Paducah

Town of Paducah, Texas

Town of Paducah, Texas

Downtown view of the Town of Paducah, Texas, Cottle County's seat. Photograph by Renelibrary.
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Map of Cottle County

Paducah, the county seat of Cottle County, is on a branch of Salt Creek 115 miles west of Wichita Falls and the same distance northeast of Lubbock in the central part of the county. The city is sometimes referred to as the "Crossroads of America" because U.S. highways 70 and 83, which run from the borders of the United States, intersect there. R. Potts, an early settler in the region, moved there from Paducah, Kentucky, in the mid-1800s and offered later arrivals free land in return for voting to name the new settlement Paducah and to make it the county seat. When Cottle County was organized in 1892, Paducah officially became the county seat. A post office was established in the settlement in 1891 with Charles H. Scott as postmaster. The Paducah Post was founded in 1893 and was still published weekly in the 1980s. By the early 1900s the town had a bank, a lumberyard, a telephone company, an Odd Fellows lodge, a school (started about 1893), and Methodist and Baptist churches. The 1903 population of Paducah was 151. The Quanah, Acme and Pacific Railroad arrived in Paducah on Christmas Day, 1909, and the town was incorporated the next year, when its population stood at 1,350. The number of residents grew to 1,800 in 1915 but dropped to 1,357 in 1920; it reached a peak of 2,952 in 1950, and afterward gradually declined. The 1980 census reported 2,216 residents and forty-eight businesses at Paducah. In the 1980s Paducah was a farm and ranch center; cotton, grains, alfalfa, and cattle were raised in its vicinity. Its hospital closed in 1985. The town's businesses during the 1980s included a gasoline manufacturing plant and a shipping point for the Burlington Northern line (see BURLINGTON RAILROAD SYSTEM). At that time Paducah still maintained a library and museum, an airport, and a retirement home. It also held an annual Cotton Festival each September and an Old Settler's Reunion each April. In 1990 the town's population was 1,788. By 2000 the population was 1,498.

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Charles G. Davis | © TSHA

Handbook of Texas Logo

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.

Great Texas Land Rush logo
Adoption Status:
This place has been adopted and will not be available until September 30, 2024
Adopted by:
Judy Wooten
Dedication Message:
In honor of the men I once knew here!

Belongs to

Paducah is part of or belongs to the following places:

Currently Exists

Yes

Place type

Paducah is classified as a Town

Associated Names

  • (May)

Location

Latitude: 34.01444420
Longitude: -100.30377000

Has Post Office

Yes

Is Incorporated

Yes

Population Count, 2021 View more »

1,060