Kenton, Tennessee

Kenton - named after Simon Kenton who was a frontiersman, Indian fighter, surveyor, and an intimate friend of Daniel Boone - is a bedroom community of 1,308 located at the heart of the quad-county area, approximately 15 minutes from four county seats, on Highway 45 West and Highway 89. Kenton is in two counties (Obion & Gibson Counties) and is located 45 miles north of Jackson, Tennessee, 75 miles southwest of Kentucky Lake, 35 miles southeast of Reelfoot Lake and 5 miles from the Obion River bottom and Half Moon Lake.

The city of Kenton's City Hall is centrally located on Highway 45 West. The city is served by a police department with five full-time and three part-time policemen and a volunteer fire department. Kenton Utilities serves the community with water and sewer. The city also has a top notch street department.

The new Kenton School opened its doors in the fall of 2002. The new 20,000 square foot facility offers large classrooms, a state of the art cafeteria, library, a large common/meeting area, administrative area, and a deluxe playground center.

Kenton is very unique since as it is the home of the largest concentration of white squirrels in the nation. No one knows for sure where the white squirrels came from. The legend is that a traveling band of gypsies stopped outside of Kenton and asked a farmer to stay on his land for the night. The farmer welcomed the band. As a way of payment for the farmer's generosity, the gypsies gave the farmer a matched pair of white squirrels. After the band had left, the farmer released the squirrels in the towering pecan trees on his property. The squirrels multiplied and spread over the town. The city adopted the furry creatures and enacted laws to protect them. Those laws remain on the books to this day. Many local residents feed and care for the squirrels. The new white squirrel sanctuary has many feeders and breeding boxes among the 50 species of trees. The new park is home to two covered pavilions, a gazebo, a one-mile scenic walking trail, a softball field, a gymnasium, and bathroom facilities. The best time to view the squirrels is during the early morning or late afternoon hours since the squirrels take refuge in the tree tops during the heat of the day.

The people of Kenton are a close-knit community, and show their pride for the community with the White Squirrel Festival featuring a parade, street dance, and fireworks display each July 4th.

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