Hot Spot 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 ...

and former

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 ...

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 ...

, United States. It was named for the Hot Spot Coal Company. Other names for the community have been Smoot Creek, Dalna, Elsiecoal, and Premium. It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names.

Description

Hot Spot is located near Smoot Creek on

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 ...

History

The Smoot Creek post office serviced a community in Letcher County near Smoot Creek waterway from 1890 to 1914. The post office moved with coal camps, changing names to Dalna in 1918 and Elsiecoal in 1923. In 1932, Hot Spot was named for the Hot Spot Coal Company. It since has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names. Its associated post office was renamed Premium in 1942.

References

Unincorporated communities in Letcher County, Kentucky Unincorporated communities in Kentucky Coal towns in Kentucky {{LetcherCountyKY-geo-stub