Dorton is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

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 reside ...

in southern Pike 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. Located along U.S. Route 23, also known as Country Music Highway. It is centered at the confluence of Dorton and Shelby Creeks and the junction of U.S. 23 and KY 610, 13 miles south of Pikeville. The community was named for William P. Dorton. The post office at Dorton was established July 2, 1872 and John Bumgardner was the first post master. Dorton Elementary School is located in the community. Dorton High School closed its doors at the conclusion of the 1989–90 school year when it consolidated with neighboring Virgie High School, forming Shelby Valley High School.

Education

Most students residing in Dorton attend: *Dorton Elementary School * Shelby Valley High School

References

Notable Residents Elisha Justice - 2010 Kentucky "Mr. Basketball". Elisha attended Dorton Elementary School, and later Shelby Valley High School. Unincorporated communities in Kentucky Unincorporated communities in Pike County, Kentucky Coal towns in Kentucky {{PikeCountyKY-geo-stub