Paducah dates to 1821, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 92% of U.S. towns · #9 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
31 places in town are on the National Register, among them seven historic districts with 1,579 buildings between them. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1926 on, and the census since 1830.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1825.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Paducah’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Paducah is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #9 of 142 in Kentucky. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Paducah’s overall grade.
Kentucky towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kentucky town has 29.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Paducah’s 600 sits above most of its state (92% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 1,610 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1821.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Paducah’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Paducah was first settled as "Pekin" around 1821 by European Americans James and William Pore. The town was laid out by explorer and surveyor 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. They were known by regional settlers as the Padoucas, from a Spanish transliteration of the Kaw word Pádoka or the Omaha Pádoⁿka.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1821, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Paducah’s post office opened in 1825, and the census of 1830 counted 105 people here.
How does Paducah rank for history?
Paducah is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #9 of 142 in Kentucky. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Paducah?
31 listings: 22 buildings, among them the Mayor David A. Yeiser House (listed 1973, the first), 7 historic districts with 1,579 contributing buildings, and 2 objects. 1,610 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Paducah?
20% of Paducah’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1967.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (31), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1880
1889
1890
