Providence

History

In 1820, Richard B. Savage arrived from Virginia with his wife and his elder sister Mary (Savage) Settler, and opened a general store on the site of the present city. The community that grew up was known as Savageville, until the post office was established in 1828, when it was renamed "Providence". Though sometimes said to honor the Rhode Island city of that name, local history records that an old trader who had been helped by nearby farmers suggested the name to honor divine Providence. On February 18, 1840, Providence was incorporated in 1860, when Webster County was formed. A Confederate reconnaissance and foraging party led by then Lieutenant Colonel Nathan Bedford Forrest passed through Webster County between November and December 1861, and Forrest reported that he had been welcomed by the inhabitants.

Geography

Providence is located at (37.398389, -87.757077) The city is concentrated around the intersection of Kentucky Route 109 and Kentucky Route 120, approximately northwest of Madisonville. The Tradewater River flows just west of the city, and the Webster-Hopkins county line lies just to the southeast. U.S. Route 41A passes through the eastern part of Providence.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  133
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  126
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  112
• Pied-billed Grebe

  Podilymbus podiceps (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  108
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  106
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  98
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  96
• Ring-billed Gull

  Larus delawarensis Ord, 1815 · Aves
  95

Most recent

• M 2.58 — 2025-08-09
  2 km ESE of Cynthiana, Indiana
• M 2.52 — 2023-06-03
  7 km N of Nebo, Kentucky
• M 2.51 — 2023-05-30
  7 km W of Calhoun, Kentucky
• M 3.03 — 2023-05-30
  6 km W of Calhoun, Kentucky
• M 2.57 — 2022-04-13
  3 km SE of Springerton, Illinois
• M 2.61 — 2020-02-27
  5 km SW of Bremen, Kentucky