Beattyville, Kentucky

Beattyville is a home rule class city in, and the county seat of, Lee County, Kentucky, United States. The city was formally established by the state assembly as "Beatty" in 1851 and incorporated in 1872. It was named for Samuel Beatty, a pioneer settler. The population was 1,307 at the 2010 census and an estimated 1,206 in 2018.

Geography

Beattyville is in central Lee County at the confluence of the North and South Forks of the Kentucky River, a tributary of the Ohio River in central Appalachia.

Kentucky Route 11 passes through the city, crossing the North and South Forks of the Kentucky on separate bridges. The highway leads north to Stanton and south to Manchester. Kentucky Route 52 joins KY 11 to cross the North Fork of the Kentucky River but leads northwest to Irvine and east to Jackson.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which , or 0.41%, are 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 system, Beattyville has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,193 people, 509 households, and 294 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 561 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.99% White, 0.42% African American, 0.42% Asian, and 0.17% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.25% of the population.

There were 509 households, out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.8% were married couples living together, 23.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 39.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.6% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 22.3% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 24.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 69.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 63.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $12,336, and the median income for a family was $21,181. Males had a median income of $28,125 versus $16,250 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,850. About 39.1% of families and 41.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 48.7% of those under age 18 and 33.0% of those age 65 or over.

In 2010, Beattyville had the third-lowest median household income of all places in the United States with a population over 1,000. It was the poorest majority white town.

Economy

The town's economy used to be based on coal mining, but this industry has pulled out of the area.

In the 21st century, major employers in Beattyville and Lee County include:
* Three Forks Regional Jail (multi-county jail serving the east-central area of Kentucky, including Powell, Wolfe, Owsley, and Breathitt counties)
* ACS, Affiliated Computer Systems (data and transaction processing)
* Lee County Public Schools, the largest employer in Beattyville
* Lee County Wood Products (sawmill)
* Kentucky River Community Care (mental health facility serving the east Kentucky region)
* People's Exchange Bank. Previously, the bank had its headquarters and two locations in Beattyville. The bank closed its downtown branch and moved its headquarters to Winchester, keeping one branch open in Beattyville.
* Experience Works, Inc (non-profit organization and largest national grantee of Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) funds from the U.S. Department of Labor)
* Lee County Care and Rehabilitation Center (nursing Facility with a 120-bed capacity)

The Lee Adjustment Center was constructed here and operated by Corrections Corporation of America as a private, for-profit, medium security prison, with a capacity of 800 inmates. The county hoped to provide jobs for local people at the prison. CCA had contracts with the states of Kentucky and Vermont to house prisoners here. Vermont prisoners rioted in 2004 and were joined by Kentucky prisoners. Kentucky removed its last inmates in 2010, and ended its contract with a CCA in 2013. Vermont removed its inmates in 2015. In November 2017, due to overcrowding at state owned facilities, the Kentucky Department of Corrections signed a new contract allowing CCA, now known as CoreCivic, to reactivate the vacant prison. These inmates would be transferred from the Kentucky State Reformatory in LaGrange

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