Kevil, KY

Kevil is a home-rule city split between Ballard and McCracken counties, about 17 miles west of Paducah. The 2020 census counted 595 residents. The city grew around the Illinois Central Railroad and was named for R.U. Kevil, who bought the townsite in 1901; a post office opened in 1903, and Kevil was incorporated on March 1, 1910. U.S. 60 and Kentucky 473 meet around the city, with Wickliffe about 16 miles to the southwest.

Kevil's school history remains visible in the former Forestdale Elementary building, which still stands near the middle of the city even though classes ended there decades ago. Local streets and municipal services serve residents across the county line, while farms and highways fill the surrounding landscape. Paducah supplies larger employment, shopping, and medical connections, and Ballard County's river communities shape the western side of the map. Kevil's story is carried by the railroad townsite, the old school building, and the county line running through its wider community.