The United Fruit Co., now Chiquita, began shipping bananas from South America by steamship to New Orleans. The bananas were loaded onto railcars on top of blocks of ice for the trip north. Fulton had the only ice house on the route north to Chicago. The bananas were re-iced with blocks from the Fulton Ice Plant, now closed. Empty railcars were pulled up to the side of the ice house, and the large blocks of ice were loaded end up, covering the entire box car. The bananas were laid on top of the ice to continue their journey. At one point, more than 70% of the bananas that were consumed in the US passed through Fulton. From 1962 through 1992, Fulton held the annual International Banana Festival. The largest banana pudding in the world at was part of the banana parade. Since the early 21st century, the festival has been revived, including a contest for the largest banana pudding.
Geography
Fulton is located in the southeast corner of Fulton County at . Its southern border is the state line, across which is the city of South Fulton, Tennessee. According to the United States Census Bureau, Fulton has a total area of, of which is land and, or 2.95%, is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,775 people, 1,225 households, and 753 families residing in the city. The population density was 983.0 people per square mile. There were 1,388 housing units at an average density of 491.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 67.35% White, 29.41% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.68% Asian, 0.86% from other races, and 1.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.44% of the population. There were 1,225 households out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.1% were married couples living together, 21.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.5% were non-families. 36.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.87. In the city, the population was spread out with 25.2% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 22.4% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 22.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 75.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 68.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $23,345, and the median income for a family was $27,625. Males had a median income of $26,029 versus $21,696 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,260. About 22.4% of families and 24.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.2% of those under age 18 and 17.3% of those age 65 or over.
Government
The city of Fulton uses the Commission Plan form of government, which is composed of a mayor elected to a four-year term and four commissioners elected to two-year terms. The executive and legislative authority of the city are exercised by the city commission, and administrative responsibilities are the province of the city manager.
Transportation
Rail
, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Fulton. Fulton is one of only four cities in Kentucky with passenger rail service by Amtrak. The station is unmonitored and served by the City of New Orleans route running between New Orleans and Chicago.
