Lynch is a home rule-class city in

Harlan County, Kentucky Harlan County is a county located in southeastern Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,831. Its county seat is Harlan. It is classified as a moist countya county in which alcohol sales are prohibited (a dry county), but cont ...

, United States. In the 2010 census, the city population was 747, down from 900 in 2000.

History

Lynch was plotted in 1917 by the U.S. Coal and Coke Company (a subsidiary of U.S. Steel) as a company town to house workers at the company's nearby

coal mine Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

s. It was named for then-head of the company, Thomas Lynch. By the 1940s, Lynch had a population of 10,000 and had such amenities as a hospital and movie theater. The population declined dramatically in the 1960s and 1970s as mining techniques shifted to less labor-intensive methods. In 1996, the rails to Lynch and nearby Benham were officially abandoned. In 2012, PBS of Eastern Tennessee created a documentary titled ''The Eastern Kentucky Social Club'' dealing with the history of the black community and immigrant community in Lynch.

Geography

Lynch is located in eastern Harlan County at (36.965133, -82.916569), in the valley of Looney Creek. Lynch is the nearest city to Kentucky's highest point, Black Mountain (). Sitting at an elevation of above sea level, Lynch is Kentucky's highest incorporated city. It is bordered by Looney Ridge to the north and Benham Spur to the south. The city of Benham borders the west side of Lynch, and Cumberland is to the west via

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 ...

, the main road through Lynch. KY 160 leads southeast up the valley of Looney Creek 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 on the crest of Black Mountain at an elevation of , then continues to

Appalachia, Virginia Appalachia is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,754 at the 2010 census. History The Appalachia post office was established in 1898. The community was named for the surrounding Appalachian Mountains. The Derby H ...

, southeast of Lynch. 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 t ...

, Lynch 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 in ...

of 2000, there were 900 people, 408 households, and 250 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 2,753.1 people per square mile (1,053.0/km²). There were 514 housing units at an average density of 1,572.3/sq mi (601.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 73.33%

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 o ...

, 24.89%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

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, and 1.44% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...

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 0.33% of the population. There were 408 households, out of which 24.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.7% were married couples living together, 16.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.5% were non-families. 36.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.88. In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.6% under 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 20.4% from 25 to 44, 28.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.9% who were 65 or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $17,609, and the median income for a family was $21,625. Males had a median income of $31,500 versus $19,038 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 $13,369. About 36.7% of families and 37.8% 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 57.6% of those under age 18 and 25.9% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Leland Byrd, College basketball coach and player *

Juanita M. Kreps Clara Juanita Morris Kreps (January 11, 1921July 5, 2010) was an American economist, educator and businesswoman who served as the 24th United States secretary of commerce under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1979. A member of the Democratic ...

, United States Secretary of Commerce *

Louise Slaughter Dorothy Louise Slaughter (née McIntosh, August 14, 1929 – March 16, 2018) was an American politician elected to 16 terms as a United States Representative from New York, serving from 1987 until her death in 2018. She served as the Dean of the ...

, United States politician

References

External links