Leitchfield is 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 Grayson 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. Leitchfield is a home rule-class city with a population of 6,404 as of the 2020 census.

History

The town was named for

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

David Leitch David Leitch (; born November 16, 1975) is an American filmmaker, stunt performer, stunt coordinator, and actor. He made his directorial debut on the action film ''John Wick'' (2014) with Chad Stahelski, though only Stahelski was credited. He la ...

, an aide to Gen. George Washington and the original owner of much land in the county, including the town site, at the eastern end of his holdings. The city was formally incorporated by the state assembly in 1866.Commonwealth of Kentucky. Office of the Secretary of State. Land Office. "Leitchfield, Kentucky". Accessed 1 August 2013.

Geography and Geology

Leitchfield lies in the Clifty Area, the sandstone-dominated belt that is usually classified as part of the West Kentucky Coal Field but separates the coalfield from the limestone-rich

Pennyroyal Plateau The Pennyroyal Plateau or Pennyroyal Region, often spelled Pennyrile, is a large physiographic region of Kentucky that features rolling hills, caves, and karst topography in general. It is named for '' Hedeoma pulegioides'' (the American pennyroy ...

. A fault running through the area puts limestone at or near the surface, and there are quarries west of town. The city is located along 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 ...

at the junction of Kentucky Route 259. U.S. Route 62 intersects 259 near the middle of town. Leitchfield is situated between Rough River Lake to the north and Nolin River Lake 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 ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.38%, is water.

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, Leitchfield 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.

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 6,139 people, 2,485 households, and 1,615 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 2,797 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.63%

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 ...

, 1.56%

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, 0.18% 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 ...

, 0.33% from other races, and 1.03% 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 0.96% of the population. There were 2,485 households, out of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.1% 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, 17.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.0% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.89. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.5% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $26,108, and the median income for a family was $32,398. Males had a median income of $27,958 versus $18,958 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 $15,033. About 17.5% of families and 21.3% 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 31.5% of those under age 18 and 16.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public education in Leitchfield is administered by Grayson County Public Schools, which operates Grayson County Middle School, H.W. Wilkey Elementary School, Oran P. Lawler Elementary School, and Grayson County High School. Leitchfield Christian Academy is a private institution. In 1871 and 1872 there was a school in town for black students supported by the Freedmen's Aid Society. Leitchfield 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 Grayson County Public Library.

Arts and culture

The annual Twin Lakes National Fiddler Championship is held each year on the Court Square. Fiddlers from all over the state and region come to Leitchfield to compete for prize money. Every year, Leitchfield hosts to the Grayson County Fair, which begins the week before

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 ...

. The fair features a variety of festivities, including a

demolition derby Demolition derby is a type of motorsport, usually presented at county fairs and national events. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their v ...

, carnival rides, truck and

tractor pull Truck and tractor pulling, also known as power pulling, is a form of a motorsport competition in which antique or modified tractors pull a heavy drag or sled along an , track, with the winner being the tractor that pulls the drag the farth ...

s, field crop contests, and a

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes sol ...

. The County Fair officially concludes with an annual Labor Day parade. What started as an

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

social on the county square in 1992 has turned into a weekend-long festival. Every July, the Ice Cream Festival, now planned and operated by K105, features a beauty pageant, rides, games, a mixed doubles

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

tournament and the largest fireworks show in the area. At 6pm on the Saturday of the festival, free cups of ice cream are given to festival attendees. Each year, the fireworks show is given a theme. Recent themes include "Stars and Stripes Forever" and "Television Classics". In 2009, the event was replaced by Freedom Fest, which was hyped by the newspapers. Each July, the Grayson County Agricultural Recreation Park in Leitchfield hosts the Grayson County

4-H 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times ...

and FFA Ag Fair. The event features farm and youth events and exhibits such as tractor driving contests, homemaker exhibits, and sheep, hog, horse, dairy and beef shows. A Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony is held each year on the Saturday before Memorial Day. Hundreds march from the Leitchfield firehouse to the county square holding signs of local veterans who died in various conflicts. The ceremony consists of several speeches, the roll call of local veterans who died in the previous year, and the singing of the National Anthem and Amazing Grace. A cookout is held after the ceremony.

Media

The city of Leitchfield is served by two newspapers, th
''Grayson County News-Gazette''
an
''The Record''
Leitchfield's radio stations are 104.9 WKHG-FM, a.k.a
K105
a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

station, an
870
WMTL-AM, which plays

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

and also 103.9 fm The Moose, which is a country channel that plays popular sports talk show Kentucky Sports Radio hosted by Matt Jones. Both stations are owned by Heritage Media of Kentucky. Also, WKHG carries the radio sports broadcasts for Grayson County High School, the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

, and the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

References

External links

City of Leitchfield official website

Twin Lakes National Fiddler Championship
- Nationally Certified Fiddler Championship {{authority control * Cities in Kentucky Cities in Grayson County, Kentucky County seats in Kentucky