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Eddyville is a home rule-class city in and 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 ...
of Lyon County,
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 2,554 at the 2010 census, up from 2,350 in 2000. The Kentucky State Penitentiary is located at Eddyville. The town is considered a tourist attraction because of its access to nearby
Lake Barkley Lake Barkley, a reservoir in Livingston County, Lyon County and Trigg County in Kentucky and extending into Stewart County and Houston County in Tennessee, was impounded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1966 upon the completion of ...
.


History

Eddyville, the seat of Lyon County, was settled around 1798 and named for the eddies in the nearby
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 ...
. It became the seat of Livingston County when the county was formed in 1799; then the seat of Caldwell County upon its formation in 1809; and finally the seat of Lyon County upon its establishment in 1854. Thus, it holds the distinction of being the only city in Kentucky to have served as the county seat of three separate counties. The Eddyville post office opened in 1801. Throughout Kentucky, Eddyville is best known as a metonym for the Kentucky State Penitentiary, although the prison itself is actually south of the present town on the shore of Lake Barkley in "Old Eddyville" on KY 730. Taking six years to build (1884–1890), the massive stone prison structure towers over Lake Barkley and is sometimes called "The Castle on the Cumberland." Its
electric chair The electric chair is a specialized device used for capital punishment through electrocution. The condemned is strapped to a custom wooden chair and electrocuted via electrodes attached to the head and leg. Alfred P. Southwick, a Buffalo, New Yo ...
has had a long history of use, dating to the period before 1936 when executions were still publicly conducted in Kentucky for some crimes (e.g. rape as in the case of Rainey Bethea) while electrocutions at Eddyville were strictly reserved for others (e.g., murder). Executions are still held at the prison, although there have only been three since 1976 and only one since 1999. The primary method has been changed to
lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium) for the express purpose of causing death. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but t ...
. Following the completion of
Kentucky Dam Kentucky Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River on the county line between Livingston County, Kentucky, Livingston and Marshall County, Kentucky, Marshall counties in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The dam is the lowermost of nine dams on ...
in the 1940s, rumours began that a dam would be built on the lower Cumberland. This meant relocating Eddyville and Kuttawa. By the mid-1950s, the construction plans were confirmed. The
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...
began surveying for the construction of Barkley Dam. This was met with anger from the local population. The situation was resolved by Lee S. Jones, a native of Lyon County who had attended law school and settled in
Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
, where he had gained a reputation as one of the best "tax lawyers" and made his wealth. Jones had purchased farms in the Fairview community (which is now the site of Eddyville). He came to the Eddyville City Council and presented his plan: each person owning land in the towns (Eddyville and Kuttawa) to be flooded would receive a free lot in the new Eddyville site. This also applied to businesses. Eddyville residents accepted his offer and on August 13, 1959, the official plat for the new town was filed with the county court clerk. The plat included 254 residential lots, 46 business lots, for construction of a school and campus, city park, courthouse, health office, water works, and location of streets. August 28, 1959, was designated as "Dedication and Free Deed Day" at the new site. A large group of people gathered for the event, which was held in a field, close to the site of the current post office. Mr. Jones handed the first deed to Boyce and Lillian Yates, then presented approximately 60 more residential lots. The first house to be built in the new town was the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. I. Moore. The first business to be built was the Kentucky Utilities office. During the time of building, Eddyville was "booming" and, with the impoundment of Lake Barkley in the 1960s, tourists began making their way into the area for the abundance of fish and boating. However, the tourist influx wasn't sufficient to create a steady economic growth. Although campgrounds and marinas were springing up around the lake, the city was struggling. Construction of the West Kentucky Outlet Mall was launched in December 1988. Three brothers, Bob, Darrell and Ben Jent, purchased a tract of land in the city limits of Eddyville and started construction of a mall, which opened the following fall with ten stores. Within a short time the mall would boast a total of nearly 50 stores. The opening of the mall brought a surge of progress to Eddyville, as a variety of businesses began to move into the city. For the first time in the town's history, people could choose their favorite restaurant, motel, clothing store or other places to shop—all without leaving town. It has been said the mall did more for the progress of Eddyville than any other endeavor since the establishment of the town in 1799, with the possible exception of the building of the Kentucky State Penitentiary. The town was listed as the second fastest growing area in Kentucky in 1997 based on tourism. The mall has since suffered severe economic troubles, and few stores are currently left. A regional water park, Venture River, operates seasonally in Eddyville. Hundreds of homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed in Eddyville and Lyon County from an EF4 tornado that ripped through western Kentucky on December 10–11, 2021. Later, an EF3 tornado would touchdown near Eddyville on May 26th, 2024, and cause damage in areas previously affected by the western Kentucky tornado outbreak on December 10–11th.


Geography

Eddyville is located in north-central Lyon County and is bordered to the west by Kuttawa and to the south by
Lake Barkley Lake Barkley, a reservoir in Livingston County, Lyon County and Trigg County in Kentucky and extending into Stewart County and Houston County in Tennessee, was impounded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1966 upon the completion of ...
on the Cumberland River. Two Interstate highways, I-24 and
I-69 Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of eight unconnected segments. The longest segment runs from Evansville, Indiana, northeast to the Canada–United States border, Canadian border in Po ...
, intersect in Eddyville. I-24 leads southeast to
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, and west to Paducah, while I-69 leads northeast to
Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...
, and southwest to the
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
border at Fulton. The two highways lead west together from Eddyville for before splitting near Calvert City. U.S. Route 62 passes through the center of Eddyville, leading northeast to Princeton and southwest into Kuttawa. U.S. Route 641 passes through Eddyville with US 62 but splits off at the northeast border of the city and leads north to its northern terminus in Marion. Mineral Mound State Park occupies a peninsula in Lake Barkley in the southern part of the city. The park, golf course and peninsula extend southwest into the city limits of Kuttawa. The Kentucky State Penitentiary, also fronting on Lake Barkley, is within the southernmost extent of the Eddyville limits, by road south of the center of town. 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 ...
, Eddyville has a total area of , of which are land and , or 10.56%, are water.


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 2020, there were 2,375 people, 732 households, and 452 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 906 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 85.96%
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 ...
, 12.72%
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 ...
, 0.26% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.30% from other races, and 0.64% 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 0.98% of the population. There were 733 households, out of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.8% 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, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.2% were non-families. 36.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.71. In the city the population was spread out, with 13.3% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 40.5% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 182.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 197.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $40,500. Males had a median income of $37,778 versus $21,845 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 $14,591. About 11.9% of families and 14.0% 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 15.2% of those under age 18 and 16.2% of those age 65 or over.


Education

Lyon County Public Schools is the public school district covering the entire county. It has 970 students in grades PK, K-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 18 to 1. According to state test scores, 60% of students are at least proficient in math and 65% in reading. Eddyville 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 ...
, the Lyon County Public Library.


Notable natives and residents

*
Joe Fulks Joseph Franklin "Jumping Joe" Fulks (October 26, 1921 – March 21, 1976) was an American professional basketball player. The NBA's first scoring champion, he was sometimes called "the first of the high-scoring forwards". He was posthumously en ...
, NBA player * Chittenden Lyon,
congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...
* Hylan B. Lyon, Confederate brigadier general *
Matthew Lyon Matthew Lyon (July 14, 1749 – August 1, 1822) was an Irish-born American printer, farmer, soldier and politician, who served as a United States representative from both Vermont and Kentucky. Lyon represented Vermont in Congress from 1797 to ...
, congressman * Willis Benson Machen, Confederate congressman,
U.S. senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
* Travis Perry, all-time leading career scorer in Kentucky boys' high school basketball *
John Long Routt John Long Routt (April 25, 1826 – August 13, 1907) was an American politician of the Republican Party. Born in Eddyville, Kentucky, he served as the first and seventh governor of Colorado from 1876 to 1879 and 1891 to 1893. He also served a ...
,
Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
of
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...


References


External links


Official website

Lyon County Fiscal Court
{{authority control Cities in Lyon County, Kentucky County seats in Kentucky Populated places established in the 1790s 1790s establishments in Kentucky Cities in Kentucky