Prestonsburg, Kentucky
Prestonsburg, Kentucky
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Prestonsburg, Kentucky

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2293672

Prestonsburg, Kentucky

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Prestonsburg, Kentucky

Prestonsburg is a 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 km2) grant in the early 1700s to the family of John Preston's wife, born Elizabeth Patton, which he administered on her behalf. The grant 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 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 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 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 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 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.

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