Calvert City, Kentucky

Calvert City is a home rule-class city[5] in Marshall County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,514 at the 2020 census.[3]

Calvert City, Kentucky
City
City Hall, located on 5th Avenue
City Hall, located on 5th Avenue
Location in Marshall County, Kentucky
Location in Marshall County, Kentucky
Coordinates: 37°1′59″N 88°20′58″W
CountryUnited States
StateKentucky
CountyMarshall
Area
[1]
 • Total18.51 sq mi (47.94 km2)
 • Land17.88 sq mi (46.30 km2)
 • Water0.63 sq mi (1.64 km2)
Elevation
[2]
381 ft (116 m)
Population
 (2020)[3]
 • Total2,514
 • Estimate 
(2022)[4]
2,517
 • Density140.63/sq mi (54.30/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
42029 (Calvert City), 42044 (Gilbertsville)
Area code(s)270 & 364
FIPS code21-12016
GNIS feature ID2403972[2]
Websitewww.calvertcity.com

History
Oak Hill, built by Potilla Calvert

Calvert City was named for Potilla Willis Calvert. He built his home, Oak Hill, in 1860 and around a decade later gave a portion of his land to a new railroad, specifying that a station be built near his home.[6] That station served as the starting point of the town, which was incorporated on March 18, 1871.[7] The railroad station and post office long favored the shorter Calvert, but the Board on Geographic Names reversed its earlier decision in 1957 and switched to the longer form.[6]

By 1896, Calvert City was known as a sundown town, where African Americans were not allowed to reside. By 1908, the rest of Marshall County had also expelled its African American residents.[8][9]

During the Ohio River flood of 1937, Calvert City's business district and much of the residential area were severely damaged by floodwaters.

In the 1940s, the construction of nearby Kentucky Dam by the Tennessee Valley Authority brought plentiful electric power that led many industrial plants, mostly chemical manufacturers, to locate between the city and the Tennessee River. Merchant Luther Draffen was instrumental in attracting the dam and industrial plants.

Geography

Calvert City is in northern Marshall County, along the south bank of the Tennessee River, 13 miles (21 km) upstream from its mouth at the Ohio River. It is 18 miles (29 km) east of Paducah, 13 miles (21 km) north of Benton, the Marshall county seat, and 30 miles (48 km) west of Princeton. The city limits extend southeast as far as the western shore of Kentucky Lake on the Tennessee River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Calvert City has a total area of 18.5 square miles (48 km2), of which 17.9 square miles (46 km2) are land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km2), or 3.42%, are water.[1]

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
188085—
189014267.1%
1900127−10.6%
1910124−2.4%
192022682.3%
193031941.2%
19601,505—
19702,10439.8%
19802,38813.5%
19902,5316.0%
20002,7016.7%
20102,566−5.0%
20202,514−2.0%
2022 (est.)2,517[10]0.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[11]

As of the census[12] of 2000, there were 2,701 people, 1,141 households, and 787 families residing in the city. The population density was 194.5 inhabitants per square mile (75.1/km2). There were 1,203 housing units at an average density of 86.6 per square mile (33.4/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 99.00% White, 0.26% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.04% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.37% of the population.

There were 1,141 households, out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.76.

The age distribution was 21.0% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $41,107, and the median income for a family was $48,098. Males had a median income of $43,464 versus $23,403 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,473. About 4.5% of families and 6.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.1% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Calvert City has 16 industrial plants that are a key source of employment for Western Kentucky. The majority are chemical manufacturers, with some steel and metallurgical plants and industrial services firms.

Company[13] Employees
Wacker Chemical Corporation 380
Arkema Chemicals 264
Carbide Graphite 104
B. F. Goodrich Company 130
Westlake Monomers/CA&O 295
Westlake PVC Corporation 77
Ashland Inc. 563
Gerdau Ameristeel, Inc. 205
CC Metals and Alloys, Inc. 210
LWD 225
Estron Chemicals, Inc. 32
Rail Services 31
Ibex Industries, Inc. 65
Jexco 35
Degussa Corporation International Catalyst Technology 67
Metal Fab, Inc. 45

Arts and culture

Government

Calvert City has a mayor-council form of government, as allowed by its standing as a home rule-class city under Kentucky's system of local government classification.[16]

While Marshall County had been dry since 1938, on July 28, 2015, the county voted by a margin of 6,431 to 6,229 to permit the sale of both packaged liquor and drink sales. Currently, Calvert City is the only city in the county that also permits the sale of alcohol on Sunday.[17]

Media

Newspaper
  • The Lake News, a weekly newspaper, is owned and operated by Loyd W. Ford. It was founded in 1984 and is the newspaper of record for Calvert City. The Lake News has a circulation of 2,800 and is distributed in Marshall and Livingston counties in Kentucky.[18]

Radio
  • WCCK-FM — 95.7

Education

Calvert City has a lending library, a branch of the Marshall County Public Library.[19]

Infrastructure

Transportation

Calvert City is a hub for surface transportation. The city is the northern terminus of the Julian M. Carroll Purchase Parkway, providing a link to Memphis, Tennessee. The city is skirted on the south by Interstate 24, linking Calvert City to Nashville and St. Louis, and, via I-69, and via the Western Kentucky Parkway as well, Louisville and Lexington. The city has rail access through the Paducah and Louisville Railway main line and is a commercial port on the Tennessee River.[20]

There is no bus service or other mass transit.

References
  1. "2022 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Kentucky". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Calvert City, Kentucky
  3. "P1. Race – Calvert City city, Kentucky: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  4. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places in Kentucky: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2022". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  5. "Summary and Reference Guide to House Bill 331 City Classification Reform" (PDF). Kentucky League of Cities. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  6. Rennick, Robert. Kentucky Place Names, p. 46. University Press of Kentucky (Lexington), 1987. Accessed 24 July 2013.
  7. Commonwealth of Kentucky. Office of the Secretary of State. Land Office. "Calvert City, Kentucky". Accessed 24 July 2013.
  8. "Race Troubles: Whites and Blacks Not Living Harmoniously in Kentucky". Indianapolis Journal. Indianapolis. December 27, 1896. p. 4 – via Chronicling America. There came near being a general fight between whites and negroes at Elva, Marshall county, last night. Elva is near the Calvert City section, where no negroes are allowed to live, and where seven or eight were recently shot by a mob of white men. The negroes were employed by the Standard Oil Company. Last night two negro tramps met a white man in the road and asked him if he knew where Calvert City was. He said that he did, but it was not very healthy there for negroes. This enraged him, and they both assaulted him with clubs and seriously hurt him.
  9. "Three Families Last to Leave Benton Arrived Here Last Night; Few Colored Folks Left in Marshall County—How Calvert City Acted Years Ago". The Paducah Evening Sun. Paducah, Kentucky. March 27, 1908. p. 6 – via Chronicling America. The exodus of the negroes from Benton and Birmingham takes about all the negroes out of Marshall county, as there have been no refugees in certain sections of the county for many years, having been driven out on other occasions. Around Calvert City there is a greeting of 'Negro, don't let the sun go down on you here,' for every colored man that goes there and it is always heeded, since several have been killed for attempting to stay. The cause of the feeling at Calvert City was a crime committed on a white girl by a negro man years ago. It is said that the negro captured the daughter of a well known farmer and carried her to a dense wood and tied her to a tree, keeping her many days and finally killing her. The negro was captured and burned at stake and from that day to this no negro has been allowed to live in that vicinity, one family that defied the mob being almost wiped out by a band of men that fired into their house and killed several of the family.
  10. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places in Kentucky: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2022". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  11. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  12. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  13. "Economic Development in Calvert City, Ky". Archived from the original on January 3, 2008. Retrieved January 10, 2008.
  14. "Kentucky State Parks: Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park". Archived from the original on March 8, 2005. Retrieved March 3, 2005.
  15. "Home". calvertdrivein.com.
  16. "Kentucky Secretary of State Cities Database". Retrieved April 1, 2008.
  17. Horbelt, Jennifer. "Yes votes win wet/dry election in Marshall County". Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  18. http://www.thelakenews.net/ Official website
  19. "Kentucky Public Library Directory". Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives. Archived from the original on January 11, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  20. "Calvert City Transportation". Archived from the original on April 27, 2008. Retrieved October 13, 2008.
  • Historical marker, 26 Aspen St., Calvert City, Ky. Kentucky Historical Marker Database
  • Huddleston, Connie M.; Aldridge, Carol; Smith, Virginia (2006). Images of America: Marshall County. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-4284-9.
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