Benham is a home rule-class city in Harlan County,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, in the United States. The city was formally incorporated by the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

in 1961. The population was 512 at the 2020 census, up from 500 at the 2010 census.

History

Benham was originally a

company town A company town is a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by the one company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and re ...

for

International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated by IHC, IH, or simply International ( colloq.)) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household e ...

. The Benham Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of the

coal town A coal town, also known as a coal camp or patch, is a type of company town or mining community established by the employer, a mining company, which imports workers to the site to work the mineral find. The company develops it and provides residen ...

Geography

Benham is located in eastern Harlan County at (36.964832, -82.954035), in the valley of Looney Creek, between Looney Ridge to the north and Benham Spur to the south. Looney Creek flows west to the Poor Fork of the

Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...

in neighboring

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

Kentucky Route 160 Kentucky Route 160, also known as KY 160, is a state highway in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It runs from the Virginia state line, where the roadway continues east to Appalachia, Virginia as State Route 160, north via Lynch, Benham, Clutts, Cumbe ...

is Benham's Main Street, leading west to Cumberland and east through

Lynch Lynch may refer to: Places Australia * Lynch Island, South Orkney Islands, Antarctica * Lynch Point, Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica * Lynch's Crater, Queensland, Australia England * River Lynch, Hertfordshire * The Lynch, an island in the River ...

to the

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

border at the crest of Black Mountain just north of its summit, the highest point in Kentucky. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, Benham has a total area of , all of it land.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 599 people, 248 households, and 181 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 288 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.81%

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, 9.85%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.33% Native American, 0.17%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.33% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.50% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 0.50% of the population. There were 248 households, out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.88. In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.9% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 28.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $25,250, and the median income for a family was $33,333. Males had a median income of $35,000 versus $24,844 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $16,174. About 18.1% of families and 20.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 26.8% of those under age 18 and 18.7% of those age 65 or over.

Environmental concerns

In 2010, various city employees and residents expressed concern for the city's relatively high-quality drinking water. While many claimed that the drinking water is cleaner than water anywhere else in the general area, many argued that underground coal mining will contaminate public water supplies for both Benham and the adjacent city of

Notable people

* Bernie Bickerstaff,

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

executive and head coach

Gallery

Image:KY Coal Mining Museum.png, Kentucky Coal Museum Image:Benham Schoolhouse Inn.png, Benham Schoolhouse Inn File:Coal Miners Statue.jpg, Coal Miner Statue

References

{{authority control Populated places established in 1961 Cities in Harlan County, Kentucky Company towns in Kentucky Coal towns in Kentucky Cities in Kentucky Navistar International