Bell County, Kentucky
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 11 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1966. Most listings are in or near Middlesboro, Cubage, Pineville.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for Kentucky is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Bell titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP5 of 11 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
11 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| American Association, Limited, Office Building | Middlesboro | 1978 |
| Brooks House | Middlesboro | 2009 |
| Cary-Easton House | Middlesboro | 2026 |
| Cumberland Gap Historic District | Middlesboro | 1980 |
| Cumberland Gap National Historical Park | Middlesboro | 1966 |
| Hensley Settlement | Cubage | 1980 |
| Middlesboro Downtown Commercial District | Middlesboro | 1983 |
| Middlesboro Jewish Cemetery | Middlesboro | 2017 |
| Mt. Moriah Baptist Church | Middlesboro | 1985 |
| Pineville Courthouse Square Historic District | Pineville | 1990 |
| St. Mary's Episcopal Church | Middlesboro | 1984 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBBell was formed in 1867 (1867-08-01) from Harlan, Knox.
JOSH BELL (now BELL) created from HARLAN and KNOX.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusBell County population from 1870 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1870 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,731 | 6,055 | 15,701 | 33,988 | 43,812 | 47,602 | 35,336 | 34,330 | 30,060 | 24,097 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
National Park Service sites nearby
NPSPark units within about 40 km of the county centroid (from NPS Public POIs; no API key).
| Site | Type | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| Cumberland Gap National Historical Park | Park unit | 12.9 km |
Source: NPS National Datasets / Public POIs. The NPS Developer API requires a free key and was not used.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS46 cemeteries and 6 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 46 of 46 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Asher Cemetery |
| Balkan Cemetery |
| Barnett Cemetery |
| Bingham Cemetery |
| Bratcher Cemetery |
| Buell Cemetery |
| Carroll Cemetery |
| Chenoa Cemetery |
| Fox Cemetery |
| Goodin Cemetery |
| Goodin Cemetery |
| Green Hills Memorial Gardens |
| Greene Cemetery |
| Greene Cemetery |
| Hall Cemetery |
| Head Cemetery |
| Henderson Cemetery |
| Henderson Cemetery |
| Henderson Cemetery |
| Hensley Cemetery |
| Hensley Cemetery |
| Hurst Cemetery |
| Jackson Cemetery |
| Johnson Cemetery |
| Kettle Island Cemetery |
| Knuckle Cemetery |
| Laurel Hill Cemetery |
| Lee Cemetery |
| Liberty Cemetery |
| Lynch Cemetery |
| Mason Cemetery |
| Miracle Cemetery |
| Old Carroll Cemetery |
| Partin Cemetery |
| Partin Cemetery |
| Partin Cemetery |
| Peavier Cemetery |
| Red Hill Cemetery |
| Shelton Cemetery |
| Slusher Cemetery |
| Smith Cemetery |
| Tacket Hill Cemetery |
| Taylors Cemetery |
| Wallsend Cemetery |
| Wilder Cemetery |
| Wilson Cemetery |
Historical populated places — 6 of 6
| Name |
|---|
| Arjay Coal Camp |
| Davis Station |
| Glendon Coal Camp |
| Kettle Island Coal Camp |
| Nugym |
| Rim Camp |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Civil War battlefields nearby
ABPPAmerican Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) Civil War study areas near this county.
| Battlefield | Study acres | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| Barbourville | 237 | 23.2 km |
Source: NPS American Battlefield Protection Program Civil War Study Areas (public ArcGIS feature service).
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for Bell County, Kentucky
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.