Calvert City

History

Calvert City was named for Potilla Willis Calvert. He built his home, Oak Hill, in 1860 and around a decade later gave a portion of his land to a new railroad, specifying that a station be built near his home. That station served as the starting point of the town, which was incorporated on March 18, 1871. The railroad station and post office long favored the shorter Calvert, but the Board on Geographic Names reversed its earlier decision in 1957 and switched to the longer form. During the Ohio River flood of 1937, Calvert City's business district and much of the residential area were severely damaged by floodwaters. In the 1940s, the construction of nearby Kentucky Dam by the Tennessee Valley Authority brought plentiful electric power that led many industrial plants, mostly chemical manufacturers, to locate between the city and the Tennessee River. Merchant Luther Draffen was instrumental in attracting the dam and industrial plants.

Geography

Calvert City is in northern Marshall County, along the south bank of the Tennessee River, upstream from its mouth at the Ohio River. It is east of Paducah, north of Benton, the Marshall county seat, and west of Princeton. The city limits extend southeast as far as the western shore of Kentucky Lake on the Tennessee River. According to the United States Census Bureau, Calvert City has a total area of , of which are land and , or 3.42%, are water.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Marshall County High School
  High · Benton · 1,256 students · 18.7:1 ratio
• North Marshall Middle School
  Middle · Calvert City · 497 students · 16:1 ratio
• Central Elementary School
  Elementary · Benton · 487 students · 15.7:1 ratio
• Sharpe Elementary School
  Elementary · Benton · 317 students · 15.8:1 ratio
• Calvert City Elementary School
  Elementary · Calvert City · 281 students · 14.8:1 ratio
• MC Academy
  High · Benton · 118 students · 39.3:1 ratio
• Marshall County Technical Center
  High · Benton