Cadiz (population 2,373) is the county seat of Trigg County and the eastern gateway to the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area between Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake. Incorporated in 1822, the community grew as an agricultural, trading, merchandising, and shipping center.
By the 1930s, the community had also become an important ham production and shipping center, and Cadiz has celebrated this aspect of its heritage by holding the annual Trigg County Country Ham Festival for the past 27 years.
Tourism has also been a major industry for Cadiz since Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake were created in the mid-20th century. The Cadiz-Trigg County Historical Society has restored the community's last one-room schoolhouse and its oldest log cabin, and the city is working with the historical society to move other abandoned historic buildings-including a church, grocery store, and gas station-to the historical society's complex.
Cadiz's downtown and historic residential area on Main Street are both listed in the National Register of Historic Places as historic districts.
Designated a Preserve America Community in April 2004.