December 11, 2023
KENTUCKY (NewsFirst) — This two-part oral history project was conducted with residents of Mayfield, KY in the aftermath of the catastrophic December 10, 2021, tornado.
You can listen to their stories at this link. Click here.
On that evening, into the next morning, a high EF-4 tornado directly hit the historic downtown center of Mayfield, KY. Of the 74 people who lost their lives in Kentucky that evening, 24 resided in Graves County, where Mayfield is located.
Twenty-two residents shared their stories near the six-month mark after the disaster.
Eighteen residents who participated in the original interviews agreed to follow-up interviews approximately a year later.
The project serves not only to capture the riveting stories of survival and resilience, but also to serve as a memorial to the loss of life and many of the historic buildings of downtown Mayfield, including their beloved courthouse, other government buildings, eight historic churches (including two historic black churches built shortly after the Civil War), and other buildings that once served as the bustling center of industry in their community. Mayfield, KY is the county seat of Graves County and the center of the Jackson Purchase.
