Scottsville officially named “Birthplace of Dollar General”

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - The City of Scottsville has been officially designated as the “Birthplace of Dollar General,” nearly 70 years after the grocery chain’s conception.

The store originated as “Turner’s Department Store,” founded by James Luther “J.L.” Turner, and his son, Cal Turner. In 1955, the Turners transitioned the department store into Dollar General.

Dollar General now operates in 47 states, with a store within five miles of 75 percent of the United States population. According to the proposed bill, “The Dollar General Corporation was born, raised, and cared for in Scottsville, Kentucky, and would not have grown into the tremendous success that it is today without the tenacity, hard work, and love of both the Turner family and the residents of Scottsville and Allen County.”

The Turner family’s love of the community is shown time and again by the Laura Goad Turner Foundation, named in honor of Cal Turner’s wife. According to the bill, since 1989, the foundation has “gifted grants to 77 organizations, endowed scholarships with Western Kentucky University for thousands of first-generation college attendees, and gifted over $34 million back to the community.”

Katherine Sikora, Cal Turner’s granddaughter, said, “My grandparents lived, worked, and raised their family in Scottsville, Kentucky, and Scottsville is the home and the birthplace of Dollar General.”

Though the corporation’s legacy is impressive, Sikora says that it would not have been possible without the support of the Scottsville community.

“Our family did not build Dollar General by just being the Turners,” she said, “Scottsville, Kentucky helped build Dollar General.”

Sikora says that her role in developing the community is far from over. Through the recognition received in Frankfort, she hopes that state officials will take notice of “The Friendly City,” and invest in further economic development projects in the area.

“And we have other projects that we have been working on tirelessly for the last few months, I can see where all of this is gonna play in,” said Sikora. “We just have so many irons in the fire right now that it would help, and open up maybe a process where we can get more grants or what have you from the state of Kentucky, or even on the federal level.”

The official Senate reading of the bill will be held in Frankfort on March 29.

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