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Campbellsville, Kentucky
—  City  —
Downtown Campbellsville
Location of Campbellsville, Kentucky
Coordinates: 37°20′45″N 85°20′44″W / 37.34583°N 85.34556°W / 37.34583; -85.34556
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
County	Taylor
Area
- Total	6.1 sq mi (15.7 km2)
- Land	6.0 sq mi (15.4 km2)
- Water	0.1 sq mi (0.2 km2)
Elevation	814 ft (248 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	10,498
- Density	1,760.9/sq mi (679.9/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	42718-42719
Area code(s)	270
FIPS code	21-12160
GNIS feature ID	0488742

Campbellsville is a city in Taylor County, Kentucky, United States. The population within city limits was 10,498 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Taylor County,^[1] and the home of Campbellsville University. Campbellsville is twinned with Buncrana, County Donegal, Ireland.

Contents 1 History 2 Historical Places 3 Downtown 4 Education 5 Industry 6 Media 7 Geography 8 Lifestyle 9 Demographics 10 Notable natives 11 References 12 External links

[edit] History

The city was founded in 1817 and laid out by Andrew Campbell from Augusta County, Virginia. Campbell owned a gristmill, tavern, and began selling lots in Campbellsville in 1814. It became a county seat when Taylor County was separated from Green County in 1848, and the city agreed to sell the public square to the county for one dollar, so a courthouse could be built there.

The first courthouse was burned by Confederates in 1864, with the replacement built on the same site. A third courthouse in a modern design was built in 1965 on a property adjoining the "old courthouse". A portion of the old courthouse still stands near the current (3rd) courthouse.

Construction began in 2008 on a new Justice Center because of the demand for a more updated courthouse and for an "official" county jail (to save on transport of inmates to neighboring Lebanon in Marion County).

[edit] Historical Places

Campbellsville has several historic sites as listed under Taylor County in the National Register of Historic Places listings in Kentucky. Notably the Campbellsville Historic Commercial District includes historical main street.

[edit] Downtown

Downtown Campbellsville includes a Main Street and a designated historic district. The 100 and 200 block of Main Street are lined with century old brick, stone, and iron buildings with Italianate architecture facades. The most notable structure is Merchant Tower (formally Merchants Hotel) which is Romanesque architecture and listed individually on the National Register of Historical Places. Since 2008, Campbellsville is undergoing a revitalization with the help of a Main Street Manager.

[edit] Education

Campbellsville is home to a private university, Campbellsville University. Campbellsville has two public school systems: Taylor County and Campbellsville Independent.

[edit] Industry

In the 20th century, Campbellsville was a regional center of industry (agriculture, lumber, textiles, milling, automotive, distribution, oil and gas, light manufacturing, education, health care, and tourism).

In the 21st century, the local university, health care system, and ubiquitous access to the internet are attracting students and professionals.

For decades, the region was dominated by employment from a large Fruit of the Loom plant that closed in 1998 ^[2]

Campbellsville is home to an Amazon.com regional fulfillment center.

Parker-Kalon Company, a division of Black and Decker Corporation, is located here as well. It has produced threaded and non-threaded fasteners for the automotive, appliance, metal building construction, and electronic industries since the late 1960s.

The area is home to wood milling companies that produce interior trim products (Cox Interior, Wholesale Hardwoods).

An expanding health care industry serves the region of 110,000 people. Taylor Regional Hospital is one of the largest employers. In 2008, TRH served 86,100 patients.^[3]

In 1969, there was a booming oil business that was shutdown due to environmental concerns of excess salt water disposal. In 2008, attempts were being made to revitalize oil reserves estimated at 200 million barrels Original Oil-In-Place (OOIP).

Campbellsville Industries (CI) "The Steeple People (tm)" is the oldest and largest steeple and tower manufacturer in the United States.^[4] CI has over 15,000 installations located throughout the 50 United States, Canada. CI claims the record for the worlds largest prefabricated church steeple at 229' at the First Baptist Church in Huntsville, Alabama.^[5]

Tourism is also part of the local economy due to close proximity of Green River Lake and Green River Lake State Park.

Campbellsville is also home to the last Druther's (a.k.a. Burger Queen) restaurant in existence.

[edit] Media

The local newspaper, Central Kentucky News-Journal,^[6] has been published since 1910.

[edit] Geography

Campbellsville is located at 37°20′45″N 85°20′44″W / 37.34583°N 85.34556°W / 37.34583; -85.34556 (37.345951, -85.345444).^[7]

Campbellsville is the geographical center of Kentucky.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.1 square miles (16 km²), of which, 6.0 square miles (16 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) of it (1.65%) is water.

Campbellsville sits at the crossroads of multiple highways. U.S. Route 68, KY 55, KY 210, KY 80, KY 70 are only some of the major roads that run through the city.

[edit] Lifestyle

For 80+ years, Campbellsville has been known as the cruising capital of Kentucky. Still to this day, every Friday and Saturday night beginning at 10pm, main street fills with cruisers who circle within the historic district.

Campbellsville is considered "moist" in that it permits the sale of alcoholic beverages in qualifying restaurants.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[8] of 2000, there were 10,498 people, 4,432 households, and 2,814 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,760.9 people per square mile (680.1/km²). There were 4,876 housing units at an average density of 817.9/sq mi (315.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.11% White, 8.74% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.61% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.17% of the population.

There were 4,432 households out of which 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.5% were married couples living together, 16.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.5% 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 2.80.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.8% under the age of 18, 14.0% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 83.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $22,922, and the median income for a family was $30,643. Males had a median income of $26,672 versus $19,736 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,996. About 18.7% of families and 21.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.6% of those under age 18 and 17.5% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Notable natives

• Damon E. Allen, optometrist and civic leader who led the campaign to legally permit optometrists to prescribe medication to their patients
• Clem Haskins, former college and professional basketball player and college basketball coach
• J. B. Holmes, professional golfer

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• http://www.campbellsville.com - A portal website by a private company.
• http://www.downtowncampbellsville.com - Merchant's website.
• http://www.merchanttower.com - Registered historic place. Official site.
• http://www.campbellsvillechamber.com - Chamber of Commerce
• http://www.teamtaylorcounty.com/ - Economic Development Authority
• http://www.campbellsvilleky.com/ - Tourism Commission
• http://parks.ky.gov/findparks/recparks/gr/ - Kentucky State Parks

• Campbellsville, Kentucky is at coordinates 37°20′45″N 85°20′44″W / 37.345951°N 85.345444°W / 37.345951; -85.345444 (Campbellsville, Kentucky)Coordinates: 37°20′45″N 85°20′44″W / 37.345951°N 85.345444°W / 37.345951; -85.345444 (Campbellsville, Kentucky)

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