Kevil is a home rule-class city in Ballard 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 595 as of the 2020 census, It is part of the

Paducah metropolitan area The Paducah, KY–IL Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of five counties – three in the Jackson Purchase region of Kentucky, a fourth Kentucky county bordering the Purchase, and ...

Leadership and Development

The Mayor of Kevil, Kentucky is Charles Burnley. He won the 2018 election against Karen Schnuck Berry. Berry got outvoted by a total of 106 points: Burnley 190, Berry 84. There are four members in the Kevil City Council. These members include Clyde Elrod, Charlie trice, Jerry Summers, and Rhonda Lange.

History

Founded for its position on the

Illinois Central Railroad 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, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...

, the town received its post office in 1903 and was named for local landowner R.U. Kevil.Rennick, Robert. ''Kentucky Place Names''
p. 159
University Press of Kentucky (Lexington), 1987. Accessed 1 August 2013. It 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 Baili ...

in 1910.

Geography

Kevil is located in eastern Ballard County at (37.083999, -88.883993), just west of the Ballard- McCracken county line. The city is concentrated around the intersection of

U.S. Route 60 U.S. Route 60 is a major east–west United States highway, traveling from southwestern Arizona to the Atlantic Ocean coast in Virginia. The highway's eastern terminus is in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where it is known as General Booth Bouleva ...

and Kentucky Route 473, approximately west of

Paducah Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in the Upland South, and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. The most populous city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located in the Southeastern United States at the confluence ...

and northeast of Wickliffe, the Ballard County seat located on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

which gives Kevil a zip code of 42053. 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 ...

, Kevil has a total area of , all land.

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 574 people, 245 households, and 169 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 266 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.95%

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 ...

, 0.17%

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 ...

, 0.35% from other races, and 0.52% 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 0.52% of the population. There were 245 households, out of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% 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, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.82. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.6% under the age of 18, 3.3% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males. The cost of living is 80.0 according to the cost of living index scale. The United States average is 100.0, which makes living in the city of Kevil considerably low. It is 20% less than the United States average to be exact. The median income for a household in the city was $32,417, and the median income for a family was $44,688. Males had a median income of $35,625 versus $24,688 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 $16,974. About 9.6% of families and 15.1% 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 21.1% of those under age 18 and 14.4% of those age 65 or over.

Schools

Forestdale Elementary School was once a big part of Kevil, Kentucky. Although it is not in service now, the building still stands in the middle of the city. It was built around 1950 at the same time as the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant was built. This enhanced uranium power plant brought jobs to people all over the United States. When families moved here to work, there was not enough room in the already built public schools for the new kids to get an education. The outcome of the child to school ratio lead to the upbringing of a new school. Forestdale Elementary was continued to be used until the early 1980s when it later changed into a factory. In 2021, there are many options when it comes to public schools. These include: Ballard County Memorial High School, Ballard County Middle School, Ballard County Elementary School, McCracken County High School, Heath Middle School, Concord Elementary, Lone Oak Elementary, Lone Oak Intermediate, Reidland Middle School, Reidland Elementary, Reidland Intermediate, Hendron-Lone Oak Elementary, and lastly McCracken County Pre-School. When It Comes to private schools, St. Mary School System is the only elementary, middle, and high school option.

Major Powerplant and Effect On Migration

In 1950, a plant was built to enrich uranium for the military. The uranium was used for chemical warfare such as reactors and nuclear weapons. This plant played a huge part in the further development of Kevil. Many of the houses you see in this city and surrounding areas were pop-up homes for migrating workers. From 1993 to 2014, the plant was leased to the United States Enrichment Corporations(USEC) and then to present day owners(Department of Energy). Department of Energy(DOE) is responsible for the environmental cleanup of uranium at the site. Although DOE is not as big as the plant originally was, it still plays an important roll in the job, popularity, and importance aspect of this area.

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in Ballard County, Kentucky Cities in Kentucky Paducah micropolitan area