The town was moved to its present site, initially called "West Gilbertsville", with the geographic coordinates given above, by the time Kentucky Lake was impounded in the early 1940s.

[5] A notable event in the town's history was the dedication ceremony for Kentucky Dam on October 10, 1945, at which President Harry Truman gave the dedicatory speech.

The town has an airport, an 18-hole golf course, a large marina, a car racing track, and has been the site of bass fishing tournaments.

[12] The town has been the site, for several decades, of the 25-acre (100,000 m2) Kentucky Sheriff's Boys and Girls Ranch, which has provided a free week-long summer camp for children ages 8–11, with total attendance of 30,000 through 2008.

Interstate 24/69 passes the southeast end of the community, with access from Exit 27 (U.S. Route 62) 2 miles (3 km) to the southwest.