Catlettsburg, Kentucky

Catlettsburg, the seat of Boyd county, is located at the confluence of the Ohio and Big Sandy rivers. It was named for Alexander and Horatio Catlett, early settlers who arrived in the area about 1798. The settlement was also known as Mouth of Sandy and Big Sandy Landing. The town of Catlettsburg was laid out in 1849. The southern part of the present city was originally a separate town known as Hampton City, named for the Rev. William Hampton.

Catlettsburg was incorporated in 1858.

The Catlettsburg post office opened in 1810.

The population of Catlettsburg in 2010 was 1,856.

Just downstream from Catlettsburg was the Ohio River Lock and Dam 29, the first of the Ohio River dams in the Kentucky section of the river. The downstream Lock and Dam 30 was near Oliver. The original project began in 1910 and was to include 53 locks and dams on the Ohio designed by the US Army Corp of Engineers. Dams 40 and 42 weren't built, rendered unnecessary after the heights of two other dams were raised, and the last dam, 53, near the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers was completed in 1929. All of the original early twentieth century dams have been demolished and replaced by series of about 20 larger dams. The dams were designed to provide for commercial navigation rather than flood control and some also include hydroelectric generators.

Catlettsburg, Kentucky

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