Forestry Division

About forestry service, 42374, South Carrollton, KY, US, Kentucky

Dawson Springs is a home rule-class city in Hopkins and Caldwell counties in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,452. == History == Originally known as Tradewater Bend, the city was incorporated in 1832 under the name Dawson City by two Menser brothers. From the late 1800s to the 1930s, Dawson Springs was well known as a spa and resort town. Visitors largely came in spring from Chicago, Louisville and points east for the curative waters, and several major hotels and boarding houses were constructed. Tourism peaked in 1901 when over 50,000 visitors came to the town of a few thousand people. The Pittsburgh Pirates held spring training there in the 1910s before being lured to St. Petersburg, Florida when the Grapefruit League formed. The advent of car travel ended the spa era as travelers began to drive to more southerly vacation spots. Outwood Veterans Hospital was constructed here in 1922, and the economy strengthened with the onset of coal mining at Dawson Daylight Mine.