BlockBefore

Martin County, Kentucky

66 topographic sheets cover 19 settlements here, and 3 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

3 National Register listings published here.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

Kentucky within the United States
Martin County within Kentucky

What the record shows

  • 391 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
  • 3 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 3 buildings.
  • The Geographic Names Information System records 19 populated places in this county; 19 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.

Places on the National Register

3

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
Martin Himler Housebuilding199191001667
Inez Deposit Bankbuilding2024100009727
Martin County Courthousebuilding200606000811

The county from the air

24 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 387 frames inside the rectangle that bounds this county; the 24 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, 1951-03-31, scale 1:23600
1951-03-31, scale 1:23600. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1951-03-31, scale 1:23600
1951-03-31, scale 1:23600. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1951-03-31, scale 1:23600
1951-03-31, scale 1:23600. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1951-03-31, scale 1:23600
1951-03-31, scale 1:23600. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1956-03-21, scale 1:60000
1956-03-21, scale 1:60000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1956-03-21, scale 1:60000
1956-03-21, scale 1:60000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1956-03-21, scale 1:60000
1956-03-21, scale 1:60000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1956-03-21, scale 1:60000
1956-03-21, scale 1:60000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1958-04-06, scale 1:31000
1958-04-06, scale 1:31000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1958-04-06, scale 1:31000
1958-04-06, scale 1:31000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1958-04-06, scale 1:31000
1958-04-06, scale 1:31000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1958-04-06, scale 1:31000
1958-04-06, scale 1:31000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1960-04-19, scale 1:60000
1960-04-19, scale 1:60000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1960-04-19, scale 1:60000
1960-04-19, scale 1:60000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1960-04-19, scale 1:60000
1960-04-19, scale 1:60000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1960-09-14, scale 1:60000
1960-09-14, scale 1:60000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1970-12-14, scale 1:24000
1970-12-14, scale 1:24000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1975-04-06, scale 1:78000
1975-04-06, scale 1:78000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1975-04-06, scale 1:78000
1975-04-06, scale 1:78000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1975-04-06, scale 1:78000
1975-04-06, scale 1:78000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1975-04-06, scale 1:78000
1975-04-06, scale 1:78000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1979-12-03, scale 1:80000
1979-12-03, scale 1:80000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1979-12-04, scale 1:80000
1979-12-04, scale 1:80000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1979-12-04, scale 1:80000
1979-12-04, scale 1:80000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

Weather records

8 stations

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

The 1950 census, district by district

14 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.

  • 80-1Magisterial District 1, Eden: Inez town
  • 80-2Magisterial District 1, Eden - That part southeast of Unnamed county road parallel to Lick Branch, State Hwy. 40, Coldwater Creek, Linbark Branch
  • 80-3Magisterial District 1, Eden - That part northwest of Unnamed county road parallel to Lick Branch, State Hwy. 40, Coldwater Creek, Linbark Branch, outside Inez town
  • 80-4Magisterial District 2, Lick Branch
  • 80-5Magisterial District 3, Warfield: Himlerville town
  • 80-6Warfield town
  • 80-7Magisterial District 3, Warfield - That part east of Left Fork Creek, Unnamed county road to State Hwy. 40, and east and south of State Hwy. 40, outside Himlerville and Warfield towns
  • 80-8Magisterial District 3, Warfield - That part west of Left Fork Creek, Unnamed county road to State Hwy. 40, and that part west and north of State Hwy. 40, outside Himlerville town
  • 80-9Magisterial District 4, Emily: Magisterial District 4, Emily - That part north and east of Unnamed county road thru Pilgrim to Emily Creek and northwest of Emily Creek via Oppy
  • 80-10Magisterial District 4, Emily - That part south and west of Unnamed county road thru Pilgrim to Emily Creek and southeast of Emily Creek via Oppy
  • 80-11Magisterial District 5, Stafford Fork
  • 80-12Magisterial District 6, John Davis
  • 80-13Magisterial District 7, Upper Wolf: Magisterial District 7, Upper Wolf - That part southeast of Wolf Creek, Meathouse Creek and Meathouse Creek extended to county line
  • 80-14Magisterial District 7, Upper Wolf - That part northwest of Wolf Creek, Meathouse Creek, and Meathouse Creek extended to county line

Wildfire, 1997 to 2020

707 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 707 of them, burning about 35,008 acres. None started naturally and 190 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning278
Arson/incendiarism190
Missing data/not specified/undetermined149
Recreation and ceremony79
Railroad operations and maintenance4
Equipment and vehicle use3
Misuse of fire by a minor3
Smoking1

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

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
8 November 2001Arson/incendiarism2,200 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
12 November 2001Arson/incendiarism1,880 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
31 October 2001Arson/incendiarism1,500 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
15 February 2011Recreation and ceremony865 acresKentucky Division of ForestryPIGEON ROOST
4 April 2019Arson/incendiarism814 acresKentucky Division of ForestryCZAR COAL
4 November 2000Arson/incendiarism800 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
22 March 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined800 acresKentucky Division of ForestrySALTWELL
15 April 2010Debris and open burning567 acresKentucky Division of ForestryUPPER LONG BRANCH

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

Storms, 1986 to 2025

60 of 211 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 211 reports for this county, causing no deaths, 4 injuries and about $2,759,500 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event Reports
Thunderstorm Wind116
Hail44
Flash Flood31
Flood19
Tornado1

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
January 1997Thunderstorm WindInez3 hurt, $15,000no account filed
October 2001Thunderstorm WindInez1 hurt, $15,000Strong winds blew a tree down onto a car along Kentucky Route 40. The driver of the car received minor injuries. Winds also blew the metal roof off the H and R Block Building in downtown Inez and dropped it onto Main Street. All businesses along Main Street were forced to close the day after as crews removed the damage from the road.
March 2012Tornado (EF2)Davisport$2,000,000The storm damage survey team from the Jackson Weather Office determined that a tornado exited Johnson County and entered Martin County at about 725 pm EST, 4 miles west of Davisport. The tornado had weakened to EF-2 strength by the time it entered Martin County. The tornado tracked east-northeast across Martin County and exited the county and state of Kentucky just east of Warfield at around 738 pm EST. A two story brick building and several huge trees were blown down in the town of Davella as the tornado passed by just to the north. The tornado then caused damage to the second story of a home in Debord at 732 pm EST. The tornado also caused significant damage in eastern Martin county near the communities of Beauty and Lovely around 738 pm EST. ||The tornado was on the ground for a total of 48 miles in the state of Kentucky and 49 miles total.
June 2000Flash FloodCountywide$100,000Slow moving thunderstorms brought a tremendous amount of rain to the area. A bridge was washed out on County Route 2032 at Little Rockcastle Road. A residence in the area also received damage. A residence was flooded on State Route 3 along Rockcastle Creek. Three bridges were also under water in this area. Another bridge was washed out on County Route 1224 on Rockhouse Road. County Route 908, Little Black Log Road, was closed due to high water. Water flowing over State Route 40 closed roads at Black Log and Tomahawk. Water was over the road up to 2 feet deep, these roads were closed for approximately 6 hours.
April 2024Thunderstorm WindStidham$50,000Martin County dispatch relayed a report of a tree through a roof near the 2000 block of Tomahawk Road northwest of Inez.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindInez$50,000Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across all of Martin County. Inez was particularly hard hit, with trees and power lines blown down across the city, including at the following locations: Main Street, Route 908 and Turkey Creek Road, New Route 3, Route 645, Old Middlefork Road, Wickerfield Road, Buffalo Horn Road, Rockcastle Road, and Little Rockcastle Road. A tree fell onto and severely damaged a trailer at the Robinson Trailer Park in Inez. A man became trapped in his home in due to downed power lines surrounding the residence, and was still trapped as of that evening. All of the storm damage occurred roughly between 140 pm and 215 pm EDT. However, as of 6:30 pm EDT, power was still out across most of the county.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindInez$50,000Several trees blown down and power outages.
May 2008Thunderstorm WindTomahawk$50,000Numerous trees were blown down or shredded by thunderstorm wind gusts. Hall Branch Road was partially blocked by a mudslide and cable lines were down.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindInez$50,000Martin County 911 center reports trees and power lines down county wide.
June 1998Flash FloodCountywide$50,000A trailer court was flooded just south of Inez near Davis Branch. Numerous roads flooded.
May 1996Flash FloodCountywide$50,000no account filed
August 2007Thunderstorm WindInez$25,000Trees down countywide.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindJob$20,000The local Department of Highways reported a large tree fell on a work truck on Route 3 near Marcumtown.
November 2003Flash FloodTomahawk$15,000Kentucky Highway 40 was closed from up to two feet of flowing water and an accompanying mudslide in the community of Tomahawk. Highway 2032 was closed when up to two feet of water covered the road in the community of Pilgrim. Water was over Highway 1224 with one lane closed in the community of Davisport. Rockcastle Road (Kentucky Highway 3) was completely blocked due to a mud slide north of Inez, near Grassy Branch, knocking trees down onto power lines and causing outages. Two homes received flood damage and four received damage from a mud slide in Tomahawk, and one home on Buffalo Horn Branch had a flooded basement.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindJob$10,000Trees were blown down on Peter Cave Branch and Big Lick Branch in Job.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindTomahawk$10,000Several trees blown down.
May 2004Thunderstorm WindTomahawk$10,000Several trees along with power lines were down along Route 40.
July 2004Thunderstorm WindBeauty$10,000Two trees were blown down near the junction of Route 40 and Highway 2031. Trees took down power lines, leaving around 1,000 people without power.
April 1998Flash FloodCountywide$10,000no account filed
March 1997FloodInez$10,000no account filed
February 2009Thunderstorm WindInez$9,000Several trees were blown down. One tree was across a power line and another across a road.
April 2009Thunderstorm WindInez$9,000Several trees and large limbs were blown down.
April 1996Thunderstorm WindDebord$8,000no account filed
January 2008Thunderstorm WindInez$7,000Trees were blown down and blocking roads at several locations across the county. Highways 2032, 1884 and 2550 were all blocked by felled trees by wind gusts estimated at 62 mph.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindInez$7,000Several trees down in the area. A large tree limb destroyed a car.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindPilgrim$5,000Martin County dispatch reported over a dozen instances of trees blown down onto or along highways in the county. Some of the trees involved power and phone lines. The Pilgram, Warfield, and Inez communities may have been the most affected.
July 2023FloodOppy$5,000A video showed water about 1.5 inches deep in the basement of a residence located in far eastern Martin county, near the Virginia state border, just north of the community of Nolan. The river and the creeks were still in their banks at the time of the report, but were running high.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindPilgrim$5,000There were trees blown down on Meade House road in Pilgrim.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindWarfield$5,000There were trees blown down on route 292 Hode road in Warfield.
October 2010Thunderstorm WindInez$5,000Trees were blown down in Inez.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindPilgrim$5,000Trees down on Highway 292 in Riverfront area, right on Martin county line.
August 2005Flash FloodCountywide$5,000A person was stranded in a car at the intersection of Highways 2032 and 1939 near Coalpoint. Numerous roads throughout the county were impassible and closed. Some communities where the flooding occurred included Blackwolf, Wolfcreek, White Oak, Rockhorse, Pigeon Roost, Setzer Branch, and Crum Branch.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindBeauty$5,000A tree fell on a house and a utility pole blew down on another residence on Lower Poplar Fork, off of Highway 2031.
April 2002HailThreeforks$5,000Cars were damaged from large hail.
May 2002Thunderstorm WindCountywide$5,000Several trees were downed by strong thunderstorm winds. Trees were reported down seven miles north of Inez, in Inez, and in Tomahawk. A 60 MPH wind gust was measured in Inez.
June 1998Flash FloodMoree$5,000Wolf Creek overflowed its banks. Houses and roads flooded.
March 2008Thunderstorm WindTomahawk$4,000Three trees were blown down on Route 40 near Tomahawk. Another tree was blown down on Route 3 near Inez.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindPilgrim$3,000Numerous trees and power lines were blown down along Peter Cave Road near the community of Pilgrim.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindTomahawk$3,000Numerous trees and power lines were blown down in the Tomahawk community.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindLovely$3,000Numerous trees and power lines were blown down along Riverfront Road in the community of Lovely.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindWarfield$3,000Numerous trees and power lines were blown down along Hode Road in the community of Warfield.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindThreeforks$3,000Numerous trees and power lines were blown down along Pigeon Roost Road near the community of Pilgrim.
October 2001Thunderstorm WindLovely$3,000Strong winds blew off a roof on a mobile home.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindInez$3,000Severe thunderstorm winds produced an 80 foot wide swath of tree damage.
July 1997Thunderstorm WindInez$3,000Trees were downed, and there was some minor roof damage.
June 1996Thunderstorm WindInez$3,000no account filed
May 1996Thunderstorm WindMilo$3,000no account filed
October 2010Thunderstorm WindWarfield$2,000Trees were blown down in Warfield.
March 2008Thunderstorm WindInez$2,000A couple of trees fell on roadways on old Route 3 at the one mile marker and on Route 40 near Ooten.
February 2008Thunderstorm WindInez$2,000Two trees were blown down by thunderstorm wind gusts on Route 908 near the Turkey Creek area, blocking both lanes of traffic.
April 2006Thunderstorm WindInez$2,000Roof blown off a mobile home. Three trees also blown down.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindInez$2,000A tree blew onto a garage.
October 2001Thunderstorm WindInez$2,000Strong winds blew an out building down and onto the road.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindHode$1,000Trees were blown down onto power lines in the community of Hode.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindCalf Creek$1,000Trees were blown down and onto power lines near Calf Creek, resulting in power outages at nearby locations.
May 2016FloodInez$1,000Water was over Turkey Creek Rd at the Inez water plant. One lane of the road was completely blocked with the other lane partially blocked at this location.
February 2015FloodInez$1,000Ice jams caused area creeks to leave their banks and flood multiple homes in Inez.
March 2015FloodStidham$1,000Kentucky 3411 at the Alpha Branch Bridge was impassable due to flooding.
April 2015FloodInez$1,000Highway 40 near Blacklog Fork was flooded.
June 2014Flash FloodDavella$1,000Flood waters entered two homes and several garages in Davella. Several heating and cooling units at residences in the area were destroyed by the flood waters.

Mines and quarries

4 recorded

The Survey's mineral resources record lists 4 workings inside this county. 3 still produce and 1 is closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.

Commodity Workings
Sand and Gravel, Construction3
Clay1

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

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Highway Roadcut Clay BedClayProspect
Inez SandSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Joe FanninSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Rockcastle Creek MineSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every populated place in the county

19

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 vanished settlements of Martin County: the places named above that are no longer on the map.

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.