Perryville, Kentucky
Encyclopedia
Perryville is a historical city in western Boyle County
, Kentucky
, United States
. The population was 763 at the 2000 census
. It is part of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area.
, settled during the final stages of the American Revolution
. This fort, founded by James Harbeson
and a group of settlers from Virginia
, was strategically placed near a cave and spring. When troubles with local Indians arose, they fled across the water and into the cave to seek shelter from attack. The cave, which can still be viewed today, formed the settlers' first line of defense.
Prospering as a farming community for decades, shortly after the War of 1812
two men named Edward Bullock and William Hall organized plans to build a village along the river near the original fort. Bullock and Hall named the village Perryville in honor of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry
, hero of the Battle of Lake Erie
. In the late 1830s, a line of buildings next to the Chaplin River formed the basis of the village of Perryville. Now called "Merchants' Row," these buildings still stand.
The early nineteenth century revived interest in classical education for the small town. Many institutions of higher learning, mostly all-women's colleges, were established, including the Ewing Institute, the Elmwood Academy
, and Harmonia College. One of Harmonia College's graduates achieved national prominence--Carrie Nation
, the national temperance leader, boarded at the Karrick-Parks house while living in Perryville. As Nation "cleaned out" a number of local spots, it is believed that Perryville became the first location in the United States to exercise Local Option
laws.
In October, 1862, the fields west of town were the site of the Battle of Perryville
, an important encounter in the American Civil War
that ended the Kentucky Campaign of Confederate
generals Braxton Bragg
and Edmund Kirby Smith
. The Perryville Battlefield
is preserved as a state park
, and is the site of an American Civil War reenactment
of the battle every year.
In 1961, Perryville and the surrounding area was made part of a National Historic Landmark
area. In 1973, the entire town of Perryville, because of the contribution the village has made toward American history, was put on the National Register of Historic Places
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²), all of it land.
of 2000, there were 763 people, 348 households, and 220 families residing in the city. The population density
was 948.9 /sqmi. There were 384 housing units at an average density of 477.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 93.18% White, 4.98% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.13% Asian, and 1.57% from two or more races.
There were 348 households out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.8% were married couples
living together, 15.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.81.
24.1% of the population was under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 21.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 79.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was US $28,594, and the median income for a family was $36,042. Males had a median income of $30,250 versus $25,938 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $16,202. About 11.7% of families and 15.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.3% of those under age 18 and 13.4% of those age 65 or over.
Boyle County, Kentucky
Boyle County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Its county seat is Danville. In 2000, its population was 28,432. It was formed in 1842 and named for John Boyle , a U.S...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 763 at the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
. It is part of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
The precursor to modern-day Perryville was Harbeson's Station, a fort alongside the Chaplin RiverChaplin River
The Chaplin River is an tributary of the Beech Fork of the Salt River in Kentucky.The name comes from Captain Abraham Chapline, an early explorer of the area....
, settled during the final stages of the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. This fort, founded by James Harbeson
James Harbeson
James Harbeson was an early American settler and founder of Harbeson's Station, now Perryville, Kentucky.During the final stages of the American Revolution, Harbeson and a group of settlers crossed the blue mountains of Virginia into the Bluegrass region of Kentucky. Finding a suitable site...
and a group of settlers from Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, was strategically placed near a cave and spring. When troubles with local Indians arose, they fled across the water and into the cave to seek shelter from attack. The cave, which can still be viewed today, formed the settlers' first line of defense.
Prospering as a farming community for decades, shortly after the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
two men named Edward Bullock and William Hall organized plans to build a village along the river near the original fort. Bullock and Hall named the village Perryville in honor of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry
Oliver Hazard Perry
United States Navy Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry was born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island , the son of USN Captain Christopher Raymond Perry and Sarah Wallace Alexander, a direct descendant of William Wallace...
, hero of the Battle of Lake Erie
Battle of Lake Erie
The Battle of Lake Erie, sometimes called the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, in Lake Erie off the coast of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of Great Britain's Royal Navy...
. In the late 1830s, a line of buildings next to the Chaplin River formed the basis of the village of Perryville. Now called "Merchants' Row," these buildings still stand.
The early nineteenth century revived interest in classical education for the small town. Many institutions of higher learning, mostly all-women's colleges, were established, including the Ewing Institute, the Elmwood Academy
Elmwood Inn
Elmwood Inn of historic Perryville, Kentucky is nationally known because its signature facade is featured on thousands of tins of tea and recipe books that ship every day under the banner of Elmwood Inn Fine Teas company. Built in 1842 by local merchant John Burton, the Greek Revival mansion was...
, and Harmonia College. One of Harmonia College's graduates achieved national prominence--Carrie Nation
Carrie Nation
Carrie Amelia Moore Nation was a member of the temperance movement, which opposed alcohol in pre-Prohibition America. She is particularly noteworthy for promoting her viewpoint through vandalism. On many occasions Nation would enter an alcohol-serving establishment and attack the bar with a hatchet...
, the national temperance leader, boarded at the Karrick-Parks house while living in Perryville. As Nation "cleaned out" a number of local spots, it is believed that Perryville became the first location in the United States to exercise Local Option
Local Option
Local Option is a term used to describe the freedom whereby local political jurisdictions, typically counties or municipalities, can decide by popular vote certain controversial issues within their borders. In practice, it usually relates to the issue of alcoholic beverage sales...
laws.
In October, 1862, the fields west of town were the site of the Battle of Perryville
Battle of Perryville
The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive during the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg's Army of Mississippi won a...
, an important encounter in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
that ended the Kentucky Campaign of Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
generals Braxton Bragg
Braxton Bragg
Braxton Bragg was a career United States Army officer, and then a general in the Confederate States Army—a principal commander in the Western Theater of the American Civil War and later the military adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.Bragg, a native of North Carolina, was...
and Edmund Kirby Smith
Edmund Kirby Smith
Edmund Kirby Smith was a career United States Army officer and educator. He served as a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, notable for his command of the Trans-Mississippi Department of the Confederacy after the fall of Vicksburg.After the conflict ended Smith...
. The Perryville Battlefield
Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site
Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site is a park near Perryville, Kentucky, in Boyle County, Kentucky. An interpretive museum is located near the site where many Confederate soldiers killed in the Battle of Perryville were buried. Additionally, monuments, interpretive signage, and cannons mark...
is preserved as a state park
State park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...
, and is the site of an American Civil War reenactment
American Civil War reenactment
American Civil War reenactment is an effort to recreate the appearance of a particular battle or other event associated with the American Civil War by hobbyists known as Civil War reenactors or Civil War recreationists...
of the battle every year.
In 1961, Perryville and the surrounding area was made part of a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
area. In 1973, the entire town of Perryville, because of the contribution the village has made toward American history, was put on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Geography
Perryville is located at 37°39′0"N 84°57′1"W (37.649974, -84.950176). It lies at the junction of US Route 68 and US Route 150.According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 763 people, 348 households, and 220 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 948.9 /sqmi. There were 384 housing units at an average density of 477.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 93.18% White, 4.98% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.13% Asian, and 1.57% from two or more races.
There were 348 households out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 15.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.81.
24.1% of the population was under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 21.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 79.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was US $28,594, and the median income for a family was $36,042. Males had a median income of $30,250 versus $25,938 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $16,202. About 11.7% of families and 15.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.3% of those under age 18 and 13.4% of those age 65 or over.