Princeton, Kentucky

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1908 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Princeton census division. It lies in ZIP code area 42445. It stands on Big Spring Branch. The Survey maps it on the Princeton West quadrangle. 6,270 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 482 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Princeton within Caldwell County

On record in Princeton

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 8 records

Adsmorelisted 1973
Champion-Shepherdson Houselisted 1978
Knott Houselisted 1999
L. B. Overby Houselisted 1990
William S. Powell Houselisted 1995
Princeton Downtown Commercial Districtlisted 1988
Confederate Soldier Monument in Caldwelllisted 1997
Halleck's Chapel and Halleck's Schoollisted 2001

Population over time

2 figures

Princeton fell from 6,329 to 6,270 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.

Year	People	Change
2010	6,329
2020	6,270	-59 (-1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 15 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.

1908 USGS Princeton quadrangle1:62500
1910 USGS Princeton quadrangle1:62500, 5 printings
1954 USGS Evansville quadrangle1:250000
1954 USGS Princeton West quadrangle1:24000
1957 USGS Evansville quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
1961 USGS Evansville quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
1967 USGS Princeton West quadrangle1:24000
1983 USGS Madisonville quadrangle1:100000

Fires near this place

20 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 20 fires within 5 miles of Princeton between 1997 and 2019, burning about 42 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 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
Recreation and ceremony	8
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	5
Railroad operations and maintenance	4
Debris and open burning	2
Arson/incendiarism	1

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

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
29 September 2010	Recreation and ceremony	1.0 acres	Kentucky Division of Forestry	GRAVES FIRE
25 September 2015	Recreation and ceremony	1.0 acres	Kentucky Division of Forestry	DAWSON ROAD
20 September 2004	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	3.0 acres	Kentucky Division of Forestry	not named
13 September 2002	Recreation and ceremony	1.0 acres	Kentucky Division of Forestry	not named
9 August 2004	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1.0 acres	Kentucky Division of Forestry	not named
4 August 1997	Railroad operations and maintenance	1.0 acres	Kentucky Division of Forestry	not named
4 August 1997	Railroad operations and maintenance	3.0 acres	Kentucky Division of Forestry	not named
24 July 2012	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Kentucky Division of Forestry	BOTTLE RO

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Caldwell County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 11 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of Princeton: 5 past producers, 2 occurrences, 2 producers, 2 prospects. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Fluorine-Fluorite, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Silica, Cobalt, Manganese, Nickel, Iron. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
Hobby Titanium Deposit	Titanium	Occurrence
Jesse Redd Prospect	Cobalt, Manganese, Nickel, Iron	Occurrence	1904
Phelps Sandstone Pit	Silica	Past Producer
Princeton Mine	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Princeton No. 2 Mine	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Princeton Sandstone Pit	Silica	Prospect
Bright Mine	Fluorine-Fluorite	Past Producer
Morgan Heirs Fluorspar Tract	Fluorine-Fluorite	Prospect
Senator Main Shaft	Fluorine-Fluorite	Past Producer
Senator No.1 Shaft	Fluorine-Fluorite	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Caldwell County

Storms near this place

60 of 70 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Princeton in 70 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 29 thunderstorm wind, 19 hail, 9 flash flood, 4 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.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
November 2013	Tornado (EF1)	Princeton	$200,000	A large metal building sustained partial loss of the roof and a wall. Several power poles were snapped. The porch was lifted up from the front of a house. Several homes and businesses sustained partial shingle loss. Dozens of trees were snapped or uprooted. The Western Kentucky Parkway was shut down in Princeton after a large power transmission line fell onto the roadway near a sub-station. Peak winds were estimated near 100 mph. The maximum intensity of the tornado was at the Western Kentucky Parkway interchange with Kentucky Route 91 in Princeton.
April 2008	Flood	Princeton	$100,000	Seven state highways were covered by water, including U.S. Highway 641 near the Lyon County line. State Route 139 was covered with water north of Princeton near the 14 mile marker. A bridge was washed out on a secondary road near Creswell. Other less travelled roads across the county were covered.
August 2005	Flash Flood	Princeton	$100,000	Much of Princeton was underwater after local residents reported five to six inches of rainfall in less than two hours. Yards and streets were left flooded and impassable. In one of the hardest hit neighborhoods, waist-deep water kept a street closed for hours after the rain stopped. About a dozen streets, including some main arteries such as Kentucky 91, were closed. A number of vehicles stalled in the flooding. City workers helped stranded motorists out of the flooding. Several buildings sustained flood damage, which was aggravated by waves in the wake of passing vehicles. About 18 inches of water backed up into a laundromat. Three to four inches of water covered a factory warehouse floor, causing an estimated 10,000 dollars in damage. Water entered fewer than a dozen houses, mostly flooding basements. In one house, the basement filled up, and water spilled onto the first floor. At the local electric plant, floodwater from Eddy Creek was chest-deep in the plant's storage yard, and water entered garages where trucks are parked. At the city's hospital, a basement filled with water, which was pumped out by the fire department. The flooding was described by an emergency management director as the city's worst flooding in 18 years.
March 1997	Flash Flood	Princeton	$100,000	no account filed
July 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	$50,000	A microburst with peak winds estimated near 80 mph raked parts of Caldwell County. Dozens of tree limbs and at least a dozen trees were blown down. Power lines were downed by a fallen tree. The roof of a farm shed was blown off. Two windows were blown out of a storefront in downtown Princeton. Several small signs were blown down. The path of the microburst began along Highway 91 northwest of Princeton. The path extended southeastward across the city of Princeton, reaching a maximum width of 4000 yards. The path length was just over 9 miles.
October 2004	Tornado (F1)	Princeton	$50,000	A residence on Fairview Church Road sustained major damage when it was struck by a large tree. There was severe roof damage, and much of the home's interior was damaged. Part of the ceiling collapsed, and the foundation was cracked. Other large trees landed across the driveway and demolished a fence. At a neighboring house, the wind bent a TV antenna and downed multiple trees. A swing set at another neighboring house was crushed by a large tree limb. Maximum winds in the tornado were estimated near 80 MPH.
September 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	$50,000	Eight roofs were blown off buildings. One trailer home used for storage was demolished. Three power poles were snapped. Railroad crossing arms were broken off, and many vehicles were damaged.
January 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	$40,000	Five residences, two barns, and other outbuildings were damaged. One home lost part of its roof and the entire back porch, which was blown onto the highway. Most of the damage was in the vicinity of Kentucky 293 and Briarfield Road.
July 2016	Flash Flood	Princeton	$30,000	Several feet of flowing water covered portions of parking lots and ball fields along Highway 139 near Princeton. A portion of a secondary road was impassable near Creswell. Near the Trigg County line, flash flooding of a creek known as Long Pond Branch washed out a section of Highway 276. This was the same site where a vehicle fatality occurred in July of 2015. At that time, the road was washed out beneath the vehicle. The vehicle was then carried over 300 yards into Trigg County by the rushing floodwaters. Temporary repairs were made after that incident, however the road was washed out again in the same spot during this storm.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	$25,000	A wind gust to 58 mph was recorded at the Kentucky mesonet site near Princeton. There were multiple reports of trees down in Princeton. Trees were down over Highway 903 four miles south-southwest of Princeton.
October 1996	Flood	Princeton	$25,000	no account filed
August 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	$10,000	A microburst demolished a wood barn.
January 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	$10,000	Trees were blown down in the city and surrounding county roads. Some bricks were blown off buildings.
March 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	$6,000	Barns were blown down in Princeton. Several trees were blown across power lines in Fryer.
March 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	$5,000	A wind gust to 77 mph was measured at a Kentucky mesonet site. Trees were damaged, including at least one uprooted tree in Princeton.
June 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	$5,000	A large tree fell on a vehicle. Large tree limbs were down also.
May 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	$5,000	Power lines and a few trees were down.
July 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	$5,000	Trees were down over power lines.
January 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	$4,000	About a dozen trees were blown down across Caldwell County.
August 2015	Flash Flood	Princeton	$3,000	Water was over Kentucky Highway 91 in several places between the 17 and 21 mile markers. At one location, water was reported to be a foot deep with strong current. Brush and tree limbs swept along by the floodwaters clogged a culvert near the community of Crider.
May 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	$3,000	A few downed trees blocked roads, mainly in north and east portions of the county.
June 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	$3,000	Trees and power lines were down.
April 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	$3,000	no account filed
May 2025	Hail	Princeton	-	Ping pong ball size hail was measured in Princeton.
May 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	-	Max wind gust from Kentucky Mesonet station PRNC (2SE Princeton) over the five minute period.
May 2024	Hail	Princeton	-	Hail was reported near Princeton as a thunderstorm progressed eastward, with penny size hail near the Princeton Golf Club and quarter size hail on the south side of Princeton. A 56 mph wind gust was observed at the Mesonet station PRNC Princeton KY 2 SE.
August 2023	Flash Flood	Princeton	-	Several roads were flooded in Princeton.
July 2023	Flash Flood	Princeton	-	Numerous streets were flooded throughout Princeton. Radar estimates indicated around two inches fell in 45 minutes.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	-	The mesonet site near Princeton measured a wind gust to 60 mph.
April 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	-	Trees were bent over at several locations south-southeast of Princeton.
February 2018	Hail	Princeton	-	Nickel-size hail was reported on Highway 672.
April 2018	Funnel Cloud	Princeton	-	The funnel cloud was observed just off U.S. Highway 62 by numerous individuals.
December 2018	Flood	Princeton	-	Kentucky Highway 139 South was closed due to floodwaters at the 7 to 8 mile markers. Kentucky Highway 91 North was closed at the 19 mile marker.
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	-	A trained spotter measured a wind gust to 65 mph.
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	-	A trained spotter measured a wind gust to 64 mph in Princeton. Trees were bent over several miles north of Princeton along Highway 293.
August 2014	Heavy Rain	Princeton	-	A Kentucky mesonet site measured 3.29 inches of rain in a couple of hours.
November 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	-	A wind gust to 63 mph was measured at the Kentucky mesonet site.
January 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	-	A wind gust to 74 mph was measured at the mesonet site near Princeton.
June 2010	Funnel Cloud	Princeton	-	A funnel cloud was sighted by a trained spotter along Kentucky Highway 139 in southern Princeton.
August 2009	Heavy Rain	Princeton	-	Several roads were impassable due to water over them.
April 2007	Flash Flood	Princeton	-	Numerous streets were experiencing minor flooding.
June 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	-	Numerous trees were blown down, with eight streets briefly blocked in the city limits.
August 2005	Heavy Rain	Princeton	-	A street was closed by flooding.
November 2005	Tornado (F0)	Princeton	-	This weak, brief tornado downed several trees.
July 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	-	A large tree and several limbs blocked two lanes of the Western Kentucky Parkway near the Hopkins County line.
May 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	-	Numerous trees and power lines were blown down.
July 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	-	Electric utility spokesmen reported numerous trees down along and east of Highway 91.
September 2001	Hail	Princeton	-	Hail between quarter and walnut size fell in Princeton.
January 2023	Hail	Princeton	-	no account filed
July 2023	Hail	Princeton	-	no account filed
April 2020	Hail	Princeton	-	no account filed
April 2016	Funnel Cloud	Princeton	-	no account filed
October 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Princeton	-	no account filed
July 2012	Hail	Princeton	-	no account filed
December 2011	Flood	Princeton	-	no account filed
April 2011	Hail	Princeton	-	no account filed
May 2010	Hail	Princeton	-	no account filed
June 2009	Hail	Princeton	-	no account filed
May 2008	Hail	Princeton	-	no account filed
April 2006	Hail	Princeton	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Caldwell 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.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Crowtown	1.4 miles	15
Pumpkin Center	2.1 miles	16
Cedar Bluff	2.4 miles	16
Rock Spring (historical)	3.4 miles	15
Scottsburg	3.8 miles	16
White Sulphur	4.0 miles	15
McGowan	4.1 miles	16
Bethany (historical)	4.3 miles	15

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 Princeton	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2923146	The 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 501350. 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.