Kuttawa is a home rule-class city in 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 ...

, in the United States. The population was 649 as of the 2010 census, up from 596 in 2000.

History

Former

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

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 ...

Charles Anderson founded the town on land he purchased in 1866. Originally spelled "Cuttawa" and "Kittawa", Kuttawa seems to have been the name of a

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

village near the site, whose meaning is a matter of dispute: it has been variously translated as "beautiful", "city in the woods", and "great wilderness". The city was formally incorporated by the state assembly in 1872,Commonwealth of Kentucky. Office of the Secretary of State. Land Office. "Kuttawa, Kentucky". Accessed 1 August 2013. the same year it received its post office.Rennick, Robert. ''Kentucky Place Names''
p. 163
University Press of Kentucky (Lexington), 1987. Accessed 1 August 2013. In the early 1960s, the

Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolin ...

constructed a dam across the

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 ...

at Grand Rivers, forming

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 ...

. Eddyville and Kuttawa were both moved from their original locations owing to the impounded lake.

Geography

Kuttawa is located in north-central Lyon County and is bordered to the east by Eddyville and to the south by Lake Barkley, an impoundment of the

, just upstream from Barkley Dam. The city is concentrated primarily in an area adjacent to the western intersection of U.S. Route 62 and Kentucky Route 295, though its municipal boundaries extend southwestward along US 62 and Kentucky Route 810, northeastward to the intersection of US 62 and the merged

Interstate 24 Interstate 24 (I-24) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It runs diagonally from I-57, south of Marion, Illinois, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, at I-75. It travels through Illinois, Kentucky, Tennesse ...

Interstate 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 Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan, and includ ...

, and along KY 295 as it follows the lakeshore to its eastern intersection with US 62. The Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area lies along the lakeshore opposite Kuttawa. Mineral Mound State Park borders the city to the east. Both Barkley Dam and

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 ...

(the latter of which impounds the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is a long river located in the Southern United States, southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. Flowing through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, it begins at the confluence of Fren ...

) are located southwest of Kuttawa. By highway, Kuttawa is east of Paducah, northwest of Hopkinsville, and southwest of Madisonville. 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 city of Kuttawa has a total area of , of which are land and , or 27.40%, 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 2000, there were 596 people, 220 households, and 157 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 317 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.14%

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 ...

, 2.52%

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 ...

, 0.84% Native American, and 0.50% from two or more races. There were 220 households, of which 24.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.7% 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, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.2% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.61. In the city the population was spread out, with 14.1% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 18.3% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 36.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 55 years. For every 100 females, there were 70.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 68.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $45,357, and the median income for a family was $55,208. Males had a median income of $48,571 versus $31,375 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 $21,355. About 5.6% of families and 7.7% 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 11.9% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Kuttawa has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Education

The county's school district is Lyon County School District.
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Notable people

* Bill Cunningham, former associate justice of the

Kentucky Supreme Court The Kentucky Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Prior to its creation by constitutional amendment in 1975, the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky. The Kentucky Court of Ap ...

* Joe Cunningham, former member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

South Carolina's 1st congressional district South Carolina's 1st congressional district is a coastal congressional district in South Carolina, represented by Republican Party (United States), Republican Nancy Mace since January 3, 2021. She succeeded Democratic Party (United States), Demo ...

References

External links

Official website

Local information
{{authority control Cities in Lyon County, Kentucky Cities in Kentucky Kentucky placenames of Native American origin