“An Authentic Kentucky Town”
Remembering Kaintuck Territory
Written by Justin D. Lamb
“Colt 44s and sawed-off shotguns will again be the way of life when Kentucky’s newest attraction, Kaintuck Territory, opens for business,” wrote the Marshall Courier in May 1967. “Kaintuck is an interesting place. It is a rootin’ tootin’ gunman’s land nestled in the woods just a stone throw from the blacktop on 641 near the lake.”
Located on 150 acres of land on U.S. Highway 641 near Kentucky Dam, Kaintuck Territory was an amusement attraction reproduction of a settlement of the 1880s and was a popular destination in Marshall County for tourists and natives alike.
The idea for Kaintuck Territory was first conceived in 1962 by Walter F. Sill, Jr. and over the next four years he spent countless time and money collecting over 20,000 antique items to make his dream a reality. Construction began in November of 1966 and the park opened for business on June 12, 1967.
The attraction featured hourly gunfight vignettes of the American Frontier which were written and directed by veteran western movie actor, Bill Willingham, where actors were shot off roofs and knocked through doors and windows with all the drams associated with the days of the Wild West.
Jerry Lee Lewis performing at Kaintuck Territory in 1977.
The park was also complete with a train, a silent movie house, and stagecoaches as well as variety acts such as knife throwing, ventriloquists and magicians. The park also featured Motorcross races and a natural amphitheater with three stages. A three day music festival was held at Kaintuck Territory in 1969 with country, pop, and rock musicians vying for prizes which included $11,000 in cash and an RCA recording session with famed Nashville producer, Chet Atkins.
A theater was added in 1976 which drew many big name acts from country, rock, and pop music including Loretta Lynn, Hank Williams, Jr., Jerry Lee Lewis, Marty Robbins, Conway Twitty, the Monkees, and Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show among others.
As the 1970s drew to a close, the stagnant economy and the national gas crisis took its toll on Kaintuck Territory forcing Walter Sill to file bankruptcy in 1979. He soon sold the park to an out of state company who eventually closed the amusement park.