Editing Fulton, Kentucky (section)

==History==
A post office was established in the community, then known as "Pontotoc", in 1847. The post office was renamed "Fulton" in 1861.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3Lac2FUSj_oC&pg=PA111 | title=Kentucky Place Names | publisher=University Press of Kentucky | year=1987 | access-date=28 April 2013 | author=Rennick, Robert M. | pages=111| isbn=0-8131-2631-2 }}</ref> It was formally incorporated by the [[Kentucky Assembly|state assembly]] in 1872.<ref>Commonwealth of Kentucky. Office of the Secretary of State. Land Office. "Fulton, Kentucky". Accessed 26 July 2013.</ref> Fulton Station was located on the Paducah and Gulf Railroad, which stimulated growth in the county.<ref>{{cite book| last=Collins| first=Lewis| title=History of Kentucky| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F5FQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA281| year=1877| page=281| publisher=Library Reprints, Incorporated| isbn=978-0-7222-4920-8}}</ref>

In the late 19th century, [[Ben M. Bogard]], later the founder of the [[American Baptist Association]] in [[Texarkana, Texas]], and long-time pastor of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in [[Little Rock, Arkansas]], served as a pastor in Fulton, where he was part of the [[Landmarkism|Landmark Baptist movement]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=1593| title=Benjamin Marcus Bogard (1868–1951)| publisher=encyclopediaofarkansas.net| access-date=August 4, 2013}}</ref> In the first decade of the 20th century, the [[Southern Baptist]] clergyman [[Monroe E. Dodd]] began his long ministry at a church in Fulton. For many years afterward, he was the pastor of First Baptist Church of [[Shreveport, Louisiana]].

===Banana Capital of the World===
The United Fruit Co., now [[Chiquita]], began shipping [[banana]]s from South America by steamship to [[New Orleans]]. The bananas were loaded onto railcars on top of {{convert|162|lb|adj=on}} blocks of ice for the trip north. Fulton had the only [[ice house (building)|ice house]] on the route north to [[Chicago]]. The bananas were re-iced with blocks from the Fulton Ice Plant, now closed. Empty railcars were pulled up to the side of the ice house, and the large blocks of ice were loaded end up, covering the entire box car. The bananas were laid on top of the ice to continue their journey. At one point, more than 70% of the bananas that were consumed in the US passed through Fulton.
<ref>{{cite web| url=https://thebananafestival.com/history/| title=Why Bananas in Kentucky and Tennessee?| publisher=thebananafestival.com| access-date=June 20, 2023}}</ref>

From 1962 through 1992, Fulton held the annual International Banana Festival. The largest [[banana pudding]] in the world at {{convert|2000|lb}} was part of the banana parade. Since the early 21st century, the festival has been revived, including a contest for the largest banana pudding.