Murray

Murray is a city in Calloway County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 15,725 as of 2006 census estimates and has a micropolitan area population of 35,421. It is the county seat of Calloway County^GR6 and is the home of Murray State University. more...

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Geography

Murray is located at 36°36′34″N, 88°18′56″W (36.609494, -88.315656)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.7 square miles (25.1 km²), all of it land.

Murray is situated 15 miles (24 kilometers) west of the 170,000 acre (688 km²) Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area, which offers fishing, boating, swimming, camping, and a large wildlife population.

Climate

Murray has a borderline humid continental climate and four distinct seasons. The warmest month of the year is July, with an average high temperature of 90 °F. The coldest month is January, with an average high temperature of 44 °F.

History

In the Beginning

The city now known as Murray began as a post office and trading center sometime in the 1820s. It was at that time called Williston in honor of James Willis, an early settler. Later, the name was changed to Pooltown after Robert Pool, a local merchant. The name was changed again to Pleasant Springs before its incorporation on January 17, 1884, when the present name was adopted to honor U.S. Congressman John L. Murray.

Murray was not the original county seat of Calloway County. In 1822 Calloway County and Marshall County, Kentucky were but one single county with the county seat being Wadesboro. In 1842, the state legislature divided the area into two separate counties. Shortly thereafter it was decided that a new county seat would be developed, more centrally located than Wadesboro. A site was selected at the geographic center of the county, a village named Murray. A courthouse was quickly built along with a jail. Murray was formed on an 80 acre plot and was subdivided into 137 business and residential lots with 8 streets total in the village, thus the birth of Murray.

The Civil War Era

While officially Murray and Calloway County were declared neutral during the Civil War, there was a large following of the Confederate States of America late in the war. There were not a lot of large conflicts that took place in the town of Murray, but the citizens did see some guerrilla warfare. In the spring of 1862 the general of the Union forces stationed in Paducah, Kentucky made his way to the Tennessee River, taking whatever property he wanted from the Murray townspeople. On more than one occasion, the town of Murray was burned. Once, the town was burned due to raids on its citizens by guerrillas who took every valuable they could get their hands on. On another occasion, a diary by Josh Ellison states that in the winter of 1864 a squad of soldiers from Paducah, Kentucky burned the east side of the court square on Friday night, and on Monday they burned the north side of the court square.

Read more at Wikipedia.org