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HINDMAN, KENTUCKY
Hindman, the
county seat of Knott County is situated in a narrow valley at the
fork of
Troublesome Creek along KY 80. The city was founded in 1884 as the
seat of
newly established Knott County and named for James P. Hindman, then lieutenant
governor. The land for the city was donated by Peyton M. Duke, who ran the
McPherson post office at the site of the city. The first known settle near
the fork of Troublesome Creek was Samuel Cornett. Later settlers were the
Dukes, of North Carolina, and Capt. Anderson Hays. At the time of the
formation of Hindman, a few businessmen and farmers, including F.P. Allen and Robert Bats, lived or owned land there.
When
Hindman was established as county seat it was little more than few log houses. Wagon
roads led out to Whitesburg, Hazard, Jackson, and Prestonsburg, from which most goods
arrived via mule-pulled freighters. The first courthouse, a log structure built in
1884, was replaced by a brick structure with a unique arched front in the 1890s. It
burned in 1929. The Works Progress Administration built the present courthouse in
1935-36.
Political strife began in Hindman soon its formation, when Clabe Jones lost a race
for jailer to his old Civil War opponent, Anderson Hays. The two and their factions
warred for several years and after the feud ended, other men perpetuated the violence in
the city. The establishment of Baptist and Methodist churches and George Clarke's
school (1888), the predecessor of the Hindman Settlement School, helped to provide outlets
other than feuding for the people.
Hindman's location on Troublesome Creek made it susceptible to occasional flooding, and
the isolated mountain town grew slowly. The rugged terrain prevented the extension
of rail service to the town. The economy of the town is heavily dependent upon
coal. A statue in front of the courthouse honors Hindman's best known native son,
Carl D. Perkins, who served eastern Kentucky as a U.S. representative from 1949 until
1984.
The
population of the fifth-class city was 808 in 1970; 876 in 1980; and 798 in 1990.
The Kentucky Encyclopedia
John E. Kleber, Editor
Copyright 1992
The University Press of Kentucky
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