Paradise, Kentucky
Paradise | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 37°16′05″N 86°59′01″W / 37.26806°N 86.98361°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Kentucky |
County | Muhlenberg |
Elevation | 404 ft (123 m) |
Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
GNIS feature ID | 500167[1] |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/MainStreetParadise1898.jpg/275px-MainStreetParadise1898.jpg)
Paradise was a small town in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, United States. The town was located 10.5 miles (16.9 km) east-north-east of Greenville and was formerly called Stom's Landing (sometimes incorrectly spelled Stum).[2][3] It was once a trading post along the Green River. The area was strip mined in the 20th century. What was left of the town was bought-up and torn down in 1967 by the Tennessee Valley Authority due to health concerns over the adjacent coal-burning electric plant, Paradise Fossil Plant, and the need to expand the plant.
History
Paradise was settled in the early nineteenth century when it was known as Stom's Landing, for Leonard Stom who founded the ferry there.[2][4] It may have once been named Monterey. The origin of its final name of Paradise is not known.[5] It is postulated the name was descriptive, for settlers who considered the setting to be paradise[6] when they arrived around 1797.[7][8]
Post office
A post office was established at Paradise on March 1, 1852; it closed in March 1967.[3][9][10] Though the town did endure numerous floods of the Green River during its lifespan, it survived.
Coal mining town
Paradise was a coal mining town; production of coal in the area dates back to the 1820s.[11]
TVA coal-fired power plant
In 1959, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) began construction of a coal plant on the original site of the town of Paradise,[12][13][14] with the first unit of that plant being activated in May 1963.[12] The coal-fired plants were controversial and were criticized by environmentalists for non-compliance with the Clean Air Act.[15] Since construction of new scrubbers on Unit 3 at Paradise, the plant's emissions from the massive unit have dropped dramatically in recent years; this in turn has led to a dramatic drop in toxic emissions from the plant overall.[citation needed] From 2017 through 2022, the plant was converted into a combined cycle plant that generates electrical power from natural gas; the conversion was completed with the retiring of coal-fired Unit 3 in 2020.
Demise of the town
Some 800 residents lived in the town in its final years before it was disincorporated. The last of the town's residents were relocated from the area no later than December 30, 1967.[7]
John Prine
A song about Paradise, Kentucky, called "Paradise," was written and made famous by singer/songwriter John Prine. The lyrics attribute the destruction of Paradise to the Peabody company, referring to the fact that the town was a site for strip mining. The town continued to exist in partial form after the Pittsburg & Midway Coal Company and Peabody Coal Company stripped the coal around it. The Paradise Fossil Plant was initially erected with only two units; afterwards, the residents who were left in the village were bought out by the Tennessee Valley Authority after ash fall from the newly opened plant brought health concerns to the area. Soon after the TVA bought the town out, they tore down all the structures and constructed the largest cyclonic fired boiler in the world at the new "Paradise Unit 3". All that remains of the original town is a small cemetery at the top of a hill close to the plant.[citation needed]
Geography
Paradise was situated on the eastern edge of Muhlenberg County along the Green River. Kentucky Route 176 is the only major thoroughfare on and out of the area, leading west to the cities of Drakesboro and Greenville. Prior to the early 1960s, KY 176 also traveled eastward across the Green River into Ohio County to connect the area to Rockport.[16]
References
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Paradise, Kentucky
- ^ a b Paradise in Kentucky KYGenWeb Archived August 22, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Rennick, Robert M. (1984) Kentucky Place Names, p. 226. Lexington, Ky: The University Press of Kentucky, ISBN 0-8131-1503-5
- ^ Muhlenberg County Court Order Book 1 Pages 26-50 KyGenWeb Archived July 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Kentucky Atlas & Gazetteer The University of Kentucky. Accessed online September 2, 2009.
- ^ Anderson, Bobby (September 19, 2007). "Sandy Called These Names". Leader-News. pp. A12. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
- ^ a b "Paradise Is Dead, Devil is Blamed". Dubuque, Iowa: The Telegraph-Herald. Associated Press. December 29, 1967. p. 17 – via Google Books.
- ^ Rothbert, Otto A. A History of Muhlenberg County. Heritage Books. pp. 222–225. ISBN 9780788404542.
- ^ "A Creepy Ghost Town In Kentucky, Paradise Is The Stuff Nightmares Are Made Of". OnlyInYourState.com. June 7, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
- ^ Progress Closing the Gates to Paradise KyGenWeb Archived 2015-05-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "'Paradise' returning to Muhlenberg". Kentucky New Era. September 1, 1992. p. 7A. Retrieved November 29, 2023 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b "Paradise Unit Begins Commercial Operations". Park City Daily News. May 20, 1963. p. 1 – via Google Books.
- ^ State History Timeline from Thingstodo.com
- ^ "Life Returning to Ghost Town". Kentucky New Era. October 2, 1959. p. 7. Retrieved November 29, 2023 – via Google Books.
- ^ TVA's Kentucky "Paradise" Coal-fired Plant Operating Permit Fails to Comply With the Clean Air Act- August 24, 2009 from The Center for Biological Diversity
- ^ Official 1957 Kentucky State Highway Map Archived 2012-03-22 at the Wayback Machine
External links
- Ancestors of Robert Stom & Christine (Hilton) Stom
- Photos of old Paradise
- A pictorial trip to John Prine's Paradise KY - links up old photos of the town to each line of the lyrics
- An up-to-date picture of the TVA Paradise Fossil Plant- This plant is the second largest coal-fired plant in the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), rated at 2,558 megawatts at Winter Peak.