Butcher Hollow (also known and most commonly pronounced as Butcher Holler) is a

coal-mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. 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 extrac ...

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

located in Johnson County,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, United States.

History

The town is the birthplace of

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

singer

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "Hey Loretta", "The Pill (song), The P ...

, who paid tribute to the community in the song "Coal Miner's Daughter", which begins with the lyrics Later in the song, she also mentions Van Lear, the larger community in which Butcher Hollow is located: Butcher Hollow took the name of a nearby valley which was named for the local Butcher family. Butcher Hollow is a part of the community of Van Lear, which was constructed by the

Consolidation Coal Company Consolidation may refer to: In science and technology * Consolidation (computing), the act of linkage editing in computing * Consolidation (locomotive), popular name of a steam locomotive with a 2-8-0 wheel arrangement * Consolidation (soil), a ...

in the early part of the 20th century. Van Lear was named for Van Lear Black, one of the company's directors. Although most of Butcher Hollow lies outside of the old Van Lear city limits, the mailing address of those who have lived there has been Van Lear since the establishment of the Van Lear post office in 1909. Butcher Hollow is not an independent town or village in its own right. Currently, Van Lear is an unincorporated community. There are no deep mines operating in Van Lear proper, although some mines operate nearby. Most of the residents work in locations outside Van Lear, including the nearby cities of Paintsville, Prestonsburg, and Pikeville. Since the end of local mining, only a handful of businesses continue to operate in the Van Lear area, including a bookstore, Mine Number 5 Store, The East Kentucky Museum of Mysteries, and Icky's 1950s Snack Shop (located inside the Coal Miners' Museum). Although Butcher Hollow is often listed as a separate town, it is geographically considered a street or a neighborhood by natives of Eastern Kentucky. Thus, Butcher Hollow's address would be Butcher Hollow, Van Lear, Johnson County, Kentucky.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Johnson County, Kentucky Unincorporated communities in Kentucky Coal towns in Kentucky Loretta Lynn

History

See also

References