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Ledbetter, Kentucky

22 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1929 and the latest in 1987. It stands in the Smithland census division. It lies in ZIP code area 42058. It stands on Drake Branch. The Survey maps it on the Little Cypress quadrangle. 1,836 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 348 feet above sea level.

Ledbetter within Livingston County

Population over time

2 figures

Ledbetter grew from 1,683 to 1,836 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20101,683
20201,836+153 (+9%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

15 surveys from 22 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

18 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 18 fires within 5 miles of Ledbetter between 1997 and 2020, burning about 175 acres in total. None 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/undetermined6
Recreation and ceremony6
Smoking2
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Railroad operations and maintenance1
Debris and open burning1
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
28 September 1999Misuse of fire by a minor1.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
1 September 2007Smoking2.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
2 March 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.5 acresKentucky Division of ForestryHOMES ROAD
2 March 2012Recreation and ceremony2.0 acresKentucky Division of ForestryPOSSUM TR
13 March 2004Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
28 February 2004Missing data/not specified/undetermined16 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
8 November 2011Recreation and ceremony1.0 acresKentucky Division of ForestryBENTON RD.
5 November 2008Recreation and ceremony5.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Livingston County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Ledbetter: 2 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: 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
Federal Mine DredgeSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Floating Plant IngramSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Livingston County

Storms near this place

29 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ledbetter in 29 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 14 hail, 10 thunderstorm wind, 3 flood, 1 flash flood. 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
February 2019FloodLedbetter$400,000A prolonged major river flood affected numerous homes and businesses in Livingston County. At Smithland, the Ohio River crested at 51.83 feet on the 25th. This was the worst flood since the historic flood of May 2011, when the river crested at 54.89 feet. The 1997 flood crest of 51.44 feet was similar to this crest. The primary focus of flood-fighting efforts revolved around the town of Smithland, the county seat. A makeshift levee was built along the river, requiring a multi-week closure of U.S. Highway 60 through town. The governor of Kentucky toured the site of the levee construction, which required the assistance of numerous state and federal agencies. Repeated heavy rainfall in west Kentucky and backwater from the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers caused widespread flooding in the southern part of Livingston County. Smaller rivers and creeks had nowhere to drain and kept rising with each successive round of heavy rain. Numerous roads were closed around the county, especially in the flood plain. Some of the largest state roads that were closed included U.S. Highway 60 in Smithland and State Route 70. Floodwaters came right up to the edge of U.S. Highway 60 at several locations from Ledbetter to Burna, but the road was only closed briefly when the river crested. The closure of Highway 60 outside Smithland prompted the closure of Livingston County schools for a day. The county school district estimated 50 to 60 students were directly impacted by the floodwaters. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stopped all river traffic on the Ohio River at Smithland.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindLedbetter$20,000A tree fell through the roof of a home on Gass Rd.
January 1996Thunderstorm WindLedbetter$20,000no account filed
August 2016Thunderstorm WindLedbetter$10,000Several trees were blown down. One tree fell on a church, damaging part of the building.
November 1996Flash FloodLedbetter$4,000no account filed
March 2017Thunderstorm WindLedbetter$3,000Large metal panels, possibly from a carport or shed, were blown onto a city street.
July 1997Thunderstorm WindLedbetter$3,000Large tree limbs were down.
December 2021Tornado (EF0)Ledbetter$1,000A towboat captain on the Ohio River near the confluence of the Tennessee River reported a tornado narrowly missed the boat as it crossed the river. The tornado ripped the flag off the flagpole on the bow of the vessel. No other damage was reported. Peak winds were estimated near 65 mph.
March 2025HailLedbetter-Golfball size hail occurred near Ledbetter.
May 2024HailLedbetter-Hail measured to quarter size fell in Ledbetter as a supercell moved east-northeastward through Livingston County.
July 2023HailLedbetter-A trained spotter reported 1.5-inch hail at Ledbetter. The public reported golf ball size hail at Smithland.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindLedbetter-A trained spotter reported a gust to 60 mph.
March 2019FloodLedbetter-A prolonged major river flood gradually subsided in March after cresting in February. Information on the February crest height and on total property damage estimates is contained in the February report. The flood affected numerous homes and businesses in Livingston County. The primary focus of flood-fighting efforts revolved around the town of Smithland, the county seat. A makeshift levee was built along the river, requiring a multi-week closure of U.S. Highway 60 through town. The governor of Kentucky toured the site of the levee construction, which required the assistance of numerous state and federal agencies. Repeated heavy rainfall in west Kentucky and backwater from the Ohio, Cumberland, and Tennessee Rivers caused widespread flooding in the southern part of Livingston County. Numerous roads were closed around the county, especially in the flood plain. Some of the largest state roads that were closed included U.S. Highway 60 in Smithland and State Route 70. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stopped all river traffic on the Ohio River at Smithland.
March 2015FloodLedbetter-Minor flooding occurred on the Ohio River. At the Smithland river gage, the river crested at 45.22 feet on the 17th. Flood stage is 40 feet. Portions of Kentucky Highway 137 were closed in the Birdsville area. Agricultural land and wooded river bottomlands were flooded. Crop losses were negligible since planting was not yet underway.
April 2010Thunderstorm WindLedbetter-Pea-sized hail accompanied the wind gust, which was measured at a golf course along the Ohio River.
October 2004Thunderstorm WindLedbetter-A few trees were blown down by winds estimated near 65 MPH.
May 2019HailLedbetter-no account filed
May 2017HailLedbetter-no account filed
April 2011HailLedbetter-no account filed
April 2009HailLedbetter-no account filed
April 2007HailLedbetter-no account filed
April 2006HailLedbetter-no account filed
April 2003HailLedbetter-no account filed
May 2003HailLedbetter-no account filed
May 2003HailLedbetter-no account filed
May 2003Thunderstorm WindLedbetter-no account filed
April 1999HailLedbetter-no account filed
July 1995HailLedbetter-no account filed
July 1995Thunderstorm WindLedbetter-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Livingston 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
Crowell Landing1.1 miles22
Upper Hodge Landing1.5 miles22
Smithland7.4 miles21
Cooper Landing7.7 miles23
Stanley Landing8.8 miles23
Newbern8.9 miles23
Heater9.9 miles19
Miller Landing10.7 miles21

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 LedbetterAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2240947The 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 508437. 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.