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Lee County, Kentucky

29 topographic sheets and 6 fire insurance atlases across 1 place.

Research this county

From the record

4 National Register listings published here.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

Kentucky within the United States
Lee County within Kentucky

What the record shows

  • 1 place in this county was surveyed for fire insurance: Beattyville, between 1893 and 1930.
  • 6 fire insurance atlases survive for the county. Topographic coverage is national; fire insurance survey reached only incorporated places with something worth insuring.
  • 404 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
  • 4 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 3 buildings and 1 district.
  • 1 of the 4 listings was added during the 1970s.
  • The Geographic Names Information System records 33 populated places in this county; 33 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.

Photographs

2 photographs,

Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.

Kentucky Route 708 Bridge, Spanning Middle Fork of Kentucky River, Tallega, Lee County, KY
Kentucky Route 708 Bridge, Spanning Middle Fork of Kentucky River, Tallega, Lee County, KY
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Lee County Courthouse, Main Street, Beattyville, Lee County, KY
Lee County Courthouse, Main Street, Beattyville, Lee County, KY
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress

Places on the National Register

4

Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.

Photograph PropertyType ListedReference
Beattyville Grade Schoolbuilding200808000010
Beattyville Historic Districtdistrict2024100010769
St. Therese Churchbuilding201212000045
St. Thomas Episcopal Churchbuilding197676000911

The county from the air

23 shown

Flown by the U.S. Geological Survey between 1937 and 1989, the Aerial Photo Single Frames collection is the definitive mid-century view of the land: fields, roads and rivers as the camera saw them. The Survey holds 456 frames inside the rectangle that bounds this county; the 23 frames below were taken over the county itself, chosen across the decades of flights (at most four a year from that rectangle), so one flight cannot crowd out the rest. The full set is free to browse and download at EarthExplorer under the dataset Aerial Photo Single Frames.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1950-04-16, scale 1:27770
1950-04-16, scale 1:27770. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1950-04-16, scale 1:27770
1950-04-16, scale 1:27770. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1950-04-16, scale 1:27770
1950-04-16, scale 1:27770. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1950-04-16, scale 1:27770
1950-04-16, scale 1:27770. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1960-04-15, scale 1:24000
1960-04-15, scale 1:24000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1960-04-15, scale 1:24000
1960-04-15, scale 1:24000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1960-04-15, scale 1:24000
1960-04-15, scale 1:24000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1960-04-15, scale 1:24000
1960-04-15, scale 1:24000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1965-03-31, scale 1:24000
1965-03-31, scale 1:24000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1965-03-31, scale 1:24000
1965-03-31, scale 1:24000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1965-03-31, scale 1:24000
1965-03-31, scale 1:24000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1965-03-31, scale 1:24000
1965-03-31, scale 1:24000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1971-04-10, scale 1:44000
1971-04-10, scale 1:44000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1971-04-10, scale 1:44000
1971-04-10, scale 1:44000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1971-04-10, scale 1:44000
1971-04-10, scale 1:44000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1977-03-08, scale 1:80000
1977-03-08, scale 1:80000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1977-03-24, scale 1:80000
1977-03-24, scale 1:80000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1977-03-24, scale 1:80000
1977-03-24, scale 1:80000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1977-03-24, scale 1:80000
1977-03-24, scale 1:80000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1989-09-18, scale 1:33000
1989-09-18, scale 1:33000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1989-09-18, scale 1:33000
1989-09-18, scale 1:33000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1989-09-18, scale 1:33000
1989-09-18, scale 1:33000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1989-09-18, scale 1:32000
1989-09-18, scale 1:32000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

Weather records

6 stations, 6 gages

The thermometers that kept this county's weather, and the gages that measured the flow of its streams, as the federal records hold them. The extremes below are measured values from those records, not estimates.

The 1950 census, district by district

13 districts

Who lived here in 1950, one enumeration district at a time, as the Census Bureau described each district. Each row opens its official National Archives result, with Population Schedules and ED Maps available there.

  • 65-1Magisterial District 1, Beattyville: Beattyville city: Beattyville city - That part east of Darch, north of Main and east of Lower Stufflebean Creek
  • 65-2Beattyville city - That part west of Lower Stufflebean Creek, south of Main and west of Darch
  • 65-3Magisterial District 1, Beattyville - That part north of Louisiana and Nashville Railroad from east district line to Beattyville, outside Beattyville city
  • 65-4Magisterial District 1, Beattyville - That part south of Louisiana and Nashville Railroad from Beattyville to east district line, outside Beattyville city
  • 65-5Magisterial District 2, St. Helens: Magisterial District 2, St. Helens - That part Bounded by Kentucky River; County line; State Hwy. 52; Primrose - Williba Rd. via Union, Fraleip Branch
  • 65-6Magisterial District 2, St. Helens - That part Bounded by County line; Kentucky River, Fraleip Branch, Williba - Primrose Rd. via Union; State Hwy. 52; Magisterial District line
  • 65-7Magisterial District 2, St. Helens - That part Bounded by State Hwy. 52; County line; County line; Magisterial District line
  • 65-8Magisterial District 1 - That part south of State Hwy. 80, west of Wooton - Cinda Rd. and east of State Hwy. 257, outside the inincorporated place of Wooton
  • 65-9Magisterial District 3, New Virginia - That part west of State Hwy. 11 and northeast of State Hwy. 52
  • 65-10Magisterial District 3, New Virginia - That part south of State Hwy. 52
  • 65-11Magisterial District 4, Heidelberg: Magisterial District 4, Heidelberg - That part east of State Hwy. 11
  • 65-12Magisterial District 4, Heidelberg - That part west of State Hwy. 11 and east of Sturgeon Creek and Kentucky River
  • 65-13Magisterial District 4, Heidelberg - That part west of Kentucky River and Sturgeon Creek

Wildfire, 1993 to 2020

589 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 589 of them, burning about 15,885 acres. 1 started naturally and 141 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning219
Missing data/not specified/undetermined141
Arson/incendiarism141
Recreation and ceremony66
Equipment and vehicle use7
Railroad operations and maintenance5
Smoking4
Misuse of fire by a minor4
Natural1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

The five largest, by the area the report gives. 6 of them were set deliberately.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
6 November 2016Debris and open burning3,500 acresKentucky Division of ForestryJETTS CREEK ROAD
19 March 2001Arson/incendiarism800 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
7 November 2001Arson/incendiarism506 acresDaniel Boone National ForestWILLOW II
31 October 2001Arson/incendiarism500 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
1 November 2001Missing data/not specified/undetermined500 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
9 February 2001Arson/incendiarism400 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
8 November 1999Arson/incendiarism300 acresDaniel Boone National ForestBRUSHY MOUNTAIN
12 November 1999Arson/incendiarism300 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named

Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.

Storms, 1958 to 2026

60 of 281 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 281 reports for this county, causing 1 death, 25 injuries and about $4,225,000 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event Reports
Thunderstorm Wind184
Hail33
Flash Flood32
Flood14
Heavy Rain13
Tornado2
Debris Flow2
Lightning1

The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 1961Tornado (F3)not stated1 killed, 25 hurt, $2,500,000no account filed
June 2011Flash FloodLower Buffalo$500,000A bridge was washed out on Paw Paw Creek Road south of Beattyville. In fact, several roads in Lee county were damaged due to flash flooding on June 20th. The governor of Kentucky declared a state of emergency in Lee county.
June 2011Flash FloodBeattyville$500,000Significant damage occurred to roads in the Brushy Creek, Wide Creek, Paw Paw, and Primrose Lane areas in the June 20th flash floods. Kentucky Hwy 52S was also heavily damaged in the Sharp Rock area when the hillside below the road collapsed and slid away.
May 2009FloodFixer$100,000A 40 to 50 foot section of one lane of Hwy 498 collapsed and dropped over the embankment next to the roadway resulting in the closure of the road.
November 2002LightningHeidelberg$60,000A vacant house on Kentucky State Highway 399 burned early Sunday morning after being hit by lightning from a thunderstorm. The lightning jolted a breaker loose on a nearby transformer that also served another house. By the time fire departments arrived at the scene, the structure was fully engulfed in flames and was a total loss.
April 1998Flash FloodCountywide$60,000no account filed
February 2011Thunderstorm WindBeattyville$50,000The Lee county superintendent reported that all of the schools across the county were without power.
April 1998Flash FloodCountywide$50,000no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindBeattyville$45,000A tree broke off and crashed into the side of a home, damaging the roof, the side of the house, the deck, and the garage. Also in Beattyville, a number of trees came down on another house. Power and telephone lines were also downed.
January 2008Thunderstorm WindBeattyville$40,000Trees were blown down onto Highway 52. Numerous other reports of trees being blown down were received from throughout the county. All damage was caused by wind gusts estimated at 67 mph.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindBeattyville$30,000Trees were blown down countywide by thunderstorm wind gusts.
August 1987Tornado (F1)not stated$25,000no account filed
June 2023Thunderstorm WindProctor$20,000Broadcast media reported that a tree had been blown down onto a home in Beattyville.
May 2008Thunderstorm WindPrimrose$20,000A large tree was blown down onto a tractor crushing it. Numerous large limbs and a couple of other large trees were also blown down.
February 1998Thunderstorm WindPrimrose$20,000Trees were downed, and a barn was destroyed.
February 2019Heavy RainOld Lndg$10,000A local media outlet reported mud and rock slides from near the Estill County line on Kentucky Highway 52 to Blaines Branch Road in Beattyville.
May 2009Flash FloodMt Olive$10,000Chapman road was impassable. The Tincher Hill Road culvert was washed out and the road closed. Silver Creek Road, KY Hwy 30 east and west of Jackson, Cathedral Domain Road, Spencer Ridge Hill, and Bufalo Zion road were all flooded and impassable. Some of the pavement on Main Street in Beattyville had been washed out.
July 2004Thunderstorm WindBeattyville$10,000Trees and power lines were down across the county.
January 1997Thunderstorm WindBeattyville$10,000no account filed
May 2008Thunderstorm WindMonica$8,000Numerous tree branches between 2 and 5 inches in diameter were blown down on Highway 52. A couple of trees were also split down the middle and had to be removed from the roadway.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindIda May$8,000Several trees were blown down by thunderstorm wind gusts along Highway 399 near the Owsley County line.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindBeattyville$7,000Trees were blown down by thunderstorm wind gusts near the Owsley county line.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindBeattyville$7,000Trees down on Highway 1144 near Beattyville and trees down on Highway 52 West near Mt. Olive.
June 2021Debris FlowProctor$6,000Several landslides occurred along KY-52 between Beattyville and the Breathitt County line (heading towards Jackson). Water was also reported across the road in a location.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindBeattyville$5,000Numerous reports of trees down across roads throughout Lee County. A few phone lines were also down throughout the county.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindBeattyville$5,000Several trees were blown down along High Point Road near Hopewell Church. The largest trees were about 6 inches in diameter.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindWilliba$5,000Trees were blown down and across Highway 2017.
May 2009Flash FloodBanford$5,000Four feet of water was in houses in the community of Ida May as the result of heavy rainfall.
April 2009Thunderstorm WindOld Lndg$5,000Trees were down on Highway 52.
February 2008Thunderstorm WindZachariah$5,000Two large trees were blown down along Highway 11; one of the trees fell onto some powerlines.
January 2008Thunderstorm WindBeattyville$5,000Trees were blown down onto Highway 11 by wind gusts estimated at 61 mph.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindPrimrose$5,000Two trees and a few large limbs down. Old shed blown down.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindBeattyville$5,000Trees and limbs down near the Highway 52 and 498 intersection.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindBeattyville$4,000A tree fell on a power line on South Fork Road near Highway 11 South.
May 2020Heavy RainProctor$3,000The Department of Highways reported a mudslide, due to previous heavy rainfall, on Proctor Road near Beattyville. This caused an extended closure of the road near the slide.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindCongleton$3,000Trees were blown down in White Ash.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindProctor$3,000Trees were blown down on South Fork Rd.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindTallega$3,000Trees were blown down in Tallega.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindZachariah$3,000Trees were blown down in Zachariah.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindSt Helens$3,000Trees were blown down in St. Helens.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindHeidelberg$3,000A few trees were blown down by thunderstorm wind gusts.
August 2000Thunderstorm WindProctor$3,000Strong winds blew trees and power lines down.
April 1998Flash FloodBeattyville$3,000Gravel roads were washed out, and mud and debris covered the main roads.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindBeattyville$3,000Trees and utility lines were downed across the county.
April 1996Thunderstorm WindBeattyville$3,000no account filed
February 2026Thunderstorm WindCressmont$2,000Local dispatch reported trees and powerlines blown down onto Crestmont Road between Todds Road and KY-399 resulting is a temporary closure of the road.
June 2021Debris FlowCongleton$2,000A landslide was reported on KY-11 heading towards Booneville.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindYellow Rock$2,000Two trees were blown down on Spencer Ridge Road.
February 2009Thunderstorm WindSt Helens$2,000A couple of trees were down on Highway 2016.
October 2009Thunderstorm WindBeattyville$2,000Two trees were blown down on Highway 52 just outside of Beattyville.
August 2009Thunderstorm WindPrimrose$2,000Two trees were blown down on Route 2017.
March 2008Thunderstorm WindBeattyville$2,000A tree fell on a utility pole on Route 2016. Another tree fell on Route 2017 near Saint Helens.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindWilliba$2,000Two trees were blown down on Highway 2017 close to the Breathitt County line.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindMonica$2,000Large limbs down along Highway 52.
June 2000Thunderstorm WindBeattyville$2,000Strong thunderstorm winds brought trees and power lines down.
July 2021Flash FloodSt Helens$1,000Flashing flooding issues were reported along Blaines Branch just off of Hwy 52 past the intersection with Robinson Hollow Road. Roughly 2 feet of water was over the road and some of the black top was removed. The road had to be closed due to the flooding and damage to the road surface. A video was also shared with the NWS Jackson, KY weather office by the Lee County EM of a culvert being washed away.
February 2018FloodBeattyville$1,000A portion of Kentucky Highway 52 near downtown Beattyville was flooded due to the north fork of the Kentucky River overflowing its banks.
May 2017FloodWilliba$1,000Water of an unknown depth was observed covering Blankey Branch Road.
July 2015FloodOld Lndg$1,000Water of unknown depth was across Highways 52 and 1476.
April 2015Flash FloodPrimrose$1,000Blankey Branch Rd was flooded.

Mines and quarries

2 recorded

The Survey's mineral resources record lists 2 workings inside this county. 1 still produces and 1 is closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.

Commodity Workings
Stone, Crushed/Broken1
Clay1

The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Mud Tunnel ShaleClayProspect
Yellow Rock Mine & MillStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every populated place in the county

33

Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on. The 1 place that was also surveyed for fire insurance comes first, with the number of atlases and photographs held for them.

Recorded here

Beattyville, Kentucky

13 topographic sheets and 6 fire insurance atlases, 1893 to 1930

Everything this county holds

The complete index, with nothing left out. Each of these is a separate record with its own page: a federal survey report, or the case file that argued a property on to the National Register. Both are public domain and reproduced word for word.

Surveyed structures

2 structures

Provenance

  • Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
  • Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
  • Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.