Editing Paducah, Kentucky (section)

==History==
===Early history===
[[File:Kentucky - Paducah through St. Matthews - NARA - 23940335 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Paducah in 1933|left]]
{{anchor|Pekin}}
Paducah was first settled as "Pekin" around 1821 by European Americans James and William Pore.<ref name=ren>Rennick, Robert. ''Kentucky Place Names'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=3Lac2FUSj_oC&pg=PA224 p. 224]. University Press of Kentucky (Lexington), 1987. Accessed August 1, 2013.</ref> The town was laid out by explorer and surveyor [[William Clark (explorer)|William Clark]] in 1827 and renamed Paducah.

Although local lore long connected this name to an eponymous [[Chickasaw]] chief "Paduke" and his band of "Paducahs", authorities on the Chickasaw have since said that there was never any chief or tribe of that name, or anything like it. The Chickasaw language does not have related words. Instead, historians believe that Clark named the town for the [[Comanche]] people of the western plains.<ref name=ren/> They were known by regional settlers as the ''Padoucas'', from a Spanish transliteration of the [[Kansa language|Kaw]] word ''Pádoka''<ref>Rankin, Robert. ''[http://www.kawnation.com/WebKanza/LangResources/nglshknzdctnry.pdf English to Kanza Dictionary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011115616/http://www.kawnation.com/WebKanza/LangResources/nglshknzdctnry.pdf |date=October 11, 2016 }}''. "Comanche" & "Paducah". Accessed September 24, 2013.</ref> or the [[Omaha language|Omaha]] ''Pádoⁿka''.<ref>''Omaha & Ponca Digital Dictionary''. "[http://omahaponca.unl.edu/omaha/view/9907 Pádoⁿka]". September 24, 2013.</ref>

===Incorporation, steamboats and railroads===
[[File:Kentucky. Paducah, wharf scene LCCN2013646142.jpg|thumb|The wharf in Paducah, 1890|left]]
{{anchor|incorporation|steamboats|railroads}}
Paducah was formally established as a town in 1830 and incorporated as a [[list of Ky cities|city]] by the [[Kentucky Assembly|state legislature]] in 1838.<ref name=sos/>  The city charter was drafted by [[Quintus Quincy Quigley]] and H. Clay King in 1856.<ref>{{citation |newspaper=News-Democrat |date=20 Dec 1910 |page=1 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/news-democrat/128022780/ |title=Article clipped from News-Democrat }}</ref>

By this time, steam boats traversed the river system, and its port facilities were important to trade and transportation. In addition, developing railroads began to enter the region. A factory for making red bricks, and a foundry for making rail and locomotive components became the nucleus of a thriving "River and Rail" economy.  Paducah became the site of dry dock facilities for steamboats and towboats, and thus headquarters for many barge companies. Because of its proximity to [[Western Kentucky coalfields|coalfields]] further to the east in Kentucky and north in [[Illinois]], Paducah also became an important railway hub for the [[Illinois Central Railroad]]. This was the primary north–south railway connecting the industrial cities of Chicago and [[East St. Louis, Illinois|East St. Louis]] to the [[Gulf of Mexico]] at [[Gulfport, Mississippi]], and [[New Orleans|New Orleans, Louisiana]]. The Illinois Central system also provided east–west links to the [[Burlington Northern Railroad|Burlington Northern]] and the [[Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway]]s (which later merged to become the [[BNSF Railway]]).

In 1924 the Illinois Central Railroad began construction at Paducah of their largest locomotive [[workshop]] in the nation. Over a period of 190 days, a large ravine between Washington and Jones streets was filled with 44,560 carloads of dirt to enlarge the site, sufficient for the construction of 23 buildings. The eleven million dollar project was completed in 1927 as the fourth-largest industrial plant in Kentucky. The railroad became the largest employer in Paducah, having 1,075 employees in 1938.

As [[steam locomotive]]s were replaced through the 1940s and 1950s, the Paducah shops were converted to maintain [[diesel locomotive]]s. A nationally known rebuilding program for aging diesel locomotives from Illinois Central and other railroads began in 1967. The shops became part of the [[Paducah and Louisville Railway]] in 1986. In the early 21st century, they are operated by VMV Paducahbilt.<ref>{{cite book |last=Holland |first=Richard |title =Paducah: Portrait of a River Town |publisher =Image Graphics |date = 1994|location =Paducah |page =39 |isbn =0-89145-625-2}}</ref>

===Civil War===
{{Further|Kentucky in the American Civil War}}
[[File:Fort Anderson. Fort Anderson, Paducah, Kentucky, and the camp of the 6th Illinois Cavalry, April, 1862 - sketched by A.E. Mathews, 31st Regt. O.V.U.S.A. LCCN92508857.jpg|thumb|[[Fort Anderson (Kentucky)|Fort Anderson]] was the site of the [[Battle of Paducah]] in March 1864.|left]]
At the outset of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], Kentucky attempted to take a neutral position. However, when a Confederate force occupied Columbus, a [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] force under General [[Ulysses S. Grant]] responded by occupying Paducah. Throughout most of the war, [[Colonel (U.S.)|Col.]] [[Stephen G. Hicks]] was in charge of Paducah, and the town served as a massive supply depot for Federal forces along the Ohio, Mississippi, and Tennessee river systems.

On December 17, 1862, under the terms of [[General Order No. 11 (1862)|General Order No. 11]], US forces required 30 Jewish families to leave their long-established homes. Grant was trying to break up a black market in cotton, in which he assumed Jewish traders were involved due to [[racial stereotyping]] associated with [[anti-Semitic tropes]]. [[Cesar Kaskel]], a prominent local Jewish businessman, dispatched a telegram of complaint to [[list of U.S. presidents|President]] [[Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln]] and met with him. As there were similar actions taken by other Jewish businessmen and loud complaints by Congress about the treatment of their constituents, Lincoln ordered the policy to be revoked within a few weeks.<ref>{{Cite web |title=General Grant and the Jews |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/history/Modern_History/1700-1914/Modern_Anti-Semitism/Grant_Expels_Jews.shtml |access-date=2024-03-22 |website=My Jewish Learning |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Sarna |first=Jonathan D. |date=2012-03-13 |title=When Gen. Grant Expelled the Jews |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2012/03/ulysses-s-grant-and-general-orders-no-11-how-the-infamous-order-changed-the-lives-of-jews-in-america.html |access-date=2024-03-22 |work=Slate |language=en-US |issn=1091-2339}}</ref>

On March 25, 1864, [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] Gen. [[Nathan Bedford Forrest]] raided Paducah as part of his campaign northward from [[Mississippi]] into Western Tennessee and Kentucky. He intended to re-supply the Confederate forces in the region with recruits, ammunition, medical supplies, horses and mules, and especially to disrupt the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] domination of the regions south of the [[Ohio River]]. Known as the [[Battle of Paducah]], the raid was successful in terms of the re-supply effort and in intimidating the Union, but Forrest returned south. According to his report, "I drove the enemy to their gunboats and fort; and held the city for ten hours, captured many stores and horses; burned sixty bales of cotton, one steamer, and a drydock, bringing out fifty prisoners."<ref>{{Cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=2rZbIVSUNUgC&pg=PA330 | page = 330 | title = Life of General Nathan Bedford Forrest | author = John Allan Wyeth | publisher = Harper & Brothers | year= 1899| isbn = 978-0-7222-9281-5 }}</ref> Much of the fighting took place around [[Fort Anderson (Kentucky)|Fort Anderson]] on the city's west side, in the present-day Lower Town neighborhood; most buildings in the neighborhood postdate the war, as most of the neighborhood was demolished soon after the battle to deny any future raids the advantage of surprise that they had enjoyed during the battle. Among the few houses that were not destroyed is the [[David Yeiser House]], a single-story [[Greek Revival architecture|Greek Revival]] structure.<ref>Cherry, Robert C.  ''National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Mayor David A. Yeiser House''. [[National Park Service]], 1972-12-27, 9.</ref>

Later having read in the newspapers that 140 fine horses had escaped the raid, Forrest sent Brigadier General Abraham Buford back to Paducah, to get the horses and to keep Union forces busy there while he attacked [[Fort Pillow, Tennessee|Fort Pillow]] in Tennessee. His forces were charged with a massacre of [[United States Colored Troops]] among the Union forces whom they defeated at the fort. On April 14, 1864, Buford's men found the horses hidden in a Paducah foundry, as reported by the newspapers. Buford rejoined Forrest with the spoils, leaving the Union in control of Paducah until the end of the War.

===1937 flood===
[[File:1884 Paducah,Kentucky Flood.jpg|thumb|right|1884 flood]]
[[File:Palmer Hotel after flood - NARA - 279790.jpg|thumb|Downtown Paducah in the aftermath of the 1937 flood]]
{{Main|Ohio River flood of 1937}}
In a far-reaching flood, on January 21, 1937, the [[Ohio River]] at Paducah rose above its {{Convert|50|ft|adj=on}} flood stage, cresting at {{Convert|60.8|ft|m}} on February 2 and receding again to 50 feet on February 15. For nearly three weeks, 27,000 residents were forced to flee or to stay with friends and relatives on higher ground in McCracken or other counties. The [[American Red Cross]] and local churches provided some shelters. Buildings in downtown Paducah still bear historic plaques that define the [[high water mark]]s.

Driven by {{Convert|18|in|mm}} of rainfall in 16 days, along with sheets of swiftly moving ice, the [[Ohio River flood of 1937]] was the worst natural disaster in Paducah's history and elsewhere in the Ohio Valley. The earthen levee was ineffective against this flood. As a result, Congress authorized the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]] to build the [[flood wall]] that now protects the city.

===Atomic City===
{{main|Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant}}
In 1950, the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|U.S. Atomic Energy Commission]] selected Paducah as the site for a new [[uranium enrichment]] plant. Construction began in 1951 and the plant opened for operations in 1952. Originally operated by [[Union Carbide]], the plant has changed hands several times. [[Martin Marietta]], its successor company [[Lockheed-Martin]], and now the [[United States Enrichment Corporation]] have operated the plant in turn. The [[United States Department of Energy|U.S. Department of Energy]] (DOE), successor to the AEC, remains the owner. The plant was closed in June 2013<!-- why? -->, and the Department of Energy began the process of decontaminating and shutting down the facilities.

===Quilt City===
On April 25, 1991, the [[National Quilt Museum]] opened in downtown Paducah.<ref name="Nickell">{{cite news |last1=Nickell |first1=Patti |title=Why visit Kentucky's Paducah? Because artists, preservationists and foodies think you should |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/travel/sns-tns-bc-ust-ky-paducah-20181001-story.html |access-date=October 15, 2018 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=October 1, 2008}}</ref> Paducah has been part of the [[Creative Cities Network|UNESCO Creative Cities Network]] in the category of craft and folk art since November 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.paducahky.gov/news/paducah-unesco-creative-city-crafts-folk-art|title=Paducah, A UNESCO Creative City of Crafts & Folk Art {{!}} City of Paducah|website=www.paducahky.gov|language=en-us|access-date=October 3, 2018}}</ref><ref name="NPR 2022-04-29">{{Cite news |last=Operele |first=Derek |date=April 29, 2022 |title=QuiltWeek is finally back on in Kentucky |language=en |work=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/04/29/1095642528/quiltweek-is-finally-back-on-in-kentucky#storytext |access-date=2022-04-30}}</ref> The national quilt show takes place yearly at the Schroeder Expo Center. The American Quilter's Society hosts a week of quilt shows with quilt classes, fabric shops and a variety of vendors. They host a variety of award-winning quilts from across the country. The show features exhibits that include hand pieced and appliqued quilts, Kentucky heritage quilts, and Paducah contest quilts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=American Quilter's Society- Quilt Week Shows in Paducah, KY |url=https://www.americanquilter.com/quiltweek/paducah-2023/paducah-2023-quilt-exhibits/}}</ref>

===The Heath shooting===
{{main|Heath High School shooting}}
On [[December 1]], [[1997]], 14-year-old Michael Carneal brought five loaded guns to Heath High School and shot a group of fellow students in the school's lobby as they were leaving a prayer group before school. Three students, all girls, were killed and five others were wounded; one of the wounded was left a [[paraplegic]]. Carneal subsequently received a sentence of life with the possibility of parole after 25 years. In 2022, the Kentucky Parole Board denied his bid for parole.<ref>Trevor Ault, Andy Fies, Vera Drymon, and Meredith Deliso, "1997 Kentucky school shooter denied parole," ABC News, September 26, 2022, https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=96287&page=1</ref>