37.058964, -88.113643). It is bordered to the east by Eddyville and to the south by Lake Barkley, an impoundment of the

, just upstream from

Barkley Dam Barkley Dam is a dam along the Cumberland River in Kentucky. Its construction along with Kentucky Dam formed the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area (LBLNRA) by stopping the flow of the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers, forming Lake Ba ...

. The city is concentrated primarily in an area adjacent to the western intersection of

U.S. Route 62 U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) runs from the Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canadian border. It is the only east-west United States Numbered Highway that connects Mexico and Can ...

and

Kentucky Route 295 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 Vir ...

, though its municipal boundaries extend southwestward along US 62 and Kentucky Route 810, northeastward to the intersection of US 62 and the merged

Interstate 24 Interstate 24 (I-24) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It runs diagonally from I-57, south of Marion, Illinois, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, at I-75. It travels through Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, ...

Interstate 69 Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of 10 unconnected segments with an original continuous segment from Indianapolis, Indiana, northeast to the Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan, ...

, and along KY 295 as it follows the lakeshore to its eastern intersection with US 62. The Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area lies along the lakeshore opposite Kuttawa.

Mineral Mound State Park Mineral Mound State Park is a park located on the shores of Lake Barkley in Lyon County, Kentucky, United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country pr ...

borders the city to the east. Both Barkley Dam and Kentucky Dam (the latter of which impounds the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other name ...

) are located southwest of Kuttawa. By highway, Kuttawa is east of

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 ...

, northwest of

Hopkinsville Hopkinsville is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Christian County, Kentucky, United States. The population at the 2010 census was 31,577. History Early years The area of present-day Hopkinsville was initially claimed in 179 ...

, and southwest of Madisonville. 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 th ...

, the city of Kuttawa has a total area of , of which are land and , or 27.40%, are water.

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 inc ...

of 2000, there were 596 people, 220 households, and 157 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 317 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.14%

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 ...

, 2.52%

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 ...

, 0.84% Native American, and 0.50% from two or more races. There were 220 households, of which 24.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.7% 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 ...

living together, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.2% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.61. In the city the population was spread out, with 14.1% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 18.3% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 36.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 55 years. For every 100 females, there were 70.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 68.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $45,357, and the median income for a family was $55,208. Males had a median income of $48,571 versus $31,375 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 $21,355. About 5.6% of families and 7.7% 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 11.9% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.

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 is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

system, Kuttawa has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Notable people

Bill Cunningham Bill Cunningham may refer to: People *Bill Cunningham (rugby union) (1874–1927), New Zealand rugby union player * Bill Cunningham (footballer), Irish international footballer active in the 1890s * Bill Cunningham (infielder) (1886–1946), prof ...

, former associate justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court * Joe Cunningham, former member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from South Carolina's 1st congressional district

References

External links

Official website

Local information
{{authority control Cities in Lyon County, Kentucky Cities in Kentucky Kentucky placenames of Native American origin