Editing Central City, Kentucky (section)

==History==
[[File:Saint_Joseph's_Catholic_Church_(Central_City,_Kentucky)_-_exterior_2.jpg|left|thumb|St. Joseph's Catholic Church on Broad Street]]
The site of present-day Central City was originally known as "Morehead's Horse Mill" after local resident Charles S. Morehead's steam-powered [[gristmill]]. A larger community began to develop after the 1870 advent of the [[Elizabethtown and Paducah Railroad]]. A post office was constructed the next year in 1871 and called "Owensboro Junction" after the projected 1872 completion of the [[Owensboro and Russellville Railroad]]. By 1873, the settlement was large enough to be incorporated by the [[Kentucky Assembly|state legislature]] as "Stroud City", after local landowner John Stroud.<ref name=rennick>Rennick, Robert. ''Kentucky Place Names'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=3Lac2FUSj_oC&pg=PA55 p. 55]. University Press of Kentucky (Lexington), 1987. Accessed July 22, 2013.</ref>

The same year, however, the [[Du Pont family|du Ponts']] [[Central Coal and Iron Company]] began operation in the area and became so vital to the local economy that the city was reïncorporated in 1882 as "Central City".<ref name=rennick/> Recessions replaced the E&P and the O&R with a procession of different companies, including the [[Owensboro and Nashville Railway]], but the two rights of way always remained in separate hands, keeping Central City an important regional hub for the [[Illinois Central Railroad|Illinois Central]] and the [[Louisville and Nashville Railroad|L&N]], with train yards, roundhouses, and even an elevated rail station. Coal was mined from nearby fields, prompting explosions such as one in 1912 that killed five workers.<ref name="boom">''Indianapolis Star''. "[https://www.gendisasters.com/kentucky/19857/central-city-ky-coal-mine-explosion-jan-1912 Explosion Kills 5 Miners in Kentucky Coal Shaft]{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120607175647/http://www3.gendisasters.com/kentucky/19857/central-city-ky-coal-mine-explosion-jan-1912 |date=June 7, 2012}}". January 18, 1912. Accessed July 22, 2013.</ref>

The expansion of automotive traffic in the early 20th century reduced some of Central City's importance, but it continues to service mainline freight traffic on the [[Paducah and Louisville Railway]] and trunk-line service for [[CSX Transportation|CSX]] from [[Madisonville, Kentucky|Madisonville]] to the [[Paradise Combined Cycle Plant]], minutes south of the city.