Town file
Benton, Kentucky
Benton, Kentucky (Marshall County, Kentucky) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 520, "Taking In The Strays" (17 August 2024). Benton is a small town in Marshall County in western Kentucky, just outside Paducah.
- Town
- Benton
- County
- Marshall County
- State
- Kentucky
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 520
- Approximate location
- 36.848, -88.362
Episode 520 / 17 August 2024 / 74 min / express
Taking In The Strays
"We are going to Benton, Kentucky; this is in western Kentucky, just outside Paducah, and it is in Marshall County" about 0:04:10
The case: Murder of Deborah Hendrixon (September 8, 2007). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2024
- Median household income
- about $55,000
- Median home value
- $137,100
- Injuries in the Marshall County High School shooting
- 19
- Deaths in the Marshall County High School shooting
- two
History, in brief
- Benton was founded in 1842. about 0:04:43
- Benton was named for Thomas Hart Benton, a senator from Missouri rather than Kentucky. about 0:04:48
- Benton was incorporated in 1845. about 0:05:02
- In 1908 Benton became a sundown town, and so did the whole of Marshall County. about 0:05:05
- On January 23rd, 2018 a mass shooting at Marshall County High School resulted in 19 injuries and two deaths. about 0:05:22
- In 2021 the town was hit by the Western Kentucky Tornado, an F4. about 0:05:33
- Tater Day started in 1843 as a celebration of spring, when townsfolk traded sweet potato slips used to grow the plants. about 0:08:09
- Tater Day is the oldest continuous trade day in the United States, where goods such as guns, coon hounds, tobacco and livestock are swapped and sold. about 0:08:50
The reviews read out
5 stars
"Benton is an amazing small town where everyone knows each other, with Tater Day at the beginning of April and excellent safety."about 0:06:01
3 stars
"A lifelong resident likes the small town, the friendly people and knowing the neighbours, but says there is not much to do apart from Tater Day."about 0:06:39
3 stars
"You rarely hear about crime; there is mostly just drugs and racing, but nothing too serious."about 0:06:59
2 stars
"People are nice as long as you are a tourist; anyone not born and raised in Benton or Marshall County for generations is a transplant most residents do not welcome."about 0:07:16
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Paducah, Kentucky22 miles
- Tiline, Kentucky23 miles
- Cadiz, Kentucky30 miles
- Pembroke, Kentucky56 miles
- Madisonville, Kentucky58 miles
- Eldorado, Illinois67 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.