Pineville () is a home rule-class city in Bell 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. It is the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

of its county. The population was 1,732 as of the 2010 census. It is located on a small strip of land between 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 ...

and Pine Mountain.

History

Pineville is one of the oldest settlements in Kentucky, located at the crossing of the Cumberland River by the

Wilderness Road The Wilderness Road was one of two principal routes used by colonial and early national era settlers to reach Kentucky from the East. Although this road goes through the Cumberland Gap into southern Kentucky and northern Tennessee, the other ...

. It was established as Cumberland Ford in 1781 and formed part of

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 ...

Isaac Shelby Isaac Shelby (December 11, 1750 – July 18, 1826) was an American politician and military officer who was the List of governors of Kentucky, first and fifth Governor of Kentucky and served in the state legislatures of Virginia and North Ca ...

's land tracts. When Bell County was formed in 1867, Cumberland Ford was formally laid off; local landowner J.J. Gibson's 1869 land grant permitted it to be selected as the county seat, but the courthouse was not completed until 1871.Rennick, Robert. ''Kentucky Place Names''
p. 235
University Press of Kentucky (Lexington), 1987. Accessed 1 August 2013. Accessed 25 April 2010. The settlement was renamed "Pineville" in 1870 and formally incorporated in 1873. One of the earliest branches of the Sojourner Truth Woman's Christian Temperance Union ( WCTU) was formed in Pineville in 1906 with 15 members - at the time, it was affiliated with the white women's branch of the Kentucky WCTU. Its riverside location has made it subject to flooding, including a devastating incident on April 4, 1977, in which a floodwall built in 1952 was overwhelmed and 200 houses were destroyed or damaged. 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 ...

upgraded the floodwall in 1988. The economy is dependent on the

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

industry, local family owned businesses and on tourism. Many enjoy visiting Pine Mountain State Resort Park, where the popular attraction "Chained Rock" is located. Thanks to works done by the community organization Main Street Pineville, the town is working on revitalizing downtown Pineville to its historical roots. Every Memorial Day weekend (from Wednesday to Sunday) the town of Pineville welcomes all to the Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival, named for the Mountain Laurel flower which grows wild on Pine Mountain. The first Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival was presented in 1931 at the suggestion of Annie Walker Burns, a descendant of Dr. Thomas Walker, the first European to enter Kentucky and who, along with a party of explorers, visited the present site of Pineville in 1750. Burns was captivated by the history and beauty surrounding Pineville and appealed to Governor Flem D. Sampson of Barbourville to initiate some type of event to honor Dr. Walker. She gained the support of other influential Bell Countians, and the 1931 Festival was staged at Clear Creek Springs on June 4.

Geography

Pineville is located in northern Bell County at (36.7620301, −83.6949176), along the

, directly north of its water gap through Pine Mountain. U.S. Route 25E passes through the city, intersecting Kentucky Route 66 in downtown. U.S. Route 119 has its southern terminus at US 25E near the southern border of the city. By US 25E, it is south to Middlesboro and the north entrance of the

Cumberland Gap The Cumberland Gap is a Mountain pass, pass in the Eastern United States, eastern United States through the long ridge of the Cumberland Mountains, within the Appalachian Mountains and near the tripoint of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. At&n ...

tunnel, and it is northwest to Corbin and

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

. US 119 leads northeast to Harlan. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, Pineville covers a total land area of , of which is land and , or 5.54%, is water.

Education

The city is served by Pineville Independent Schools. Schools located within the district include: *Pineville High School *Pineville Middle School *Pineville Elementary School Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College maintains a campus in Pineville, serving as the only

post-secondary education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational school ...

institution in the city. However Clear Creek Baptist Bible College is located in Pineville's zip code and is located south of the city. Pineville has a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

, a branch of the Bell County Public Library District.

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 2,093 people, 871 households, and 518 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 961 housing units at an average density of about . The racial makeup of the city was 92.74%

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 ...

, 4.30%

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 ...

, 0.24% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.14% from other races, and 2.34% 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 0.91% of the population. There were 871 households, out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.6% 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, 20.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.5% were non-families. 38.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.90. In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.5% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 19.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $12,435, and the median income for a family was $20,625. Males had a median income of $24,125 versus $23,229 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 $12,692. About 37.1% of families and 44.2% 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 58.8% of those under age 18 and 30.0% of those age 65 or over.

The Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival

The Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival began in 1931 and has been held annually except for during WWII (1942–1947). Mountain Laurel is a shrub with large clusters of small pale pink flowers that grows wild in the mountains of Appalachia. The Mountain Laurel Festival is deeply rooted in southern tradition, mountain heritage and held dear to all natives of Pineville. The 85th Festival was held during May 20–24, 2015. The Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival includes a Concert, carnival, Appalachian crafts, local talent, a Gala Parade and a beauty pageant. Senior girls from local High Schools compete for the title of the Mountain Laurel Princess. Queen Candidates, young women chosen to represent their respective Universities in Kentucky are welcomed into the homes of Pineville citizens in the truest form of Southern Hospitality. Throughout the weekend, the women are judged secretly based on the standards of a Southern Lady. On Saturday after the Parade, a Coronation begins in the Laurel Cove, a natural amphitheater in the Pine Mountain State Park. Each Queen candidate must curtsy before the Governor as the audience dressed in their absolute best, many wearing hats normally reserved for the Kentucky Derby claps and 'ahhs' at the magnificent dresses. Then with a precession of the miniature and high school Courts, the Queen is named. She is then crowned by the Governor of Kentucky with a tiara made of live, delicate, pink Mountain Laurels. That night a 'Grand March' occurs in true southern fashion, the Queens and their escorts elegantly dance together after recognizing their new Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival Queen.

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, Pineville 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.Climate Summary for Pineville, Kentucky
/ref>

Notable people

* Dale Ann Bradley, Grammy-nominated singer/musician * George Blowers, banker * John Hoskins, rear admiral in the United States Navy * Rodney McMullen, businessman; CEO of The Kroger Company * Reid Patterson, swimmer * Joseph Chilton Pearce, author and lecturer * Shanda Sharer, murder victim * Brian "O'Brien" Lindsay, radio host and prank call victim

References

External links

City of Pineville official website
{{authority control Cities in Bell County, Kentucky Cities in Kentucky County seats in Kentucky Populated places established in 1781