London is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Laurel County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 8,053. London is home to the annual World Chicken Festival that celebrates the life of Colonel Sanders and features the world's largest skillet.

History

The area around London had been territory of the Cherokee people for centuries. In 1776

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...

passed through the area that would become London. Upon the establishment of Laurel County in 1825, a vote was held to provide for the new area's seat of government. The land offered by John Jackson and his son Jarvis Jackson was selected, along with their suggested name of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, honoring their English heritage.Rennick, Robert. ''Kentucky Place Names''
p. 178
University Press of Kentucky (Lexington), 1987. Accessed August 1, 2013. The town was founded the next year, its

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

established in 1831, and its city rights granted in 1836.Commonwealth of Kentucky. Office of the Secretary of State. Land Office. "London, Kentucky". Accessed August 1, 2013. One of John Jackson's sons was Hancock Lee Jackson, 13th governor of Missouri. His second cousin was Claiborne Fox Jackson, 15th governor of Missouri. In 1861, the Battle of Camp Wildcat was fought early in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

to the north of the town. In 1865 the non denominational, First Christian Church of London was founded. The St. Joseph's Hospital was founded in 1926. During the Depression of the late 1930s and early 1940s, the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

of President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Pack Horse Library Project to serve rural people in the mountains. London served as a central collection agency for books donated to tis program. It also had a pack horse library, whose riders delivered books to rural residents.

2025 tornado

On the night of May 16, 2025, a violent EF4 tornado tore through the southern portions of London. The tornado resulted in catastrophic damage and killed 17 people in the city.

Geography

London is located in central Laurel County. U.S. Route 25 passes through London as its Main Street. Route 25 leads northwest to

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...

and south to Corbin. Interstate 75, running parallel to US 25, passes along the western edge of London, with access from Exits 38 and 41. I-75 leads north to Lexington and south to

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

. The Hal Rogers Parkway runs along the northern edge of London, leading east to Garrard and west to

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, London has a total area of , of which , or 0.39%, are water. Between the 2000 and 2010 censuses, the city annexed a significant portion of land.

Climate

London has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Cfa'') with continental influences. Summers are hot and humid with frequent storms. July is the warmest month, with an average high of and an average low of . Winters are cold with a few mild periods. January is the coldest month with an average high of and an average low of . The highest recorded temperature was on June 29, 2012, and the lowest recorded temperature was on January 19, 1994. May has the highest average rainfall of and October has the lowest average rainfall of .

Demographics

London is part of the London, Kentucky micropolitan area. Of the seventeen micropolitan areas in Kentucky, London is the largest; the London micropolitan area's 2010 Census population was 126,368. As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 5,692 people, 2,400 households, and 1,461 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 2,676 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.03%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.83%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.33% Native American, 0.69% Asian, 0.11% from other races, and 1.02% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.47% of the population. There were 2,400 households, out of which 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.8% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.78. In the city, the population was spread out, with 19.3% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 19.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,283, and the median income for a family was $34,340. Males had a median income of $32,355 versus $19,873 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $15,046. About 19.4% of families and 20.7% 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 ...

, including 31.9% of those under age 18 and 18.4% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Major employers in London include: *ABC Group * Aisin * Bimbo Bakeries USA * Flowers Foods *

Maximus Maximus (Hellenised as Maximos) is the Latin term for "greatest" or "largest". In this connection it may refer to: * Circus Maximus (disambiguation) * Pontifex maximus, the highest priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome People Roman hi ...

* Hearthside Food Solutions *Highlands Diversified Services *Niflheim Finances * Springleaf Financial *Senture *SourceHOV *

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (, ) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox was the pioneer of the photocopier market, beginning with the introduc ...

* Serco

Education

Public schools are administered by Laurel County Public Schools. The district has two comprehensive high schools: North Laurel High School and South Laurel High School. There is a private school, London Christian Academy.

Colleges

* Laurel Technical College * Somerset Community and Technical College (Laurel Campus) * Sue Bennett College was a private college in London, which operated from 1897 through 1997.

Public library

London has a

lending library A lending library is a library from which books and other media are lent out. The major classifications are endowed libraries, institutional libraries (the most diverse), public libraries, and subscription libraries. It may also refer to a librar ...

, the Laurel County Public Library.

Transportation

London-Corbin_Airport_terminal_and_restaurant

Greyhound Lines provides service to London on its route serving

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Knoxville, and

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. Rural Transit Enterprises Coordinated provides on-demand public transportation to Laurel County and surrounding counties. Daniel Boone Transit and Harlan County Community Action Agency provide connecting services from other counties to Greyhound in London. London-Corbin Airport is located three miles south of London.

Notable people

* Granville Aikman, Kansas state judge * Teel Bruner, College Football Hall of Fame inductee * Chera-Lyn Cook, Miss Kentucky 1998; placed 4th runner-up to Miss America 1999 * Brady Deaton, Chancellor of the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

Donald Harvey Donald Harvey (April 15, 1952 – March 30, 2017) was an American serial killer who claimed to have murdered 87 people, though he has 37 confirmed victims. He was able to do this during his time as a hospital orderly. His spree took place ...

, serial killer * Gene Huff, politician * Derek Lewis, American politician; born in London * Nan Phelps, artist * Flem Sampson, 42nd

governor of Kentucky The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; sinc ...

* Darrell Scott, musician * Reed Sheppard (born 2004), basketball player, picked 3rd overall in 2024 NBA draft by

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

Gallery

File:Laurel_County_Kentucky_Courthouse.jpg, Laurel Country Court house (2007) File:Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse and Annex, London, Kentucky LCCN2015646761 (cropped).jpg, Federal building and US courthouse Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse and Annex. U.S. Courthouse built in 1910 by Architect James Knox Taylor. Annex built in 2002. The historic building was designed to house the post office for London, Kentucky. The stucture is masonry bearing wall with steel interior columns. There is a two-story half elliptical wing that projects from the rear of the building reflecting the elliptical shape of the second floor court room. File:First_Christian_Church_London,_Kentucky_(est._1865-1907).jpg, First Christian Church London (2018) File:Saint_William_Church_(London,_Kentucky)_-_exterior_2.jpg, Saint William Church (2023)

References

External links

City of London

Laurel County History Museum & Genealogy Center
{{Authority control * Cities in Kentucky County seats in Kentucky Cities in Laurel County, Kentucky Populated places established in 1836 1836 establishments in Kentucky