Editing Prestonsburg, Kentucky (section)

==Culture==
[[File:Court east of Front, Prestonsburg.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Court Street]]

[[U.S. Route 23]], also called "The [[Country Music Highway]]" to celebrate the region's rich heritage of music, runs through Prestonsburg. Country music stars including [[Loretta Lynn]], [[Crystal Gayle]], [[Wynonna Judd]], [[Naomi Judd]], [[Billy Ray Cyrus]], [[Tom T. Hall]], [[Ricky Skaggs]], [[Keith Whitley]], [[Dwight Yoakam]], and [[Patty Loveless]] are all from the Big Sandy Valley.

Prestonsburg is mentioned in Dwight Yoakam's "Readin', Rightin', Rt. 23" (from his album ''[[Hillbilly Deluxe (Dwight Yoakam album)|Hillbilly Deluxe]]''), a song about the yearning of local [[coal mining|coal miners]] to escape their plight by traveling up [[U.S. Route 23]] to find employment in the factories in the North, not knowing that they were only trading one miserable life for another.

Prestonsburg is the location of the [[Mountain Arts Center]], which hosts music concerts and is home to the Kentucky Opry. [[Middle Creek Battlefield|Middle Creek National Battlefield]] is the site of the largest and most significant Civil War battle in [[Eastern Mountain Coal Fields|Eastern Kentucky]].

Prestonsburg is home to the [[Samuel May House]], the Big Sandy Valley's oldest known brick home. Built by Samuel May in 1817, the house was used by the Confederate forces as a recruiting station during the [[American Civil War]]. The 5th Kentucky Infantry CSA and 10th Kentucky Cavalry were organized there. The house was used as a residence until 1981 and was donated to the City of Prestonsburg in 1992. It has since been restored and maintained as a living history museum.

The [[Jenny Wiley Theatre]] was in Prestonsburg and offered theatrical productions all year long at both the outdoor Jenny Wiley Amphitheater, in [[Jenny Wiley State Resort Park]], and the nearby Mountain Arts Center. The Theatre's presentations of classic Broadway musicals, comedies, historical dramas and holiday productions kept theatre-goers entertained for over 40 years.

Prestonsburg is also the home of the [[East Kentucky Science Center]]. Opened in 2004, the Science Center contains one of the nation's most technologically advanced planetariums.