Central City is a home rule-class city in

Muhlenberg County Muhlenberg County () is a county in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,928. Its county seat is Greenville and its largest city is Central City. History Muhlenberg County was formed in 1798 from ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, in the United States. The population was 5,819 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city in the county and the principal community in the Central City Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Muhlenberg County.

History

The site of present-day Central City was originally known as "Morehead's Horse Mill" after local resident Charles S. Morehead's steam-powered

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 grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

. A larger community began to develop after the 1870 advent of the Elizabethtown and Paducah Railroad. A post office was constructed the next year in 1871 and called "Owensboro Junction" after the projected 1872 completion of the

Owensboro and Russellville Railroad Owensboro is a Home rule in the United States, home rule-class city in Daviess County, Kentucky, United States, of which it is also the county seat. It is the List of cities in Kentucky, fourth-most populous city in the state. Owensboro is loca ...

. By 1873, the settlement was large enough to be incorporated by the

state legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

as "Stroud City", after local landowner John Stroud.Rennick, Robert. ''Kentucky Place Names''
p. 55
University Press of Kentucky (Lexington), 1987. Accessed July 22, 2013. The same year, however, the du Ponts'

Central Coal and Iron Company The Central Coal and Iron Company was a 19th-century coal company in the western Kentucky coalfields. It was managed by the Louisville branch of the Du Pont family, including Alfred V. du Pont, Alfred Victor's youngest son Bidermann and his son T. ...

began operation in the area and became so vital to the local economy that the city was reïncorporated in 1882 as "Central City". Recessions replaced the E&P and the O&R with a procession of different companies, including the Owensboro and Nashville Railway, but the two rights of way always remained in separate hands, keeping Central City an important regional hub for the

Illinois Central The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, the Great Lak ...

and the L&N, with train yards, roundhouses, and even an elevated rail station. Coal was mined from nearby fields, prompting explosions such as one in 1912 that killed five workers.''Indianapolis Star''.
Explosion Kills 5 Miners in Kentucky Coal Shaft
. January 18, 1912. Accessed July 22, 2013. The expansion of automotive traffic in the early 20th century reduced some of Central City's importance, but it continues to service mainline freight traffic on the

Paducah and Louisville Railway The Paducah & Louisville Railway is a Class II railroad that operates freight service between Paducah and Louisville, Kentucky. The line is located entirely within the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The line was purchased from Illinois Central ...

and trunk-line service for

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

from Madisonville to the

Paradise Combined Cycle Plant The Paradise Combined Cycle Plant (formerly known as Paradise Fossil Plant) is a natural gas power plant operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Located just east of Drakesboro, Kentucky, it was the highest power capacity power plant i ...

, minutes south of the city.

Geography

Central City is located in northeastern Muhlenberg County at (37.294989, -87.128622). The

Western Kentucky Parkway The Wendell H. Ford Western Kentucky Parkway is a controlled-access highway, freeway running from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Elizabethtown to near Nortonville, Kentucky. It intersects with Interstate 65 in Kentucky, Interstate 65 (I-65) at its e ...

runs along the southern edge of the city, with access from Exit 58 (

U.S. Route 431 U.S. Route 431 (US 431) is a spur of U.S. Route 31. It currently travels for approximately from U.S. Route 231, US 231/Alabama State Route 210 and U.S. Route 231 Business (Dothan, Alabama), US 231 Business (US 231 Bus. ...

). The parkway leads northeast to Elizabethtown and west to Eddyville.

U.S. Route 62 U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) is an east–west United States Highway in the southern and northeastern United States. It runs from the Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canadian b ...

passes through Central City south of the city center; it leads northeast to

Beaver Dam A beaver dam or beaver impoundment is a dam built by beavers; it creates a pond which protects against predators such as coyotes, alligators, cougars, foxes, eagles, wolves and bears, and holds their food during winter. These structures modify th ...

and southwest to Greenville, the Muhlenberg

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 ...

. US 431 passes through Central City's downtown, leading north to

Owensboro Owensboro is a home rule-class city in Daviess County, Kentucky, United States, of which it is also the county seat. It is the fourth-most populous city in the state. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about southwest ...

and south to Russellville. 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 ...

, the Central City has a total area of , of which , or 0.21%, are water. Terrain in Central City is rolling hills to steep bluffs along the northern boundaries of the city along the Green River. The city, along its northwestern border, is known for its swamps and lowland area that remain at or near the water table year-round. Most of Central City has a

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

bedrock with #9

bituminous coal Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the coal seam, ...

underlying the bedrock. Central City has a number of old underground coal mine shafts that still crisscross the city. Most of these old shafts date back to the early 1900s. The majority of terrain around the city limits is reclaimed land where

surface mining Surface mining, including strip mining, open-pit mining and mountaintop removal mining, is a broad category of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit (the overburden) are removed, in contrast to underground mining, in whic ...

has taken place.

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 5,893 people, 2,065 households, and 1,410 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 2,313 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.07%

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 ...

, 10.67%

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 ...

, 0.05% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 0.41% from other races, and 0.54% 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 0.80% of the population. There were 2,065 households, out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% 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, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.95. In the city, the population was spread out, with 20.1% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 116.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 120.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,371, and the median income for a family was $32,959. Males had a median income of $29,284 versus $18,265 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 $12,637. About 18.4% of families and 20.5% 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 25.3% of those under age 18 and 21.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Central City is home to Central City Elementary School. Central City Elementary School is a feeder school for Muhlenberg North Middle School which, in turn, feeds Muhlenberg County High School. Central City is also home to the Muhlenberg Campus of

Madisonville Community College Madisonville Community College (MCC) is a public community college in Madisonville, Kentucky. It is one of 16 two-year, open-admissions colleges of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS). MCC was originally established as a ...

, completed in 2001. Central City has a

lending library A lending library is a library from which books and other media are lent out. The major classifications are endowed libraries, institutional libraries (the most diverse), public libraries, and subscription libraries. It may also refer to a librar ...

, a branch of the Muhlenberg County Public Library.

Media

* WMTA AM 1380, founded 1955 * WNES AM, founded in 1955, owned by the Andy Anderson Corporation which founded the station. * WEKV FM 101.9, 100,000 watt station, owned and operated by Andy Anderson Corporation, licensed to Central City where the main studio is, tower and transmitter located in Pleasant Ridge, ( Daviess County),

. * A number of regional radio stations have

Radio repeater A radio repeater is a combination of a radio receiver and a radio transmitter that receives a signal and retransmits it, so that two-way radio signals can cover longer distances. A repeater sited at a high elevation can allow two mobile stations ...

's located in Central City. Two are currently active while a third is under consideration. * '' Leader-News'', weekly newspaper founded in Greenville Leader, moved to Central City in the 1960s and became the "Greenville Leader-Central City News", owned and published by the Andy Anderson Corporation. * ''

Times Argus The ''Barre Montpelier Times Argus'' is a daily newspaper serving the capital region of Vermont. The circulation area includes Washington, Orange, Lamoille, Addison, Caledonia, and parts of Chittenden, Franklin, Orleans and Windsor counti ...

'', formerly the Messenger Times Argus, founded in 1909, published weekly.

Economy

Major employers in Central City include: * Brewco * Brewer, Inc. *

Green River Correctional Complex Green River Correctional Complex (GRCC) is a state prison located in Central City, Kentucky. It opened in 1994 and had a prison population of 982 as of 2007. It is a minimum to medium security adult male correctional facility and it is operated ...

Kentucky Utilities Kentucky Utilities (KU) is based in Lexington, Kentucky, and provides electricity to 77 counties in Kentucky. KU also serves five counties in Virginia under the name Old Dominion Power.

Green River Generating Station * Armstrong Coal Company Parkway Mine * KenAmerican Paradise Underground Mine *

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

Supercenter * Central City Elementary School

Arts and culture

Everly Brothers Homecoming/Labor Day Cruise-In

Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...

Weekend 1988, Central City began hosting

The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close-harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, ...

Homecoming event to raise money for a scholarship fund for

students. The Homecoming became a popular annual event for fourteen years, before ending in 2002. Not to be discouraged, the citizens reformed the event as a weekend long cruise-in and car show that is still held annually on

Weekend.

Kentucky Women's Hall of Fame, Inc.

Sponsored by the Central City Business & Professional Women's Club, the Hall of Fame is located inside the Central City Public Library, 108 E. Broad Street and features a portrait and memorabilia gallery which includes former Governor Martha Layne Collins, Country & Western music giant Loretta Lynn, and local author, editorialist, historian, war correspondent for the Service Star and noted cultivator of roses Agnes S. Harralson. Central City Library hours are Monday-Wednesday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Thursday 9 a.m.-7 p.m.; Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Visit www.mcplib.org for more info; Central City BPW meets the second Tuesday of each month in the library meeting room at 6:00 pm - visitors are welcome.

Muhlenberg County Rail Trail

The Muhlenberg County

Rail Trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...

is a paved trail following an old Paducah and Louisville railway route between Central City and Greenville that is open to pedestrian and non-motorized vehicle traffic. Kentucky's most extensive rail trail conversion to date, the Muhlenberg Rail Trail opened October 20, 2000 and was named "Trail of the Month" by the Rails to Trails Conservancy in May 2004. A viewing platform and birding guide are available where the trail passes through a local wetland. The Muhlenberg County Rails to Trails Committee has obtained an additional 3 miles of abandoned rail, possibly for a later extension into McLean County.

Notable Sporting Clubs/Events

* Muhlenberg Taekwon-Do Martial Arts

Notable residents

* Tom Christerson, second recipient of an

artificial heart An artificial heart is a artificial organ, device that replaces the human heart, heart. Artificial hearts are typically used as a bridge to heart transplantation, but ongoing research aims to develop a device that could permanently replace the ...

* T. Coleman du Pont, manager for the Central Coal & Iron Company, later president of

Dupont Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, duPont, or du Pont may refer to: People * Dupont (surname) Dupont, also spelled as DuPont, duPont, Du Pont, or du Pont is a French surname meaning "of the bridge", historically indicating that the holder of the surname re ...

and a Republican senator for Delaware *

Don Everly Isaac Donald Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) was an American musician. Everly was one-half of the singing duo The Everly Brothers alongside his younger brother Phil Everly, Phil. Early life Don was born in Brownie, Kentucky on Febru ...

, musician *

Bernard Hickman Bernard "Peck" Hickman (October 5, 1911 – February 20, 2000) was an American basketball player and coach. As head coach he led the Louisville Cardinals to the 1948 NAIB Championship (today's NAIA), the 1956 NIT Championship and the school ...

, former head coach of the

Louisville Cardinals men's basketball The Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team is the men's college basketball program representing the University of Louisville (U of L) in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) of NCAA Division I. The Cardinals have officially won two NCAA cham ...

team * Halley G. Maddox, US Army major general * Ziggy Sears, Major League Baseball umpire * Jim Walker, musician * Corky Withrow, baseball player

References

External links

*
Greater Muhlenberg Chamber of Commerce

Central City
at kentuckytourism.com
Central City Police Department
{{authority control * Cities in Kentucky Cities in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky Populated places established in 1826 1826 establishments in Kentucky