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Hickory, Kentucky

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1951 and the latest in 1994. It stands in the Hickory-Lowes census division. It lies in ZIP code area 42051. It stands on Cooley Creek. The Survey maps it on the Hickory quadrangle. 235 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 430 feet above sea level.

Hickory within Graves County

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 12 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

26 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 26 fires within 5 miles of Hickory between 1998 and 2017, burning about 70 acres in total. 1 started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined15
Recreation and ceremony8
Railroad operations and maintenance2
Natural1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
8 September 1998Natural1.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
23 August 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
23 August 2007Railroad operations and maintenance10 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
13 August 2010Recreation and ceremony1.0 acresKentucky Division of ForestryHOT ASH
8 June 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKentucky Division of ForestryBEE FIRE
7 March 2010Recreation and ceremony1.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
6 March 2010Recreation and ceremony3.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
6 March 2007Recreation and ceremony1.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Graves County

Mines and quarries near this place

6 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Hickory: 4 producers, 2 past producers. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Titanium, Aluminum, Iron, Silica, Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Jackson Purchase Ball Clay RegionTitanium, Aluminum, Iron, SilicaProducer1888, 1900
Mid-South Construction CompanySand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Graves County MinesClayProducer
Hickory Clay MillClayProducer
Lamkin MineClayPast Producer
Ranch MineClayPast Producer

Every working recorded in Graves County

Storms near this place

13 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Hickory in 13 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 5 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 2 flood, 2 heavy rain. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2019Thunderstorm WindHickory$50,000A microburst containing winds near 90 mph struck the Hickory area. Numerous large tree limbs and trees were down. An empty semi truck was overturned at a large chicken processing plant at Hickory. A large section of the east wall of a metal building was blown out after garage doors on the west side were opened by the wind. The damage swath was approximately 1.3 miles long and up to 250 yards wide.
March 2017Thunderstorm WindHickory$50,000A microbust containing winds estimated near 80 mph damaged some agricultural property along Highway 483 between Clear Springs and Hickory. An empty grain bin was blown at least 50 yards, and another grain bin was dented inward. A small part of the metal roof of a chicken house was blown several hundred yards. A carport was thrown about a quarter mile. There was extensive shingle damage at two apartment buildings in the Hickory area. A few trees were snapped or uprooted. The damage path was about one mile long.
July 2023Tornado (EF1)Hickory$20,000The damage path began on the west side of U.S. Highway 45 near the community of Hickory. In this area, a pole was bent and there was major loss of roofing from a small barn. This is where the tornado was rated at its peak intensity of EF-1, with 90 mph winds. Along the rest of the path through Graves County, the only damage consisted of spotty broken branches and a few downed trees. The tornado exited into Marshall County northeast of the community of Clear Springs.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindHickory$15,000A couple of dozen tree limbs were blown down. An aluminum shed was demolished and blown one-third to one-half mile. A trampoline was blown into a roof and over a tree. Moderate shingle damage occurred to a house and barn. The microburst damage area was about one mile long and two miles wide. Peak winds were estimated near 75 mph.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindHickory$1,000A tree was blown down in Hickory as the thunderstorm line moved eastward through the town.
February 2023Thunderstorm WindHickory$1,000A wind gust to 60 mph was estimated by a retired NWS employee just north of Mayfield. A tree was down in a yard in the Symsonia area.
January 2025FloodHickory-A few inches of water covered the right lane of US-45 southbound approximately a mile north of the I-69 interchange. Approximately 2.5 inches of rainfall had fallen in this area at 1745CST when road flooding was reported with half to three quarters of an inch of additional rainfall during the evening.
July 2020Flash FloodHickory-A house near Hickory was surrounded by water. Highway 339 was closed by high water east of Sedalia.
June 2011Heavy RainHickory-A trained spotter measured 1.84 inches of rain in 30 minutes.
June 2011Heavy RainHickory-A trained spotter measured 0.60 inches of rain within 20 minutes.
March 2008FloodHickory-Water was reported over a few state highways, including Highway 97.
April 2011HailHickory-no account filed
January 1997HailHickory-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Graves County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Viola2.3 miles12
West Viola2.4 miles12
Westplains2.8 miles13
Twin Oaks (historical)3.7 miles13
Boaz4.4 miles12
Folsomdale4.5 miles12
Pottsville4.9 miles12
Mayfield5.6 miles11

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on HickoryAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q5751113The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 494116. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.