Salyersville, Kentucky
| Salyersville, Kentucky | |
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| — City — | |
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| Coordinates: 37°44′53″N 83°3′47″W / 37.74806°N 83.06306°WCoordinates: 37°44′53″N 83°3′47″W / 37.74806°N 83.06306°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Kentucky |
| County | Magoffin |
| Incorporated | March 2, 1867 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | James “Pete” Shepherd |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.1 sq mi (5.5 km2) |
| • Land | 2.1 sq mi (5.5 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 853 ft (260 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 1,604 |
| • Density | 758.1/sq mi (292.7/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 41465 |
| Area code(s) | 606 |
| FIPS code | 21-68232 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0502868 |
Salyersville is a city in and the county seat of Magoffin County, Kentucky, United States.[1] It is located on the Licking River. The population was 1,604 at the 2000 census.
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[edit] History
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In 1794 after the American Revolutionary War, the first European-American settlement was attempted by Archibald Prater, John Williams, Ebenezer Hanna, Clayton Cook, but they were driven out by Native Americans who had long inhabited the territory. The pioneer Americans returned six years later in 1800 and built the fort of Licking Station on a hill in the Horse Shoe Bend of the Licking River. This was just outside of present-day city limits.
As the town grew through the decades, it was given the name Adamsville for one of the town founders, "Uncle Billie" Adams. Adams owned extensive farm land, a hotel, a gristmill, a tannery and a blacksmith shop in the area. The area was settled mostly by independent subsistence farming families. Few were slaveholders in eastern Kentucky.
In 1860, Magoffin County was formed from parts of the surrounding Floyd, Johnson, and Morgan Counties. The name was chosen for the Kentucky State Governor at the time, Beriah Magoffin, who served from 1859 to 1862. On February 22, 1860, the city of Adamsville had an official name change to Salyersville for the legislator, Samuel Salyer, who sponsored the creation of Magoffin County.
During the American Civil War (1861–1865), Salyersville fell on hard times. Because of its location in the Upper South and history of settlement by migrants from Virginia, some residents sided with the Confederacy. Because few of the residents were slaveholders and had struggled for a political voice in the state, many were supporters of the Union. In 1864, Union forces defeated a Confederate raiding force at the Battle of Salyersville.
In 1871, "Uncle Billie" Adams gave land to Salyersville to build a courthouse and other public buildings. In 1890, the Magoffin County's first court house was completed. (It stood for 67 years, but burned to the ground in 1957).
The Magoffin County Institute, Salyersville's first high school, was founded in 1908 by A.C. Harlowe.
The Great Depression (1930s - 1940s) caused much suffering in Salyersville. A high percentage of Salyersville's citizens were employed or self-employed laborers. Farmers suffered as prices for crops fell by 40-60%; mining and logging areas suffered unemployment when demand for their products fell sharply. In 1939, storms drove the Licking River to crest over 25 feet, flooding most of downtown Salyersville and causing extensive property damage. The local economy suffered.
In 1963, the Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway is completed, stretching west 76 miles from Salyersville to intersect with Interstate 64 at a point just east of Winchester, Kentucky. It enabled more tourists to visit the area, and heritage tourism began to help Salyersville develop a changed economy.
The first annual Magoffin County Founder's Day Festival was held in 1978.
In the winter of 1997, as part of Kentucky's elk restoration project, Salyersville became one of the locations selected for the release of elk into the wilderness area of the mountains.
In 2002 the second Magoffin County court house, built in 1960, was demolished. In its place, a new Justice Center was constructed, which opened in Spring 2006. The new Justice Center's architecture plays tribute to Magoffin County's original Court House.
Poverty has long been a burden of the area surrounding Salyersville. As of 2006, Magoffin County was one of the poorest counties in the United States. The county is the 42nd poorest county by per capita income and the 24th poorest county by median household income.
[edit] Geography
Salyersville is " North, 83°3'47" West (37.748171, -83.062984)[2].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.1 square miles (5.4 km2), all land.
[edit] Land Use
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[edit] Culture
[edit] Cultural events & fairs
| Founder's Day Theme by year: [3] |
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1982 - Patrick |
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- Founder's Day - Founder's day is an annual county festival for the people of Magoffin County. It attracts those who have roots in eastern Kentucky and others who are interested in the genealogy and history of the area. A different family surname is celebrated each year as part of the festival.
The Festival offers young people opportunities to enter contests and win prize money for excelling in academic subjects such as math, spelling, essay writing, and art. Pageants are held for young people from age 1-day to age 14 for boys and girls and for young women from age 17 to age 26. A parade, drama & fashion shows, pet shows, clogging, other dance exhibitions, and specialty acts are just a few of the festivities that are part of Founder's Day. [4]
- Street Dance - Each year there is a public square dance in downtown Salyersville. The intersection surrounding the downtown courthouse was blocked off for the event which went well into the night.
- Independence Day Festival - Independence Day is celebrated in Salyersville with a parade and pageants.
[edit] Parks and outdoor attractions
- Pioneer Village - Located near downtown Salyersville, Pioneer Village is a complex of 15 original log cabins that have been restored and preserved through the efforts of the Magoffin County Historical Society.[3] Together the cabins form a living history museum, where staff create displays and demonstrations of early crafts. The cabins in Pioneer Village often date back to the early 19th century. Donated cabins are disassembled with care, the logs numbered and cleaned, and they are transported and reassembled in the Pioneer Village.
- Ramey Memorial Park - This park offers picnic shelters, picnic tables, a playground, a walking track, basketball courts, tennis courts, and baseball fields as well as a swimming pool (open during the summer). The park has access to a steel bridge that crosses the Licking River, connecting the park to the historic Pioneer Village and a monument commemorating veterans of war from Magoffin County.[4]
[edit] Monuments
- Several marble monuments are located downtown near the Pioneer Village cabins, including the 'Founder's Pyramid', a surname marker, a county marker, an American Civil War memorial, and a memorial soldier's bell. The George "Golden Hawk Sizemore" grave and monument [5] sits at the Mouth of Oakly Cemetery, and the Tip Top coal camp marker sits at the head of the creek.[6]
[edit] Historical Markers
- Civil War Action - This marker, located near Puncheon Creek in Salyersville, states: "On mission to clear area of CSA forces, Col. Geo. W. Gallup with USA troops repulsed Confederate attack led by Lt. Colonel E. F. Clay at Paintsville April 13, 1864, and pursued enemy to this point. Union men attacked next day. Clay was mortally wounded: CSA suffered 60 casualties and 60 men, 200 horses, 400 saddles, 300 small-arms taken. USA sustained only slight losses."
- County Named, 1860 - This marker, located in downtown Salyersville, describes the biography of Gov. Beriah Magoffin, the county namesake.
- First Settlement - This marker at the eastern Salyersville city limits describes the founding of the town by European Americans.
- Ivy Point Skirmishes - This marker on Ivy Point Hill tells of skirmishes during the Civil War.
- Reuben Patrick Grave - This marker notes a Civil War action by Patrick, who also served as a Kentucky state legislator, 1863-1867.
- Wm. "Uncle Billie" Adams - This marker in the downtown tells a short biography of one of the founders.
[edit] Media
The local weekly newspapers in Salyersville include The Salyersville Independent and the Trading Post, mostly for advertising. Founded in 1921, The Salyersville Independent circullates over 4,000 copies every Thursday. It is currently owned and published by David Prater.
Cable service in Salyersville is provided by Rick Howard Cable, Frank Howard Cable and Foothills Cooperative. Through these companies, Salyersville is provided with standard and premium cable TV service, high-speed Internet access and telephone service. Frank Howard Cable and Rick Howard Cable offer local programming via MCTV (Magoffin County Television) and MCSTV (Magoffin County School TV), a channel dedicated to local school programming. MCTV carries a daily local news media program 'Your News Today'.
Salyersville's radio stations include the local WRLV (AM/FM) Pure Country 106.5 and 1140. Stations of surrounding counties can also be heard, such as Prestonsburg's WQHY (FM) 95.5 , Paintsville's WKLW (FM) 94.7, and West Liberty's Kick 102.9.
[edit] Infrastructure
[edit] Education
Salyersville's public schools are operated by the Magoffin County Board of Education. Salyersville's Magoffin County High School mascot is the Hornets.
Other public schools in Salyersville are the Herald Whitaker Middle School, North Magoffin Elementary, Salyersville Elementary School, and South Magoffin Elementary
[edit] Economy
Major employers include the manufacturing company Joy Mining Machinery.[5]
[edit] Founders
The founding fathers of Salyersville are :
- William 'Uncle Billy' Adams (1802–1881) - Founder of Adamsville, now known as Salyersville.
- Samuel "The Legislator" Salyer (1812–1890) - Founder and Kentucky state legislator, for whom Salyersville was named.
- Archibald Prater (1755–1831) - Frontiersman who first settled the land that is now Salyersville.
[edit] Demographics
| Historical populations | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1890 | 339 |
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| 1900 | 265 | −21.8% | |
| 1910 | 310 | 17.0% | |
| 1920 | 412 | 32.9% | |
| 1930 | 446 | 8.3% | |
| 1940 | 1,254 | 181.2% | |
| 1950 | 1,174 | −6.4% | |
| 1960 | 1,173 | −0.1% | |
| 1970 | 1,196 | 2.0% | |
| 1980 | 1,352 | 13.0% | |
| 1990 | 1,917 | 41.8% | |
| 2000 | 1,604 | −16.3% | |
| Est. 2009 | 1,562 | [6] | −2.6% |
| U.S. Census Bureau[7] | |||
As of the census of 2000,[1], there were 1,604 people, 646 households, and 414 families residing in the city. The population density was 758.1 people per square mile (292.1/km²). There were 710 housing units at an average density of 335.6 per square mile (129.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 99.69% White, 0.06% African American, and 0.25% Native American. 0.31% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 646 households out of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.85.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.8% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $16,042, and the median income for a family was $23,393. Males had a median income of $26,534 versus $20,188 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,881. About 35.7% of families and 40.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 56.4% of those under the age of 18 and 34.3% of those 65 and older.
[edit] References
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [http://www.thinkkentucky.com/edis/cmnty/BusInd.aspx?cw=120 "Salyersville Magoffin County Business and Industry"]. Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development. 2011-12-28. http://www.thinkkentucky.com/edis/cmnty/BusInd.aspx?cw=120. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
- ^ Annual Estimates of Resident Population for Incorporated Cities in Kentucky: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2009 United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2010-07-08
- ^ Census Bureau Retrieved on 2010-2-12
[edit] External links
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