Harlan County, Kentucky
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 5 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1978; 1 is also National Historic Landmark. Most listings are in or near Benham, Cumberland, Harlan.
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 Harlan titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP2 of 5 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
5 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Benham Historic District | Benham | 1983 |
| Cumberland Central Business District | Cumberland | 1996 |
| Harlan Commercial District | Harlan | 1986 |
| Lynch Historic District | Lynch | 2003 |
| Pine Mountain Settlement School NHL | Bledsoe | 1978 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBHarlan was formed in 1819 (1819-04-01) from Knox.
HARLAN created from KNOX.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusHarlan County population from 1820 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1820 | 1840 | 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,961 | 3,015 | 5,494 | 5,278 | 9,838 | 31,546 | 75,275 | 71,751 | 51,107 | 41,889 | 33,202 | 26,831 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS37 cemeteries and 1 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 37 of 37 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Adams Cemetery |
| Beech Grove Cemetery |
| Burkhart Cemetery |
| Cawood Cemetery |
| Coldiron Cemetery |
| Cornett Cemetery |
| Creech Cemetery |
| Fee Cemetery |
| Field Cemetery |
| Gabes Branch Cemetery |
| Green Cemetery |
| Green Hill Cemetery |
| Gross Cemetery |
| Hall Cemetery |
| Holbrook Cemetery |
| Howard Cemetery |
| Howard Cemetery |
| Israel Blair Cemetery |
| Jones Cemetery |
| Kelly Cemetery |
| Kelly Cemetery |
| Kelly Cemetery |
| Lewis Cemetery |
| Middleton Cemetery |
| Middleton Cemetery |
| Napier Cemetery |
| Nolan Cemetery |
| Pope Cemetery |
| Pounding Mill Cemetery |
| Rainbow Cemetery |
| Resthaven Cemetery |
| Robbins Cemetery |
| Sergent Cemetery |
| Slack Cemetery |
| Turner Cemetery |
| Wash Smith Cemetery |
| Wilder Cemetery |
Historical populated places — 1 of 1
| Name |
|---|
| Tin Can Alley |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Historical markers
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Search HMdb for Harlan County, Kentucky
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