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22-545: Prestonsburg is a small home rule-class city in and the county seat of Floyd County , Kentucky , United States. It is in the eastern part of the state in the valley of the Big Sandy River . The population was 3,255 at the time of the 2010 census , down from 3,612 at the 2000 census. The area was part of the 100,000-acre (400 km) grant in the early 1700s to the family of John Preston's wife, born Elizabeth Patton, which he administered on her behalf. The grant

44-445: A pack horse library in the late 1930s to bring library materials to rural mountain residents. U.S. Route 23 , also called "The Country Music Highway " to celebrate the region's rich heritage of music, runs through Prestonsburg. Country music stars including Loretta Lynn , Crystal Gayle , Wynonna Judd , Naomi Judd , Billy Ray Cyrus , Tom T. Hall , Ricky Skaggs , Keith Whitley , Dwight Yoakam , and Patty Loveless are all from

66-631: A public library , a branch of the Floyd County Public Library. List of Kentucky cities Kentucky , a state in the United States , has 418 active cities. The two largest, Louisville and Lexington , are designated "first class" cities. A first class city would normally have a mayor- alderman government, but that does not apply to the merged governments in Louisville and Lexington. All other cities have

88-531: A different form of government, including mayor-council , commission , and city manager , and are designated " home rule class" cities. The two-class system went into effect on January 1, 2015, following the 2014 passage of House Bill 331 by the Kentucky General Assembly and the bill's signing into law by Governor Steve Beshear . The new system replaced one in which cities were divided into six classes based on their population at

110-428: A household in the city was $ 20,810, and the median income for a family was $ 27,852. Males had a median income of $ 30,809 versus $ 22,439 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 18,013. About 26.3% of families and 27.5% of the population were below the poverty line , including 44.2% of those under the age of 18 and 10.3% of those 65 and older. Schools are managed by Floyd County Schools . Prestonsburg has

132-610: A massive earthmoving project completed in 1987 rerouted the river to bypass the city. At Paintsville it turns to the north-northeast, flowing through Johnson and Lawrence counties. It joins the Tug Fork from the southwest at Louisa on the West Virginia state line to form the Big Sandy. The Levisa Fork was historically an important river for log driving . The river is partly navigable for commercial purposes through

154-640: A series of locks . In the early 1900s the river was navigable as far as Pikeville. Variant names, according to the USGS, include Louisa River, Louisa Fork, Lavisa Fork, and West Fork, in addition to Levisa Fork River and Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River. The official name according to the USGS is Levisa Fork. According to Robert F. Collins of the United States Forest Service , 18th-century explorer Dr. Thomas Walker had named

176-624: Is also the home of the East Kentucky Science Center . Opened in 2004, the Science Center contains one of the nation's most technologically advanced planetariums. Prestonsburg is in northern Floyd County in the eastern part of the state, along the banks of the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River . It is 13 miles (21 km) south of Paintsville and 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Pikeville . According to

198-500: Is being maintained through a registry of cities that were covered by prior laws. Under the new system, Louisville and Lexington are classified as first class. All other cities in the state are in the home rule class. Click on the double triangles at the top of a column to sort the table by that column.     County seat Since the 2010 census , some cities in Kentucky were disincorporated and did not appear in

220-860: Is home to the Kentucky Opry. Middle Creek National Battlefield is the site of the largest and most significant Civil War battle in Eastern Kentucky . Prestonsburg is home to the Samuel May House , the Big Sandy Valley's oldest known brick home. Built by Samuel May in 1817, the house was used by the Confederate forces as a recruiting station during the American Civil War . The 5th Kentucky Infantry CSA and 10th Kentucky Cavalry were organized there. The house

242-594: The United States Census Bureau , Prestonsburg has an area of 12.9 square miles (33.4 km), of which 12.7 square miles (32.9 km) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km), or 1.52%, is water. As of the census of 2000, there were 3,612 people, 1,563 households, and 956 families residing in the city. The population density was 332.2 inhabitants per square mile (128.3/km). There were 1,683 housing units at an average density of 154.8 units per square mile (59.8 units/km). The racial makeup of

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264-640: The Big Sandy Valley. Prestonsburg is mentioned in Dwight Yoakam's "Readin', Rightin', Rt. 23" (from his album Hillbilly Deluxe ), a song about the yearning of local coal miners to escape their plight by traveling up U.S. Route 23 to find employment in the factories in the North, not knowing that they were only trading one miserable life for another. Prestonsburg is the location of the Mountain Arts Center , which hosts music concerts and

286-544: The city was 97.51% White , 0.33% African American , 0.50% Native American , 0.53% Asian , 0.44% from other races , and 0.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.02% of the population. There were 1,563 households, out of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 37.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.0% had someone living alone who

308-529: The nearby Kentucky River the Louisa River, after Princess Louisa , sister of Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (Walker had just named the Cumberland River a month or two earlier). According to George R. Stewart , frontiersmen "forgot" who it was named for and it changed over time to Levisa. An alternate story is that one of Ephraim Vause ' daughters, Levicee, was carried away by

330-415: The new scheme took effect. The General Assembly had historically reclassified cities only when requested by the city government. If all cities had been reclassified in the pre-2015 scheme according to actual population, about one-third of classifications would have changed. In particular, Lexington would have been classified as a first-class (Class 1) city. Although basic city classification changed in 2015,

352-563: The next census. Levisa Fork It rises in the Appalachian Mountains of southwestern Virginia , in eastern Buchanan County , near Grundy . It flows west into Pike County, Kentucky , where it is impounded to form Fishtrap Lake reservoir. After collecting the Russell Fork , it flows northwest through Pikeville and Prestonsburg . The natural course of the river formed a loop surrounding downtown Pikeville, but

374-405: The old classifications will remain relevant for some time. Because many provisions of state law applied only to cities of certain pre-2015 classes, House Bill 331 was explicitly written to address such issues. In certain areas of law, class-based distinctions between cities have been replaced by population-based distinctions. In certain other areas that were more controversial, the pre-2015 status quo

396-558: The time of their classification. Before the enactment of House Bill 331, more than 400 classification-related laws affected public safety, alcohol beverage control, revenue options and others. Lexington and Fayette County are completely merged in a unitary urban county government (UCG); Louisville and other cities within Jefferson County have also merged into a single metro government. However, under state law, both major cities retained their pre-merger classification before

418-449: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.72. In the city, the population was spread out, with 20.2% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.8 males. The median income for

440-517: Was intended to permit British colonization beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains , but subsequent French and Indian resistance and a reversal of British policy limited its impact. The land was not settled until John Spurlock of Montgomery County, Virginia , arrived in 1791. He laid out the town of "Preston's Station" in 1797. It became the seat of Floyd County upon its formation in 1799 and was formally established in 1818. The post office

462-513: Was known as "Floyd Court House" from its establishment in 1816 until the late 1820s, when it was renamed "Prestonsburg". On January 10, 1862, nearby Middle Creek National Battlefield was the scene of the largest battle of the Civil War to occur in Eastern Kentucky . The town was also the site of one of the worst school bus disasters in American history on February 28, 1958. The town had

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484-803: Was used as a residence until 1981 and was donated to the City of Prestonsburg in 1992. It has since been restored and maintained as a living history museum. The Jenny Wiley Theatre was in Prestonsburg and offered theatrical productions all year long at both the outdoor Jenny Wiley Amphitheater, in Jenny Wiley State Resort Park , and the nearby Mountain Arts Center. The Theatre's presentations of classic Broadway musicals, comedies, historical dramas and holiday productions kept theatre-goers entertained for over 40 years. Prestonsburg

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