Blackey is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
in
Letcher County
Letcher County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,548. Its county seat is Whitesburg. The county, founded in 1842, is named for Robert P. Letcher, Governor of Kentucky from 1840 to ...
,
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. As of the
2010 census, the population was 120.
It is located near the early settlement of
Indian Bottom. Blackey is thought to have been named after Blackey Brown, one of its citizens.
History
The history of Blackey began in 1908, after local resident Jim Brown was given permission to establish a post office on Elk Creek. He decided to name the post office "Blackey", after his brother Joseph "Blackey" Brown. Due to the area's massive
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
deposits, the Lexington and Eastern Railroad ran a line through Blackey in November 1912. Over the next fifteen years, Blackey was transformed from a sleepy mountain town to a bustling modern city. It was chartered in November 1912 and incorporated on January 27, 1915.
In 1913, the community became the home of the
Stuart Robinson School
Stuart Robinson School was a settlement school in Blackey, Letcher County, Kentucky, established in 1913 as a Presbyterian mission. It closed in 1957, after graduating its last class in 1956.
Establishment
Stuart Robinson School was established i ...
, a
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
settlement school
Settlement schools are social reform institutions established in rural Appalachia in the early 20th century with the purpose of educating mountain children and improving their isolated rural communities.
Settlement schools have played an importan ...
that was to operate there until 1957.
In 1917, the Blackey Coal Company was established as the first coal company in the community. The company constructed thirty houses and employed eighty miners.
[History of Blackey, Kentucky](_blank)
Retrieved on 2010-04-10
In May 1927, a
flash flood
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing o ...
devastated the city. In one hour, the North Fork of the
Kentucky River
The Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed June 13, 2011 in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Kentuc ...
rose , killing 26 people in Letcher County alone. Later in December a fire broke out, destroying most of the city's
business district
A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...
. Then in February 1928, another fire broke out and destroyed the rest of the town. Shortly afterwards, Blackey State Bank failed and the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
ended the prosperity of the boom town.
Today, Blackey is home to just over 150 people, with only a few abandoned buildings and a few occupied homes on Main Street. Within the last few years, the city has seen some revitalization consisting of a
Head Start, a new city water system, and a public
library
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
.
Geography
Blackey is located in western Letcher County at (37.140413, -82.979368),
in the valley of the North Fork of the Kentucky River.
Kentucky Route 7
Kentucky Route 7 (KY 7) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Kentucky.
Route description
Kentucky Route 7 begins at a junction with KY 15 at Jeff in Perry County. The route continues through the cities of Blackey in Letcher County, Wayl ...
passes through the town, leading west and northwest down the North Fork valley to
Jeff
Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey.
Music
* DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes
* ...
, and northeast up the valley of Rockhouse Creek then north down the valley of the Right Fork of Beaver Creek to
Wayland.
Kentucky Route 588 leads south and east up the North Fork of the Kentucky to
Whitesburg, the Letcher
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
.
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 ...
, the city of Blackey has a total area of , of which , or 2.72%, are water.
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 153 people, 65 households, and 49 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 73 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.69%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
and 1.31% from two or more races.
There were 65 households, out of which 23.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.0% 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, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.1% were non-families. 21.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.66.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 17.0% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 34.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $19,250, and the median income for a family was $20,625. Males had a median income of $30,536 versus $21,875 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 $11,278. About 22.9% of families and 24.3% 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 28.1% of those under the age of eighteen and 33.3% of those 65 or over.
Education
Blackey has a
lending library
A lending library is a library from which books and other media are lent out. The major classifications are endowed libraries, institutional libraries (the most diverse), public libraries, and subscription libraries. It may also refer to a librar ...
, a branch of the Letcher County Library.
Arts and culture
Just across a small bridge is the C. B. Caudill Store & History Center, operated by Gaynell Begley. It was formerly a
general store but has been converted into a history and community center.
C.B. Caudill Store and History Center
Retrieved on 2010-04-10
References
External links
from Appalshop site
C. B. Caudill Store & History Center
from Appalshop site
{{authority control
Cities in Letcher County, Kentucky
Cities in Kentucky
Populated places established in 1915
Company towns in Kentucky
Coal towns in Kentucky
1915 establishments in Kentucky