Mayfield, Kentucky facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mayfield, Kentucky
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Graves County Courthouse and Confederate monument in 2018. The courthouse was severely damaged by the 2021 Western Kentucky tornado on December 10, 2021, and was demolished in 2022.
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Location within Graves County and Kentucky
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| Country | United States | ||||
| State | Kentucky | ||||
| County | Graves | ||||
| Established | 1824 | ||||
| Incorporated | 1846 | ||||
| Named for | Mayfield Creek | ||||
| Area | |||||
| • Total | 7.38 sq mi (19.11 km2) | ||||
| • Land | 7.35 sq mi (19.03 km2) | ||||
| • Water | 0.03 sq mi (0.09 km2) | ||||
| Elevation | 476 ft (145 m) | ||||
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 10,017 | ||||
| • Estimate
(2022)
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9,894 | ||||
| • Density | 1,363.60/sq mi (526.50/km2) | ||||
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) | ||||
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) | ||||
| ZIP code |
42066
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| Area code | 270 & 364 | ||||
| FIPS code | 21-50898 | ||||
| GNIS ID | 497715 | ||||
Mayfield is a home rule–class city and the county seat of Graves County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 10,017 as of the 2020 United States Census.
Contents
History
Mayfield is in the center of the Jackson Purchase, an eight-county region purchased by Isaac Shelby and Andrew Jackson from the Chickasaw people in 1818. Mayfield was established as the county seat of Graves County in 1821, and the county was formally organized in 1823. John Anderson is believed to have been the first settler, arriving in 1819 and building a log home on Mayfield Creek. In December 1821, Anderson was appointed county court clerk and moved about two and a half miles to the site that became Mayfield. According to Trabue Davis, the town's name originates indirectly from a gambler named Mayfield, who was kidnapped about 1817 at a racetrack near what is now Hickman. He was carried to the site of today's Mayfield, where he carved his name into a tree in hopes that someone would see it. He then tried to escape, but he drowned trying to cross what is now called Mayfield Creek. The future town got its name from the creek.
The completion of the Memphis, New Orleans, and Northern Railroad in 1858 connected Mayfield with the outside world. Beginning with the Mayfield Woolen Mills in 1860, manufacturing clothing became the main industry in Mayfield for the next hundred years. The town was also a major market for loose-leaf tobacco.
During the Civil War, the Jackson Purchase including Mayfield strongly supported the Confederate cause. The Jackson Purchase has even been called "Kentucky's South Carolina". On May 29, 1861, a group of Southern sympathizers from Kentucky and Tennessee met at the Graves County Courthouse to discuss the possibility of joining the Jackson Purchase to West Tennessee. Most records of the event are lost, probably due to an 1887 fire that destroyed the courthouse. In 1907, Fulton County judge Herbert Carr recalled that the Mayfield Convention adopted a resolution for secession, and a historical marker in front of the courthouse now proclaims this as fact. However, records of the meeting kept by a Union sympathizer do not mention any such resolution, and historian Berry Craig argues that the convention believed Kentucky would eventually secede and a resolution to break away was unnecessary. Surviving records do show that the convention adopted resolutions condemning President Abraham Lincoln for "waging a bloody and cruel war" against the South, urging Gov. Beriah Magoffin to resist Union forces and praising him for refusing to answer Lincoln's demand for soldiers. They also condemned the Federal government for providing "Lincoln guns" to Union sympathizers in eastern Kentucky. The convention nominated Henry Burnett to represent Kentucky's First District in Congress. The Mayfield Convention was followed by the Russellville Convention, which created the provisional Confederate government of Kentucky.
Following the war, these southern sympathies were demonstrated by the long dominance of the Democratic Party in local elections. During the Civil Rights Movement, the local schools were slow to integrate, but they finally did so without violence. The "Mayfield Ten", ten black students from the segregated Dunbar High School, were allowed to register at all-white Mayfield High School in 1956.
On May 10, 2016, an EF3 tornado passed just north of the city limits. There were ten injuries.
Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Mayfield has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.9 square miles (17.9 km2), of which 0.03 square miles (0.08 km2), or 0.43%, is water.
The Purchase Parkway (designated as a future part of Interstate 69) forms a bypass to the northwest of Mayfield, running along or close to the city limits. Access is from Exits 21 through 25. The parkway leads northeast 28 miles (45 km) to Interstate 24 near Kentucky Dam, and southwest 22 miles (35 km) to Fulton. U.S. Route 45 leads north from Mayfield 26 miles (42 km) to Paducah on the Ohio River and southwest to Fulton. Kentucky Route 80 leads southeast 24 miles (39 km) to Murray.
Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally cool winters. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Mayfield has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1830 | 44 | — | |
| 1860 | 556 | — | |
| 1870 | 779 | 40.1% | |
| 1880 | 1,839 | 136.1% | |
| 1890 | 2,909 | 58.2% | |
| 1900 | 4,081 | 40.3% | |
| 1910 | 5,916 | 45.0% | |
| 1920 | 6,583 | 11.3% | |
| 1930 | 8,177 | 24.2% | |
| 1940 | 8,619 | 5.4% | |
| 1950 | 8,990 | 4.3% | |
| 1960 | 10,762 | 19.7% | |
| 1970 | 10,724 | −0.4% | |
| 1980 | 10,705 | −0.2% | |
| 1990 | 9,935 | −7.2% | |
| 2000 | 10,349 | 4.2% | |
| 2010 | 10,024 | −3.1% | |
| 2020 | 10,017 | −0.1% | |
| 2022 (est.) | 9,894 | −1.3% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
2020 census
As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 10,017 people, 3,734 households, and 2,138 families residing in the city.
| Race | Persons | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| White | 6,386 | 63.75% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 1,793 | 17.89% |
| Black or African American | 1,205 | 12.03% |
| Asian | 74 | 0.74% |
| Native American | 19 | 0.19% |
| Multi-racial | 540 | 5.39% |
Arts and culture
Wooldridge Monuments
Mayfield is home to the Wooldridge Monuments, a series of historical monuments located in Maplewood Cemetery. They were built for Colonel Henry G. Wooldridge from 1892 until Wooldridge's death on May 30, 1899, to commemorate family members and other loved ones. The lot has been called "The Strange Procession That Never Moves."
Sports
Mayfield was home to professional baseball's minor league Class D Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League (or KITTY League) Mayfield Pantsmakers (1922–24), Mayfield Clothiers (1936–38, 1946–55), and Mayfield Browns (1939–41).
The Clothiers were the first team to integrate the Kitty League when they employed African-American and Mayfield native Mickey Stubblefield as a pitcher during the 1952 season.
Education
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Mid-Continent University, formerly Mid-Continent Baptist Bible College, was located just north of Mayfield off U.S. Route 45. It closed after the spring 2014 term due to alleged financial (aid) mismanagement.
Mayfield Independent City School District was established on July 1, 1908, with the selection and meeting of its first Board Members, organized by Mr. W.J. Webb.
Mayfield High School has won 13 Kentucky High School Athletic Association football championships in classes A and AA in a total of 25 title game appearances. As of 2023, Mayfield is fourth nationally with 946 all-time wins. Mayfield High School mascot is "Cardinals".
The Graves County High School Co-Ed Cheerleading Team won the titles of National Champions in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011 and State Champions in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, 2010, and 2012. Graves County High School mascot is "Eagles".
Mayfield has a lending library, the Graves County Public Library.
Media
Local media in Mayfield includes the Mayfield Messenger, a three-day (Sunday, Wednesday, Friday) newspaper. Radio stations WLLE, WNGO, and WYMC are licensed to Mayfield, though WLLE and WNGO mainly focus on the direct Paducah area.
Notable people
- Lucien Anderson, former United States representative
- Lon Carter Barton, historian.
- David Boaz, libertarian political thinker, VP Cato Institute
- Andrew Boone, former United States representative
- Billy Joe "Cornbread Red" Burge, billiards player.
- Betsy Cook, singer, songwriter, musician
- Randy Galloway, sports journalist and Texas radio personality
- Rex Geveden, Chief Operating Officer of BWX Technologies.
- Tripp Gibson, Major League Baseball umpire
- Noble Jones Gregory, former United States representative
- William Voris Gregory, former United States representative
- Helen LaFrance, artist.
- Bobbie Ann Mason, author
- Kent Robbins, songwriter
- Kevin Skinner, musician and America's Got Talent's 4th Season winner
- Robert Burns Smith, third governor of Montana
- Chuck Taylor, professional wrestler
- Martha Nelson Thomas, creator of "Doll Babies," later plagiarized as Cabbage Patch Kids, grew up in Mayfield.
- Ellis Wilson, artist
See also
In Spanish: Mayfield (Kentucky) para niños
