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Dawson Springs, Kentucky
Dawson Springs is a city of 1,951 people in Caldwell County, Kentucky.
Why visit Dawson Springs
Townapedia lists 3 museums and landmarks, 4 parks and trails, 2 places to eat and 3 attractions in and around town.
Highlights include The Darby House.
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 89°F; January lows average 27°F.
Weather in Dawson Springs
Forecast from the National Weather Service. Full forecast
About Dawson Springs
Dawson Springs is a home rule-class city in Hopkins and Caldwell counties in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,452. It was a spa and resort town visited by tourists.
From the Wikipedia article Dawson Springs, Kentucky (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Things to do3
Museums and landmarks3
The Darby House
Monument and historic site · National Register of Historic Places · 0.6 mi
House in Dawson Springs, Kentucky
Dawson Springs Museum & Art
Museum · 0.5 mi
127 South Main Street, Dawson Springs
Parks, trails and playgrounds4
Restaurants and cafes2
History
Originally known as Tradewater Bend, the city was incorporated in 1832 under the name Dawson City by two Menser brothers.
From the late 1800s to the 1930s, Dawson Springs was well known as a spa and resort town. Visitors largely came in spring from Chicago, Louisville and points east for the curative waters, and several major hotels and boarding houses were constructed. Tourism peaked in 1901 when over 50,000 visitors came to the town of a few thousand people. The Pittsburgh Pirates held spring training there in the 1910s before being lured to St. Petersburg, Florida when the Grapefruit League formed. The advent of car travel ended the spa era as travelers began to drive to more southerly vacation spots.
Outwood Veterans Hospital was constructed here in 1922, and the economy strengthened with the onset of coal mining at Dawson Daylight Mine. The town diversified with light manufacturing in the mid-20th century, but was devastated by the outflow of those industrial jobs when NAFTA was passed in the 1990s and those manufacturing jobs moved to Mexico.
Dawson Springs is still a regional tourist destination because of the Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park, which began construction where a local river was dammed and a lake formed in the 1930s. The town was named Kentucky's first Trail Town due to hiking and horse riding trails in the area.
From the History section of Dawson Springs, Kentucky on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Churches and places of worship3
Resurrection Catholic Church
Church · Roman Catholic · 0.5 mi
530 Industrial Parkway, Dawson Springs
Shopping1
Gas and EV charging2
Schools, colleges and libraries5
Map of Dawson Springs
23 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Climate by month
Monthly table
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 46°F | 27°F | 3.7 in | 2.6 in |
| Feb | 51°F | 30°F | 4.0 in | 2.7 in |
| Mar | 61°F | 38°F | 4.8 in | 1.4 in |
| Apr | 72°F | 47°F | 5.1 in | 0.0 in |
| May | 79°F | 56°F | 4.8 in | 0.0 in |
| Jun | 86°F | 64°F | 4.5 in | 0.0 in |
| Jul | 89°F | 68°F | 4.5 in | 0.0 in |
| Aug | 89°F | 66°F | 3.5 in | 0.0 in |
| Sep | 83°F | 59°F | 3.3 in | 0.0 in |
| Oct | 73°F | 47°F | 4.1 in | 0.1 in |
| Nov | 60°F | 37°F | 4.1 in | 0.1 in |
| Dec | 49°F | 30°F | 4.5 in | 1.6 in |
U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 for Princeton 1 Se (10 mi away), NOAA NCEI.
People and cost of living
American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020-2024, U.S. Census Bureau. Estimates have margins of error, larger for small towns.
Disaster history
Caldwell County has had 24 federal disaster declarations since 2000, most often for severe storms.
- 2026-01-24: Severe Winter Storm (Winter Storm)
- 2025-05-23: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes (Severe Storm)
- 2025-04-24: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides (Severe Storm)
- 2025-04-03: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding (Severe Storm)
- 2025-02-24: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides (Severe Storm)
- 2025-02-16: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, And Landslides (Severe Storm)
OpenFEMA disaster declarations summaries.
Getting there and nearby towns
Campbell Army Airfield (HOP) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 36 miles away.
- Madisonville 15 mi northeast, about 25 min by car
- Cadiz 23 mi south, about 36 min by car
- Hopkinsville 26 mi southeast, about 42 min by car
- Central City 32 mi east, about 51 min by car
- Breckinridge Center 36 mi north, about 59 min by car
- Fort Campbell North 37 mi south, about 1 h by car
- Calvert City 40 mi west, about 1 h by car
- Benton 43 mi southwest, about 1 h 15 min by car
- Clarksville 46 mi southeast, about 1 h 15 min by car
- Henderson 46 mi north, about 1 h 15 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Local news
Headlines from INDB, the NEMICO news database.
Reviews, tips and questions
Loading what members have shared...
Sources and licences
- NCES EDGE (Public domain): public schools
- NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (Public domain): climate by month
- OpenFEMA (Public domain): disaster declarations
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- U.S. Census Bureau (Public domain): population, income, housing, education, commute
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Railroad Avenue in Dawson Springs, Nyttend, Public domain
- Dawson springs EF4 (2), NWS Paducah, Public domain
- Darby House in Dawson Springs, Nyttend, Public domain
- Cupido comyntas 5271, Jomegat, CC BY-SA 3.0
- ISS006-E-39563 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS018-E-21975 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS018-E-21976 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS045-E-151096 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS045-E-151097 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
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