Catlettsburg is a city in Boyd County, Kentucky, United States. It is the county seat of Boyd County. The city population was 1,960 at the 2000 census. However, the city's postal zip code serves a greater population of 10,029.[1] Catlettsburg is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 288,649. Since the early 1990s, the commercial sector has grown due to its proximity to Interstate 64 and its location along U.S. Route 23 and 60, both major regional arteries which overlap in Catlettsburg and travel into the city of Ashland. Many commercial developments have developed on the southern end of the city along these routes.
History
Early history
The first records of white settlement in the area was the establishment of a post office/trading post that was opened at this location in 1808 as "Mouth of Sandy". The community was laid out in lots and sold in 1849 by James Fry, then later incorporated as a city in 1858 as Catlett's Burgh, appropriately named in honor of its settlor, landowner Horatio Catlett and family. The Catlett name still appears on a water tributary to the Ohio River, Catlett's Creek, which is followed out of town by Kentucky Route 168 to the west. Two smaller cities were annexed by Catlettsburg in the early 20th century, Hampton City to the south and Sandy City to the north.
It was the Catlett family who constructed a permanent log home at the site in 1811, and operated it as a tavern, post office, trading post, Inn and personal residence. Catering to the ever growing river traffic, its location was on a hill just west of the mouth of the Big Sandy River. As the traffic on the river increased, the tavern business flourished during the two decade period following establishment. That log structure is still standing today, now known as 2600 Beechmoor Place, Catlettsburg. In 1870, it was purchased by Colonel Laban T. Moore, many years after the Catlett's had left the area. Shortly after acquisition, Colonel Moore constructed a much larger addition to the home, and retained the old log structure as quarters for his service employees. At the time of its completion, it was named Beechmoor Place and was undoubtedly the grandest residence in the area. Beechmoor has remained in the ownership of the Colonel's family since that time. With the original construction dating to 1811 along with the 1871 addition, it is the oldest known structure in the area that is still in existence. Colonel Moore's granddaughter, Miss Rebecca Patton, now desceased, was dedicated to the preservation of the property and had it listed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1973. It has remained under the ownership of the Col. Moore's descendants from 1870 to present day. Since Miss Patton's death in 1986, it has been maintained with proceeds from a trust fund and several rental houses on the property. The trust fund was created by Miss Patton prior to her death to assure the historic residence would be preserved and is managed by her nephew who currently lives in New Jersey. Several attempts have been made by residents and officials of the town to acquire the residence as a museum or community center but with no success.
Catlettsburg served as a Union Army supply depot during the Civil War. The First Presbyterian Church, 2600 Broadway, was used as an Army hospital during the war. It is standing and is being used by the Presbyterian Church of U.S.A. and is also listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.
The Catlettsburg National Bank building at the corner of Center and 26th Streets is also listed on the Registry.
Due to the large hardwood timber market that once existed in the area, there are very few trees surviving that were virgin timber when the Catlett's settled here in 1808. One noted exception is found in a very large Oak standing on a knob overlooking the Hampton City section. It measures 246 inches in diameter and dates back to the 1760s, a rare survivor in a town that was once considered the largest hardwood timber market in the world. It was kept standing for usage as a property marker as it stands on a private property line.
Modern history
At the turn of the 20th century, Catlettsburg was the largest hardwood timber market in the world, due to its location at the confluence of the Big Sandy and Ohio rivers. Its population has declined considerably since then, once nearing 10,000 residents, but still serves as a trade center for eastern Boyd County and has a zip code population of 10,029, which is more reflective of the community's size.
The community is home to some of the oldest continually operating businesses in the area. Bowling's Feed and Hardware, Craycraft's Foodland Market, and Kentucky Farmers Bank have all been in business in excess of 60 years. The Kilgore and Collier Funeral Home is the oldest business in Boyd County, with over 140 years of continual operation in one location. In 1997, the Catlettsburg Youth and Family Area Resource group was established with a grant obtained by 4-H director Suellen Zornes. It was later changed to the Catlettsburg Development Club and later Catlettsburg Main Street. It can be credited with the development of the flood wall murals and many other improvements throughout the city. The flood wall and grass levies surrounding the downtown were constructed in 1951 to relieve the city of constant flooding. A large portion of the city is located in a twenty year flood plain, which prompted the U.S. Corps of Engineers to construct the flood wall and levy. Although much needed, initial construction required the removal of over 500 homes which reduced the city's population by over 1000 residents. Since then, no major flooding has occurred in the area protected by the flood wall/levies.
The city has been served by two U.S. Federal Highway Routes, U.S. Route 23 and U.S. Route 60 since 1926, the year the Federal Highway system was created. Both routes originally used downtown surface streets in the city but have since been moved to a four lane stretch directly west of the downtown business district. This caused the original business district to decline considerably and eventually shifted the central business district along the new 4-lane segment constructed in 1969. However, U.S. Route 60 remained on the original downtown routing at the request of city officials, until it was rerouted along the US-23 corridor in 1990. A new U.S. 60 bridge was completed in 1987 to Kenova, West Virginia, across the Big Sandy River.
The topographical description of this city is a combination of flat bottoms found along the rivers, and steep rock cliffs with occasional neighborhoods located on the ridge tops. Although the rugged terrain is a scenic addition to the city, it has limited residential housing growth within the city limits. Many historic buildings can be found in Catlettsburg, mostly dating from the middle to late 1800s. The structural base of the city, mainly centered around the downtown area, was constructed during the hardwood boom of the late 19th century and is brick/stone construction.
The downtown business district received other "blows", in addition to the highway re-designations, when the federal courthouse was relocated to Ashland in 1985, and when the U.S. Post Office was relocated to a new facility on U.S. 23 in 1999, which significantly reduced the amount of traffic in the central business district.
About the area
Catlettsburg is located in the northeast corner of Kentucky at the confluence of the Ohio and Big Sandy rivers. It is considered part of the Kentucky, West Virginia, and Ohio "Tri-state area". The two most significant landmarks in Catlettsburg are the flood wall and the Catlettsburg Refinery. The latter is owned by Marathon Petroleum Company (formerly Ashland, Inc., then Marathon Ashland Petroleum, LLC).
In 1937, a large snowfall and subsequent rainfall in the mountains of West Virginia swept massive amounts of water into the Ohio River. Catlettsburg was completely inundated with water from this runoff, and what would later be called the 1937 Flood convinced Ashland, Ironton, Catlettsburg and Russell that they needed permanent flood protection.
The flood wall/levy was finally finished in 1951, constructed by Federal funds with assistance from the Army Corps of Engineers and the Works Progress Administration.
Geography
Catlettsburg is located 38°24′59″N 82°36′10″W / 38.41639°N 82.60278°W / 38.41639; -82.60278 (38.416273, -82.602762)[2].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.6 square miles (4.3 km²), of which, 1.3 square miles (3.3 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km²) of it (22.42%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 1,960 people, 827 households, and 519 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,528.8 people per square mile (591.2/km²). There were 959 housing units at an average density of 748.0/sq mi (289.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.16% White, 1.12% African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.05% from other races, and 0.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.10% of the population.
There were 827 households out of which 23.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.0% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.2% were non-families. 34.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.85.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.4% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $24,167, and the median income for a family was $34,118. Males had a median income of $26,683 versus $24,107 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,682. About 15.1% of families and 21.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.3% of those under age 18 and 16.7% of those age 65 or over.
Notable inhabitants
Education
The Catlettsburg Independent School District was merged with Boyd County Schools in 1974. Until then, the city had 3 elementary schools serving grades K-8 and one high school. After the merger, Catlettsburg High School became a junior high school and all 3 elementary schools were merged into one building, Catlettsburg Elementary School, which was constructed in 1980. Students in grades 10-12 attended Boyd County High School. in 1993 the junior high was merged with Summit Junior High and is now Boyd County Middle School. Since then, Catlettsburg Elementary is the only school within the city limits, and uses the campus of the former high/ jr. high school. In 1991 Ponderosa Elementary School began educating students. Both it and the private Calvary Christian School are located about 7 miles southwest of the city limits.[4]
See also
References
External links
