Drakesboro 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 ...

, United States. The population was 481 at the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1888, the city was named for early pioneer William Drake.

Geography

Drakesboro is located in eastern Muhlenberg County at (37.217274, -87.050169). The city is situated along

Kentucky Route 176 Kentucky Route 176 (KY 176) is a 12.742-mile (20.506 km) state highway in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky that runs from U.S. Route 62 in Greenville to Rockport-Paradise Road at Paradise via Drakesboro. Route description The hig ...

(Mose Rager Boulevard) east of Greenville, 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 ...

. Its municipal boundaries extend eastward to KY 176's intersection with

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. ...

. Greenville is to the west, while Central City is to the northwest via US 431, and Russellville is to the south. 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 ...

, Drakesboro has a total area of , of which , or 1.78%, are water. Plum Creek runs along the eastern edge of the city, flowing north to Pond Creek, which continues north to the Green River south of Rockport.

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 627 people, 247 households, and 171 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 281 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 89.47%

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 ...

, 9.73%

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 ...

, 0.32% Native American, 0.16% Asian, and 0.32% 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 people of any race were 0.48% of the population. There were 247 households, out of which 36.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% 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, 18.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.4% were non-families. 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.09. In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.1% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $17,875, and the median income for a family was $25,417. Males had a median income of $21,094 versus $16,458 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 $10,508. About 28.4% of families and 32.3% 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 ...

, including 43.4% of those under age 18 and 24.1% of those age 65 or over.

Sites of interest

The Four Legends Fountain

Constructed in 1992, the Four Legends Fountain honors four pioneers of the "thumb picking" style of guitar playing often associated with

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Bluegrass has roots in African America ...

: Kennedy Jones,

Ike Everly 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, an ...

Mose Rager Moses Rager (April 2, 1911 – May 14, 1986) was a guitar player from Kentucky. He is credited with creating the thumb-picking style of guitar playing - which he taught to Merle Travis Merle Robert Travis (November 29, 1917 – October 20 ...

, and

Merle Travis Merle Robert Travis (November 29, 1917 – October 20, 1983) was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born in Rosewood, Kentucky, his songs' lyrics were often about the lives and the economic exploitation of Ameri ...

. All four have close ties to

John Prine Highway

The section of Hwy 431 through Drakesboro is named for

John Prine John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. Widely cited as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation, Prine was known for his signature blend of humoro ...

Notable people

, musician *

, country western songwriter and performer

References

External links

* {{authority control Populated places established in 1888 Cities in Kentucky Cities in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky