Daniel Boone National Forest.

Cumberland Falls.

The Eastern Mountain Coal Fields is part of the Central Appalachian bituminous coal field region, including all or parts of 30 Kentucky counties and adjoining areas in Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee.^[3] It covers an area from the Allegheny Mountains in the east across the Cumberland Plateau and the Pottsville Escarpment in the west. The region is known for its coal mining; most family farms in the region have disappeared since the introduction of surface mining in the 1940s and 1950s.

The Daniel Boone National Forest is located here in rough but beautiful terrain, along and east of the Pottsville Escarpment. There are many natural arches and sandstone cliffs that are excellent for rock climbing and rappeling. The Red River Gorge, part of the National Forest, is known worldwide in rock climbing circles.

The Sheltowee Trace Trail runs 420–430 km north and south through the region.

During the American Civil War most of this region leaned toward the Union due to its makeup at the time of mostly small farmers, but more than 2,000 men from this area formed the 5th. Kentucky Vol. Inf., known as the Army of Eastern Kentucky, under Gen. Humphrey Marshall, C.S.A.

Eastern Kentucky has a rich musical heritage. A large number of nationally acclaimed country music singers and musicians are from the area. These include: Loretta Lynn, Crystal Gayle, The Judds, Ricky Skaggs, Keith Whitley, Patty Loveless, Dwight Yoakam, Tom T. Hall, Billy Ray Cyrus, Jean Ritchie, and George S. Davis.

Geography[link]

The Eastern Mountain Coal Fields Region covers 31 counties with a combined land area of 13,370 sq mi (34,628 km²), or about 33.1 percent of the state's land area. Its 2000 census population was 734,194 inhabitants, or about 18.2 percent of the state's population. The largest city, Ashland, has a population of 21,981. Other cities of significance in the region include Pikeville, Corbin, and Middlesboro. The state's highest point, Black Mountain, is located in the southeastern part of the region in Harlan County.

Counties[link]

County	FIPS code [4]	County seat [5]	Established [5]	Origin	Etymology	Population [5]	Area [5]	Map
Bell County	013	Pineville	1867	Harlan County and Knox County	Joshua Fry Bell, Kentucky legislator (1862–1867)	&1000000000003006000000030,060	&10000000000000361000000361 sq mi (&10000000000000935000000935 km2)
Boyd County	019	Catlettsburg	1860	Greenup County, Carter County and Lawrence County	Linn Boyd, United States Congressman (1835–1837; 1839–1855) and Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky (1859)	&1000000000004975200000049,752	&10000000000000160000000160 sq mi (&10000000000000414000000414 km2)
Breathitt County	025	Jackson	1839	Clay County, Perry County and Estill County	John Breathitt, Governor of Kentucky (1832–1834)	&1000000000001610000000016,100	&10000000000000495000000495 sq mi (&100000000000012820000001,282 km2)
Carter County	043	Grayson	1838	Greenup County and Lawrence County	William Grayson Carter, Kentucky state senator (1834–1838)	&1000000000002688900000026,889	&10000000000000411000000411 sq mi (&100000000000010640000001,064 km2)
Clay County	051	Manchester	1807	Madison County, Floyd County, and Knox County	Green Clay (1757–1828), military general and surveyor	&1000000000002455600000024,556	&10000000000000471000000471 sq mi (&100000000000012200000001,220 km2)
Elliott County	063	Sandy Hook	1869	Morgan County, Lawrence County, and Carter County	John Lisle Elliott or John Milton Elliott (1820–1885), legislators	&100000000000067480000006,748	&10000000000000234000000234 sq mi (&10000000000000606000000606 km2)
Floyd County	071	Prestonsburg	1800	Fleming County, Montgomery County, and Mason County	John Floyd (1750–1783), surveyor and pioneer	&1000000000004244100000042,441	&10000000000000394000000394 sq mi (&100000000000010200000001,020 km2)
Greenup County	089	Greenup	1803	Mason County	Christopher Greenup, Governor of Kentucky (1804–1808)	&1000000000003689100000036,891	&10000000000000346000000346 sq mi (&10000000000000896000000896 km2)
Harlan County	095	Harlan	1819	Knox County	Silas Harlan (1753–1782), soldier in the Battle of Blue Licks	&1000000000003320200000033,202	&10000000000000467000000467 sq mi (&100000000000012100000001,210 km2)
Jackson County	109	McKee	1858	Madison County, Estill County, Owsley County, Clay County, Laurel County, and Rockcastle County	Andrew Jackson, President of the United States (1829–1837)	&1000000000001349500000013,495	&10000000000000346000000346 sq mi (&10000000000000896000000896 km2)
Johnson County	115	Paintsville	1843	Floyd County, Lawrence County, and Morgan County	Richard Mentor Johnson, Vice President of the United States (1837–1841)	&1000000000002344500000023,445	&10000000000000262000000262 sq mi (&10000000000000679000000679 km2)
Knott County	119	Hindman	1884	Perry County, Letcher County, Floyd County, and Breathitt County	James Proctor Knott, Governor of Kentucky (1883–1887)	&1000000000001764900000017,649	&10000000000000352000000352 sq mi (&10000000000000912000000912 km2)
Knox County	121	Barbourville	1799	Lincoln County	Henry Knox, United States Secretary of War (1785–1794)	&1000000000003179500000031,795	&10000000000000388000000388 sq mi (&100000000000010050000001,005 km2)
Laurel County	125	London	1825	Rockcastle County, Clay County, Knox County and Whitley County	Mountain laurel trees that are prominent in the area	&1000000000005271500000052,715	&10000000000000436000000436 sq mi (&100000000000011290000001,129 km2)
Lawrence County	127	Louisa	1821	Greenup County and Floyd County	James Lawrence (1781–1813), naval commander during the War of 1812	&1000000000001556900000015,569	&10000000000000419000000419 sq mi (&100000000000010850000001,085 km2)
Lee County	129	Beattyville	1870	Breathitt County, Estill County, Owsley County, and Wolfe County	Robert E. Lee (1807–1870), Confederate general or Lee County, Virginia	&100000000000079160000007,916	&10000000000000210000000210 sq mi (&10000000000000544000000544 km2)
Leslie County	131	Hyden	1878	Clay County, Harlan County and Perry County	Preston Leslie, Governor of Kentucky (1871–1875)	&1000000000001240100000012,401	&10000000000000404000000404 sq mi (&100000000000010460000001,046 km2)
Letcher County	133	Whitesburg	1842	Perry County and Harlan County	Robert P. Letcher, Governor of Kentucky (1840–1844)	&1000000000002527700000025,277	&10000000000000339000000339 sq mi (&10000000000000878000000878 km2)
Magoffin County	153	Salyersville	1860	Floyd County, Johnson County and Morgan County	Beriah Magoffin, Governor of Kentucky (1859–1862)	&1000000000001333200000013,332	&10000000000000310000000310 sq mi (&10000000000000803000000803 km2)
Martin County	159	Inez	1870	Floyd County, Johnson County, Pike County, and Lawrence County	John P. Martin, United States Congressman (1845–1847)	&1000000000001257800000012,578	&10000000000000231000000231 sq mi (&10000000000000598000000598 km2)
McCreary County	147	Whitley City	1912	Pulaski County, Wayne County and Whitley County	James McCreary, Governor of Kentucky (1912–1916)	&1000000000001708000000017,080	&10000000000000428000000428 sq mi (&100000000000011090000001,109 km2)
Menifee County	165	Frenchburg	1869	Bath County, Montgomery County, Morgan County, Powell County and Wolfe County	Richard H. Menefee, United States Congressman (1837–1839)	&100000000000065560000006,556	&10000000000000204000000204 sq mi (&10000000000000528000000528 km2)
Montgomery County	173	Mount Sterling	1796	Clark County[6]	Richard Montgomery (1736–1775), military general killed at the Battle of Quebec	&1000000000002255400000022,554	&10000000000000199000000199 sq mi (&10000000000000515000000515 km2)
Morgan County	175	West Liberty	1822	Bath County and Floyd County	Daniel Morgan (1736–1802), Revolutionary War general	&1000000000001394800000013,948	&10000000000000381000000381 sq mi (&10000000000000987000000987 km2)
Owsley County	189	Booneville	1843	Breathitt County, Clay County, and Estill County	William Owsley, Governor of Kentucky (1844–1848)	&100000000000048580000004,858	&10000000000000198000000198 sq mi (&10000000000000513000000513 km2)
Perry County	193	Hazard	1820	Floyd County and Clay County	Oliver Hazard Perry (1785–1819), Admiral in the War of 1812	&1000000000002939000000029,390	&10000000000000342000000342 sq mi (&10000000000000886000000886 km2)
Pike County	195	Pikeville	1821	Floyd County	Zebulon Pike (1779–1813), discoverer of Pike's Peak	&1000000000006873600000068,736	&10000000000000788000000788 sq mi (&100000000000020410000002,041 km2)
Powell County	197	Stanton	1852	Clark County, Estill County, and Montgomery County	Lazarus Whitehead Powell, Governor of Kentucky (1851–1855)	&1000000000001323700000013,237	&10000000000000180000000180 sq mi (&10000000000000466000000466 km2)
Rowan County	205	Morehead	1856	Fleming County and Morgan County	John Rowan, Congressman from Kentucky (1809–1811; 1825–1831))	&1000000000002209400000022,094	&10000000000000281000000281 sq mi (&10000000000000728000000728 km2)
Whitley County	235	Williamsburg	1818	Knox County	William Whitley (1749–1813), Kentucky pioneer	&1000000000003586500000035,865	&10000000000000440000000440 sq mi (&100000000000011400000001,140 km2)
Wolfe County	237	Campton	1860	Breathitt County, Owsley County, and Powell County	Nathaniel Wolfe (1808–1865), member of the Kentucky General Assembly	&100000000000070650000007,065	&10000000000000223000000223 sq mi (&10000000000000578000000578 km2)

Major cities[link]

The following list consists of eastern Kentucky cities with populations over 4,000 (as of July 1, 2009):^[7]

Ashland, the region's largest city.

Protected areas[link]

Natural Bridge State Resort Park

Historical parks[link]

• Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
• Dr. Thomas Walker State Historic Site

State resort parks[link]

• Greenbo Lake State Resort Park
• Benham-Lynch State Resort Park
• Buckhorn Lake State Resort Park
• Carter Caves State Resort Park
• Cumberland Falls State Resort Park
• Jenny Wiley State Resort Park
• Natural Bridge State Resort Park
• Pine Mountain State Resort Park

State recreational parks[link]

Levi Jackson Wilderness Road State Park

• Grayson Lake State Park
• Yatesville Lake State Park
• Paintsville Lake State Park
• Fishtrap Lake State Park
• Carr Creek State Park
• Kingdom Come State Park
• Pine Mountain Trail State Park
• Levi Jackson Wilderness Road State Park

Other[link]

• Breaks Interstate Park (part)
• Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area (part)

Economy[link]

The region's economy is centered around the vast amount of natural resources available, which includes coal, timber, natural gas, and oil. Recently, tourism has became a leading industry in the region, due to the region's unique cultural history and the creation of state parks.

Appalachian Regional Commission[link]

The Appalachian Regional Commission was formed in 1965 to aide economic development in the Appalachian region, which was lagging far behind the rest of the nation on most economic indicators. The Appalachian region currently defined by the Commission includes 420 counties in 13 states, including all counties in Kentucky's Eastern Mountain Coal Field region. The Commission gives each county one of five possible economic designations—distressed, at-risk, transitional, competitive, or attainment—with "distressed" counties being the most economically endangered and "attainment" counties being the most economically prosperous. These designations are based primarily on three indicators—three-year average unemployment rate, market income per capita, and poverty rate.^[8]

From 2006–2008, "Appalachian" Kentucky—which includes all of the Eastern Mountain Coal Fields and the easternmost counties in South Central Kentucky and the Bluegrass region—had a three-year average unemployment rate of 6.8%, compared with 6.0% statewide and 5.0% nationwide.^[9] In 2007, Appalachian Kentucky had a per capita market income of $15,690, compared with $24,708 statewide and $32,930 nationwide.^[10] In 2000, Appalachian Kentucky had a poverty rate of 24.4%—the highest of any of the ARC regions—, compared to 15.8% statewide and 12.4% nationwide. Twenty-five Eastern Mountain Coal Field counties—Bell, Breathitt, Carter, Clay, Elliot, Floyd, Harlan, Jackson, Johnson, Knott, Knox, Lawrence, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, McCreary, Menifee, Morgan, Owsley, Perry, Powell, Whitley, and Wolfe—were designated "distressed," while three—Laurel, Pike and Rowan—were designated "at-risk." Three Eastern Mountain Coal Field counties were designated "transitional"—Boyd, Greenup, and Montgomery. No counties in the Eastern Mountain Coal Fields region were given the "attainment" designation or were designated "competitive."

The following table illustrates the economic status of each county:^[11]

Post-secondary education[link]

Little Bell Tower, Morehead State University

Ashland Community and Technical College

Public universities[link]

• Morehead State University

Private colleges and universities[link]

• Alice Lloyd College
• Clear Creek Baptist Bible College
• Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing
• Kentucky Christian University
• Kentucky Mountain Bible College
• Midway College School of Pharmacy
• University of Pikeville
• Union College
• University of the Cumberlands

Community and technical colleges[link]

• Ashland Community and Technical College
• Big Sandy Community and Technical College
• Hazard Community and Technical College
• Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College

Notable residents[link]

• Hylo Brown, bluegrass and country music singer, born in River.
• June Buchanan (1887–1988), educator who worked with Alice Spencer Geddes Lloyd (see below). Co-founder of Caney Junior College, now Alice Lloyd College. Lived in Knott County from 1919 until her death.
• Earle Combs (1899–1976), Hall of Fame MLB center fielder for the New York Yankees. Born in Pebworth, a community in Owsley County.^[12]
• Tim Couch, former NFL quarterback. Born and raised in Hyden.
• Billy Ray Cyrus (born 1961), American country music singer, songwriter and actor. Born in Flatwoods.
• Richie Farmer (born 1969), basketball standout for the University of Kentucky and politician (Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture, 2003–2011). Born and raised in Manchester.
• Jim Ford, singer-songwriter, born in Johnson County.
• Mary Elliott Flanery, first woman elected to a state legislature south of the Mason Dixon Line.
• Crystal Gayle, country singer and younger sister of Loretta Lynn; both raised in Van Lear.
• Eula Hall, Founder of the Mud Creek Clinic.
• Roscoe Holcomb, American musician who lived the majority of his life in Daisy.
• Silas House (born 1971), author. Born and raised in Laurel County; also lived in Leslie County during his childhood.
• The Judds, a country music duo of mother Naomi (born 1946) and daughter Wynonna (born 1964). Born in Ashland.
• Ashley Judd (born 1968), actress; daughter of Naomi Judd and half-sister of Wynonna Judd. Born in Ashland.
• Alice Spencer Geddes Lloyd (1876–1962), social reformer who founded 100 elementary schools in the region as well as co-founding the college that now bears her name. Lived in Knott County from 1915 until her death.
• Patty Loveless, country music singer. Born in Pikeville.
• Loretta Lynn, country singer, raised in Van Lear.
• John Pelphrey (born 1968), basketball standout for the University of Kentucky (and teammate of Farmer); former head basketball coach at the University of Arkansas, and current assistant at the University of Florida. Born in Paintsville.
• Francis Gary Powers (August 17, 1929 – August 1, 1977) was an American pilot whose CIA U-2 spy plane was shot down while over the Soviet Union, causing the 1960 U-2 incident. Born in Jenkins.
• Venus Ramey, Miss America, 1944. Born in Ashland.
• Jeff Sheppard (born 1974), University of Kentucky basketball star (1998 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player) and former player in the NBA and several European leagues. Has lived in London since he retired from play.
• Benjamin F. Stapleton, Mayor of Denver, Colorado between (1923–1931) and (1935–1947). Born in Paintsville.
• Gary Stewart, Country music singer and musician, 1944–2003, born in Jenkins.
• Jesse Stuart, author and former poet laureate of Kentucky
• Dwight Yoakam (born 1956), singer-songwriter, actor and film director. Born in Pikeville.

See also[link]

• Huntington–Ashland, WV–KY–OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area
• Coal mining in Kentucky

References[link]

External links[link]

• Visit Eastern Kentucky

v t e Visitor Attractions of the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field region Parks State Buckhorn Lake Carr Creek Carter Caves Cumberland Falls Dr. Thomas Walker Fishtrap Lake Grayson Lake Greenbo Lake Jenny Wiley Kingdom Come Levi Jackson Wilderness Road Natural Bridge Paintsville Lake Pine Mountain Pine Mountain Trail Yatesville Lake Federal Big South Fork Cumberland Gap Interstate Breaks Interstate Red River Gorge Museums Barthell Coal Mining Camp Bell County Coal House & Museum Bell County Historical Society Museum Big Sandy Heritage Center Blue Heron Coal Mining Camp Bobby Davis Museum and Park Breathitt County Museum C.B. Caudill Store & History Center Cloverfork Museum Coal Miners' Museum Cumberland Inn Museum David A. Zegeer Coal-Railroad Museum East Kentucky Science Center Elkhorn City Railroad Museum Harland Sanders Café & Museum Highlands Museum and Discovery Center Kentucky Coal Mining Museum Kentucky Folk Art Center Knox Historical Museum Magoffin County Pioneer Village and Museum Marie Stewart Museum & Craft Shop McCreary County Museum Morgan County History Museum Mountain Homeplace Mountain Life Museum Northeastern Kentucky Museum Swamp Valley Museum U.S. 23 Country Music Highway Museum Wolfe County History Museum Forests Daniel Boone Dewey Lake Jefferson Kentenia Kentucky Ridge Robinson Tygarts Reservoirs Buckhorn Lake Carr Creek Lake Cave Run Lake Cranks Creek Lake Lake Cumberland Dewey Lake Fishtrap Lake Grayson Lake Greenbo Lake Laurel River Lake Martins Fork Lake Paintsville Lake Yatesville Lake Natural features Black Mountain Cumberland Falls Cumberland Gap Eagle Falls Middlesboro crater Pine Mountain Pound Gap Raven Rock Red River Gorge Tri-State Peak Yahoo Arch Yahoo Falls Miscellaneous Bad Branch Falls State Nature Preserve Bat Cave and Cascade Caverns State Nature Preserves Big South Fork Scenic Railway Black Mountain Off-Road Adventure Area Cumberland Gap Tunnel Mayo Mansion Middle Creek Battlefield Pikeville Cut-Through Samuel May House Sheltowee Trace Trail

v t e  Commonwealth of Kentucky Frankfort (capital) Topics Index Cuisine Culture Demographics Economy Education Flag Geography History Music People Religion Seal Sports Symbols Theater Tourism Transportation Category Index Portal Regions Allegheny Plateau The Bluegrass Central Kentucky Cumberland Mountains Cumberland Plateau Eastern Kentucky Coal Field region Highland Rim The Knobs Mississippi Plain Northern Kentucky Pennyroyal Plateau The Purchase Ridge-and-Valley South Central Kentucky Tennessee Valley Western Coal Fields 25 Largest cities Louisville Lexington Bowling Green Owensboro Covington Hopkinsville Richmond Florence Georgetown Henderson Elizabethtown Nicholasville Jeffersontown Frankfort Paducah Independence Radcliff Ashland Madisonville Winchester Erlanger Murray St. Matthews Fort Thomas Danville Metropolitan areas Ashland Bowling Green Clarksville, TN Elizabethtown Evansville Lexington–Fayette Louisville – Jefferson County Northern Kentucky Owensboro Counties Adair Allen Anderson Ballard Barren Bath Bell Boone Bourbon Boyd Boyle Bracken Breathitt Breckinridge Bullitt Butler Caldwell Calloway Campbell Carlisle Carroll Carter Casey Christian Clark Clay Clinton Crittenden Cumberland Daviess Edmonson Elliott Estill Fayette Fleming Floyd Franklin Fulton Gallatin Garrard Grant Graves Grayson Green Greenup Hancock Hardin Harlan Harrison Hart Henderson Henry Hickman Hopkins Jackson Jefferson Jessamine Johnson Kenton Knott Knox LaRue Laurel Lawrence Lee Leslie Letcher Lewis Lincoln Livingston Logan Lyon Madison Magoffin Marion Marshall Martin Mason McCracken McCreary McLean Meade Menifee Mercer Metcalfe Monroe Montgomery Morgan Muhlenberg Nelson Nicholas Ohio Oldham Owen Owsley Pendleton Perry Pike Powell Pulaski Robertson Rockcastle Rowan Russell Scott Shelby Simpson Spencer Taylor Todd Trigg Trimble Union Warren Washington Wayne Webster Whitley Wolfe Woodford

Commonwealth of Kentucky
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): Bluegrass State
Motto(s): United we stand, divided we fall and Deo gratiam habeamus (Let us be grateful to God)
Official language(s)	English[1]
Demonym	Kentuckian
Capital	Frankfort
Largest city	Louisville
Largest metro area	Louisville metropolitan area
Area	Ranked 37th in the U.S.
- Total	40,409 sq mi (104,659 km2)
- Width	140 miles (225 km)
- Length	379 miles (610 km)
- % water	1.7
- Latitude	36° 30′ N to 39° 09′ N
- Longitude	81° 58′ W to 89° 34′ W
Population	Ranked 26th in the U.S.
- Total	4,369,356 (2011 est)[2]
- Density	110/sq mi  (42.5/km2) Ranked 22nd in the U.S.
Elevation
- Highest point	Black Mountain[3][4] 4,145 ft (1263 m)
- Mean	750 ft  (230 m)
- Lowest point	Mississippi River at Kentucky Bend[3][4] 257 ft (78 m)
Before statehood	Kentucky County, Virginia
Admission to Union	June 1, 1792 (15th)
Governor	Steve Beshear (D)
Lieutenant Governor	Jerry Abramson (D)
Legislature	General Assembly
- Upper house	Senate
- Lower house	House of Representatives
U.S. Senators	Mitch McConnell (R) Rand Paul (R)
U.S. House delegation	4 Republicans, 2 Democrats (list)
Time zones
- eastern half	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
- western half	Central: UTC-6/-5
Abbreviations	KY US-KY
Website	kentucky.gov

Kentucky (ⁱ/kɨnˈtʌki/), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state located in the Upper South of the United States. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth (the others being Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts). Originally a part of Virginia, in 1792 Kentucky became the 15th state to join the Union. Kentucky is the 37th most extensive and the 26th most populous of the 50 United States.

Kentucky is known as the "Bluegrass State", a nickname based on the fact that bluegrass is present in many of the pastures throughout the state, because of the fertile soil. It made possible the breeding of high-quality livestock, especially thoroughbred racing horses. It is a land with diverse environments and abundant resources, including the world's longest cave system, Mammoth Cave National Park; the greatest length of navigable waterways and streams in the contiguous United States; and the two largest man-made lakes east of the Mississippi River. It is also home to the highest per capita number of deer and turkey in the United States, the largest free-ranging elk herd east of Montana, and the nation's most productive coalfield. Kentucky is also known for horse racing, bourbon distilleries, bluegrass music, automobile manufacturing, tobacco and college basketball.