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Town story · Webster County · 933 people (2020 Census)

Dixon, Kentucky A County Seat From the Start

Dixon did not wait to become Webster County's seat. Town and county began together in 1860, and the courthouse square has been the center of town ever since.

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The Webster County Courthouse in Dixon, Kentucky: a three-story poured-concrete Moderne building on Courthouse Square.
The Webster County Courthouse in Dixon, 2008. Photograph by Bedford, dedicated to the public domain on Wikimedia Commons. Source

The Story

Dixon and Webster County began together. Kentucky formed Webster County in 1860 from parts of Henderson, Hopkins, and Union Counties and named it for Daniel Webster. Dixon was established that same year, and it serves as the county seat. That shared start still explains the town: this is, first of all, a courthouse town.1, 2, 3, 4

The town took its name from Archibald Dixon, who had served Kentucky as lieutenant governor and in the United States Senate. Its first post office, Dixon's Court House, opened in 1860, and Dixon was incorporated in 1861.1, 2, 4, 5

The square tells the story plainly. The present Webster County Courthouse, a Works Progress Administration building completed in 1940 to a design by H. Lawrence Casner, stands on Courthouse Square. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.6, 7, 8

Dixon is also a literary birthplace. Poet and author Cale Young Rice and his brother Laban Lacy Rice, an educator and author, were born here. A state historical marker on South Main Street remembers the brothers.9, 10

Today Dixon remains the seat of a Western Coal Field county, set where U.S. Highway 41A meets State Route 132. Coal lies under this part of Kentucky — geologists have studied the Herrin coal bed in the Dixon quadrangle itself — and coal and farming have long carried Webster County's economy.1, 3, 4, 11

None of this makes Dixon a large place, and that is part of its character. It is a working county seat, with its courthouse, public library, and city park all here in town, serving people across Webster County.12, 13, 1

Around Town

  1. Webster County Courthouse

    Courthouse Square, Main Street (U.S. 41A) at Leiper Street (State Route 132)

    A poured-concrete, Moderne courthouse completed in early 1940 as a Works Progress Administration project. Its architect, H. Lawrence Casner, was a Webster County native; the Historical Society marker counts 458 concrete slabs cast on site in the exterior walls, with sculptured faces by Arminta Bowmer Casner. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.6, 14, 7, 8

  2. “County Named, 1860” marker

    Courthouse lawn, Dixon

    State marker No. 783, on the courthouse lawn, explains the county's name: Daniel Webster, the senator and secretary of state for whom Webster County was named when it was created in 1860.15, 16

  3. “Kentucky Authors” marker

    303 S. Main Street (U.S. 41A)

    State marker No. 1508 marks the birthplace of the Rice brothers: Cale Young Rice, poet and author, and Laban Lacy Rice, educator and author. Read it from the public street; the marker stands at a home.9, 10

  4. Webster County Public Library

    101 KY Route 132 E

    The county public library, in Dixon. Its calendar lists a Dixon story hour and a book club in the Dixon Genealogy Room, a good place to start for local history questions.13

  5. Baker Park

    216 Lakeview Drive

    Dixon's city park: playground, basketball court, pavilion with picnic tables, seasonal splash pad, soccer field, walking track, disc golf course, and a lake for looking at, not swimming in.12

  6. Downtown Dixon

    Around U.S. Highway 41A and State Route 132

    The city notes a number of historic homes downtown. Enjoy them from the sidewalk on a short walk out from the square.1

If You Go

  • The courthouse is a working county building. See the square and its markers from the public grounds, and save trips inside for county business.14, 7
  • Baker Park facilities are open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. The splash pad is seasonal, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and closed in bad weather. There is no swimming in the lake.12
  • To book a park event, contact the city office at 270-639-5088.12
  • The Webster County Public Library in Dixon lists hours of Monday to Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; closed Sunday. Check the library calendar before you go, as hours can change.13
  • The Kentucky Authors marker stands at a private home on South Main Street. Read it from the street and do not enter the yard.9

Sources

  1. City of Dixon, Kentucky. Our City. dixon.ky.gov
  2. Kentucky Atlas & Gazetteer. Dixon, Kentucky. kyatlas.com
  3. Kentucky Atlas & Gazetteer. Webster County, Kentucky. kyatlas.com
  4. Kentucky Historical Society, ExploreKYHistory. Explore Webster County, Kentucky. explorekyhistory.ky.gov
  5. NCpedia, State Library of North Carolina. Dixon, Archibald. ncpedia.org
  6. Kentucky Heritage Council / National Park Service, National Register nomination. Webster County Courthouse. npgallery.nps.gov
  7. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places, NRIS 91000924. Webster County Courthouse. npgallery.nps.gov
  8. American Courthouses. Webster County. courthouses.co
  9. Kentucky Historical Society, Historical Marker 1508. Kentucky Authors. history.ky.gov
  10. Kentucky Historical Society, ExploreKYHistory. Kentucky Authors. explorekyhistory.ky.gov
  11. U.S. Geological Survey. Further examination of the ragged edge of the Herrin coal bed, Webster County, Western Kentucky coal field. usgs.gov
  12. City of Dixon, Kentucky. City Park (Baker Park). dixon.ky.gov
  13. Webster County Public Library. Home Page. youseemore.com
  14. Kentucky Historical Society, Historical Marker 2502. Webster County Courthouse. history.ky.gov
  15. Kentucky Historical Society, Historical Marker 783. County Named, 1860. history.ky.gov
  16. Kentucky Historical Society, ExploreKYHistory. County Named, 1860. explorekyhistory.ky.gov
  17. U.S. Geological Survey, Geographic Names Information System, feature 490922. GNIS record
  18. U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census, Redistricting Data (P.L. 94-171), table P1, place 21-21682.

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