Clarkson, KY

Clarkson is a home-rule-class city in Grayson County, Kentucky, along U.S. 62 east of Leitchfield. It began as Bray's Station near the railroad, became Grayson Springs Station when the nearby resort drew visitors, and took the Clarkson name in honor of resort owner Manoah P. Clarkson. The city incorporated in 1908. The old railroad brought visitors from the train to horse-drawn carriages for Grayson Springs, while early businesses, a school, telephone service, and eventually a fire department built a town around the station.

Today the Walter T. Kelley Company connects Clarkson to the beekeeping industry, and the annual Honeyfest turns that connection into a citywide event. The festival was designated Kentucky's official state honey festival in 2006; the 31st annual celebration is scheduled for September 16-19, 2026, with a parade, food and craft booths, children's rides, and music. Clarkson City Park, the city hall and community center, veterans memorial, and the routes around the Western Kentucky Parkway add current civic landmarks to the old resort-and-railroad story. Clarkson's map still runs from a station and a hotel to bees, storefronts, and a September crowd.