Thursday, October 1, 2015

Monkeys Eyebrow, Kentucky

Monkeys Eyebrow is a rural unincorporated community in Ballard County, Kentucky, United States. It is generally the northwesternmost community in the Jackson Purchase area of western Kentucky that is identified on the highway maps distributed by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. It was formerly frequently mentioned in the signoff message of WPSD-TV in nearby Paducah as the location of its transmitter. The community is part of the Paducah, KY-IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.

A nearby attraction is the state-controlled Ballard County Wildlife Management Area. One theory on the origin of this unique name is that, when looking at a map of Ballard County, it resembles a monkey's head. Monkeys Eyebrow is located where the monkey's eyebrow would be located.

A common joke in the region is to provide directions to the city of Paducah by saying "it's halfway between Monkeys Eyebrow and Possum Trot (a tiny community in Marshall County)."

There were two Monkeys Eyebrows, commonly known as Old Monkey and New Monkey. One was at the top of a small hill, the other at the bottom. There were stores at both locations. Today, there are no stores. According to an article nearly 30 years ago in the county newspaper, the Advance Yeoman, the area acquired its unique name around the turn of the 20th century.

Stories related to Monkeys Eyebrow and Ballard County can be read at www.monkeyseyebrow.org or www.monkeyseyebrowstories.com.

In Don Rosa's The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, the place name Monkey's Eyebrow also appears.

Source: wikipedia.com