Beauty (formerly Himlerville) 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 Martin 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 ...

, United States. During the early 1920s the community was the home of the

Himler Coal Company The Himler Coal Company was a cooperative mining company established in 1918 by Hungarian-American immigrant Martin Himler. The company was responsible for the establishment of two company towns, Himler (now Ajax), West Virginia and Himlerville ...

, a cooperative mining venture conducted by a group of Hungarian immigrants.

History

Origins

In the mountains of Eastern Kentucky once existed the unique, Hungarian community of Himlerville. Martin Himler emigrated from

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

to New York and, eventually, to Martin County and established the Himler Coal Company and soon after the town of Himlerville. He contacted other Hungarians to share in his dream of an all Hungarian community nestled deep in the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

Development

Himlerville became a lively community of industrious Hungarian immigrants. More than 200 homes were built, as well as, many businesses to supply the coal mine and the town's residents. A railroad was constructed, along with a bridge over the Tug River to transport supplies, lumber and coal in and out of Himlerville. A bank was established, as well as schools, churches, and a town hall for community gatherings. Himlerville had its own water reservoir and power station that gave electricity thus life to the town; it even had its own newspaper which was printed in both English and Hungarian. During the 1920s, Himlerville was a very progressive town with many thriving businesses to accommodate its unique population. As ''Coal Age'' described, "Stock in the company is sold only to Hungarians, native or naturalized. One of the bylaws of the company provides, however, that no stockholder may seek employment with the company until he has undertaken naturalization as an American Citizen. According to Martin Himler, president of the company, no stockholder in the company has yet arrived in America without a firm resolution to become an American citizen as promptly as the laws will permit."J.R. Hayworth
"Hungarians Successfully Conduct Cooperative Mine in Kentucky, Having Two Million Dollars Invested,"
''Coal Age'' ew York vol. 20, no. 11 (September 15, 1921), pp. 412-414.

Demise

In 1928, Himlerville Coal Company went bankrupt due to a devastating flood and Martin Himler left, leaving behind a mansion on the hill and his dream of an all Hungarian community. Most of the residents soon followed, never to return. Later on, the name of the town was changed to Beauty and very little remains of this once exclusive Hungarian community in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. The Martin Himler House was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1991.

Notable residents

Beauty was the childhood home of country singer

Angaleena Presley Angaleena Loletta McCoy Presley (born September 1, 1976) is an American country music singer-songwriter. She is a member of the country trio Pistol Annies, which was formed in 2011 with Miranda Lambert and Ashley Monroe, and has released two sol ...

Footnotes

External links

"Our Town: Himlerville,"
Kentucky Educational Television, March 3, 2015. —Video. * Doug Cantrell

Appalachian History, www.appalachianhistory.net/ September 17, 2015. * Cathy Cassady Corbin

Appalachian History, www.appalachianhistory.net/ November 10, 2014. {{authority control Coal towns in Kentucky Unincorporated communities in Martin County, Kentucky Unincorporated communities in Kentucky