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McCreary County, Kentucky

60 topographic sheets cover 32 settlements here, and 2 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

2 National Register listings published here.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

Kentucky within the United States
McCreary County within Kentucky

What the record shows

  • 421 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
  • 2 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 2 districts.
  • The Geographic Names Information System records 32 populated places in this county; 32 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.

Photographs

2 photographs, 1943

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.

[Cable ferry across Cumberland River] McCreary County, Kentucky
[Cable ferry across Cumberland River] McCreary County, Kentucky
Hollem, Howard R., photographer, 1943. Library of Congress
Cumberland River, McCreary County, Kentucky
Cumberland River, McCreary County, Kentucky
Hollem, Howard R., photographer, 1943. Library of Congress

Places on the National Register

2

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
Stearns Administrative and Commercial Districtdistrict198888002528
Stearns Golf Coursedistrict201515000654

Photographs from libraries nationwide

1 shown

Selected from the Digital Public Library of America's 1 image records catalogued for this county. Every one shown here carries a public-domain status or a licence that permits reuse on a site that carries advertising; non-commercial, share-alike and restricted images are excluded. The selection is spread across the county's towns (at most eight per town), so no single institution's bulk upload crowds out the rest. Each opens the holding library's record, and the complete set at the Digital Public Library of America is one click away.

Map of Whitley County, Boston Public Library - undated
Map of Whitley County. Hoeing, J. B. (Joseph Bernard), 1855, Boston Public Library, via the Digital Public Library of America.

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 642 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, 1951-03-23, scale 1:27240
1951-03-23, scale 1:27240. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1951-03-23, scale 1:27240
1951-03-23, scale 1:27240. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1951-03-23, scale 1:27240
1951-03-23, scale 1:27240. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1951-03-23, scale 1:27240
1951-03-23, scale 1:27240. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1954-02-09, scale 1:29200
1954-02-09, scale 1:29200. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1954-02-09, scale 1:29200
1954-02-09, scale 1:29200. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1954-02-09, scale 1:29200
1954-02-09, scale 1:29200. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1954-02-09, scale 1:29200
1954-02-09, scale 1:29200. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1962-03-27, scale 1:24000
1962-03-27, scale 1:24000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1962-03-27, scale 1:24000
1962-03-27, scale 1:24000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1962-03-27, scale 1:24000
1962-03-27, scale 1:24000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1962-03-27, scale 1:24000
1962-03-27, scale 1:24000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1965-02-15, scale 1:24000
1965-02-15, scale 1:24000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1965-02-15, scale 1:24000
1965-02-15, scale 1:24000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1965-02-15, scale 1:24000
1965-02-15, scale 1:24000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1965-02-15, scale 1:24000
1965-02-15, scale 1:24000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1975-04-01, scale 1:78000
1975-04-01, scale 1:78000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1975-04-01, scale 1:78000
1975-04-01, scale 1:78000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1975-04-01, scale 1:78000
1975-04-01, scale 1:78000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1975-04-01, scale 1:78000
1975-04-01, scale 1:78000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1976-03-17, scale 1:78000
1976-03-17, scale 1:78000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1976-03-17, scale 1:78000
1976-03-17, scale 1:78000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1976-03-17, scale 1:78000
1976-03-17, scale 1:78000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

Weather records

2 stations, 7 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.

  • STEARNS 2S 1936 to 2026, hottest 42.2 C, coldest -31.1 C
  • STEARNS 1 W 1970 to 1980, hottest 34.4 C, coldest -25.0 C

The 1950 census, district by district

17 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.

  • 74-1Magisterial District 1: Magisterial District 1 - That part east of Southern (Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific) Railway and north of Whitley city - Indian Knob Rd.
  • 74-2Magisterial District 1 - That part west of Southern (Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific) Railway and north of Smithtown - Whitley Rd. and State Hwy. 92
  • 74-3Magisterial District 1 - That part south of State Hwy. 92, west of U.S. Hwy. 27 and north of Roarins Paunch Creek and Kentucky and Tennessee Railway
  • 74-4Magisterial District 1 - That part southeast of Smithtown - Whitley Rd., west of Southern (Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific) Railway, north of Kentucky and Tennessee Railway, east of U.S. Hwy. 27, and northeast of State Hwy. 92
  • 74-5BMagisterial District 1 - That part south of State Hwy. 92 and north of Unnamed road from State Hwy. 92 and Unnamed road extended to South Fork of Cumberlend River and South Fork of Cumberland River
  • 74-5AMagisterial District 1 - That part south of State Hwy. 92, Unnamed road from State Hwy. 92, and Unnamed road extended to South Fork of Cumberland River, and South Fork of Cumberland River, west of U.S. Hwy. 27 and north of Kentucky and Tennessee Railway, and Roarins Paunch Creek
  • 74-6Magisterial District 1 - That part south of Roarins Paunch Creek, Kentucky and Tennessee Railway, and west of Southern (Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific) Railway
  • 74-7Magisterial District 2: Magisterial District 2 - That part northeast and east of U.S. Hwy. 27
  • 74-8Magisterial District 2 - That part southwest and west of U.S. Hwy. 27
  • 74-9Magisterial District 3
  • 74-10Magisterial District 4
  • 74-11Magisterial District 5: Magisterial District 5 - That part east of Southern (Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific) Railway
  • 74-12Magisterial District 5 - That part west of Southern (Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific) Railway
  • 74-13Magisterial District 6
  • 74-14Magisterial District 7: Magisterial District 7 - That part north and west of Kentucky and Tennessee Railway
  • 74-15Magisterial District 7 - That part south and east of Kentucky and Tennessee Railway
  • 74-16Magisterial District 8

Wildfire, 1992 to 2020

707 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 707 of them, burning about 19,434 acres. 7 started naturally and 478 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause Fires
Arson/incendiarism478
Debris and open burning108
Missing data/not specified/undetermined47
Recreation and ceremony27
Power generation/transmission/distribution15
Railroad operations and maintenance13
Equipment and vehicle use8
Natural7
Smoking2
Misuse of fire by a minor2

The five largest, by the area the report gives. 7 of them were set deliberately.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
30 October 2000Arson/incendiarism2,079 acresBig South Fork National River and Recreation AreaSCHOOLHOUS
31 October 2000Arson/incendiarism1,952 acresDaniel Boone National ForestMAYBE LATER
12 November 2005Arson/incendiarism1,555 acresDaniel Boone National ForestCAP KNOB
11 November 2001Arson/incendiarism780 acresDaniel Boone National ForestGREAT GULF
28 November 2017Arson/incendiarism667 acresDaniel Boone National ForestLITTLE ROCK CREEK
22 November 2012Arson/incendiarism580 acresDaniel Boone National ForestTURKEY
22 April 1999Missing data/not specified/undetermined500 acresDaniel Boone National ForestPIGSKIN
31 October 2000Arson/incendiarism500 acresDaniel Boone National ForestHONEY BEE

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

Storms, 1967 to 2025

60 of 310 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 310 reports for this county, causing 2 deaths, 25 injuries and about $3,829,500 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event Reports
Thunderstorm Wind174
Hail67
Flash Flood24
Flood18
Heavy Rain15
Tornado10
Funnel Cloud2

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
April 1980Tornado (F2)not stated2 killed, 9 hurt, $250,000no account filed
April 1974Tornado (F2)not stated11 hurt, $25,000no account filed
May 1973Tornado (F2)not stated5 hurt, $25,000no account filed
September 2018Thunderstorm WindStearns$2,000,000Dispatch reported a couple of very large storage buildings, composed of metal siding and wood framing, were destroyed as severe thunderstorm winds moved through south of Whitley City.
November 2002Thunderstorm WindPine Knot$250,000Straight line wind caused significant damage to the Pine Knot area. During a church service, the roof of a church was torn apart, along with terrible structural damage. The steeple was completely blown off and destroyed. The church was declared a total loss. The picnic shelter next door was completely flattened. Miraculously, nobody sustained injuries, omitting a couple of scrapes and bruises. Several outbuildings were damaged and blown off of foundations. Several trailer homes suffered roof damage and were blown off of their foundations. Numerous large trees in the area were blown down and several motor vehicles sustained damage.
March 1967Tornado (F3)not stated$250,000no account filed
March 2020Tornado (EF1)Marshes Siding$150,000A supercell thunderstorm tracked across McCreary County during the late evening hours of March 12th. A National Weather Service Jackson survey team found intermittent damage along the entire path. There were three distinct areas of damage where the tornado touched down. On Chitwood Ridge Rd, several hardwood trees were snapped off. There was also a house with some roof damage.||The next area of tornado damage was on the northern side of Whitley City along north Highway 1651, where more hardwood trees were snapped off along with some damage to a few two-story buildings.||Finally, the third area of tornado damage was northeast of Whitley City on Stephens Farm Rd. A tree landed on a house, leading to major damage. There were also several more houses with roof damage and additional trees snapped off.
June 2004Thunderstorm WindWhitley City$150,000There were roofs and porches blown off of homes. Trees and power lines were down across the county. Nearly every tree in one hollow was blown down.
February 2020FloodHill Top$70,000Emergency Management observed portions of Yamacraw Boat Dock Rd west of Stearns along with a concrete boat ramp washed out due to flood waters. The road bed under the road and boat ramp washed down the hill side causing everything to crack and break loose, sliding down the hillside.
March 2020Thunderstorm WindWhitley City$55,000Fire Rescue officials reported homes damaged in the Williamsburg St/Trooper Island area east of Whitley City. Power lines were also downed.
August 2009Thunderstorm WindPine Knot$50,000Northfork Southern Railroad was closed for approximately 3 hours due to downed trees on the tracks between Century Lane and Roundtop Road. Elsewhere across the county, a tree fell on a house in the Whitley City area and several roads were closed due to downed trees.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindWhitley City$50,000Trees were blown down county wide by thunderstorm wind gusts.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindWhitley City$30,000Trees down in Whitley City and throughout the county.
May 2008Thunderstorm WindWhitley City$30,000Numerous trees were blown down by thunderstorm wind gusts throughout the county, particularly in and around Whitley City.
January 2008Thunderstorm WindWhitley City$30,000Numerous trees were blown down county wide by wind gusts estimated at 63 mph.
April 1998Tornado (F2)Bell Farm$30,000no account filed
March 1967Tornado (F2)not stated$25,000no account filed
March 2020Thunderstorm WindMarshes Siding$15,000A citizen reported large amounts of debris east of the train tracks at the Medical Plaza near Marshes Siding.
March 2012Thunderstorm WindStearns$15,000Trees and power lines were blown down in Stearns.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindMarshes Siding$15,000Trees were blown down in the north end of the county along and north of a line from Funston to Sawyer..
July 2008Thunderstorm WindStearns$15,000Three power poles and several trees were blown down on Highway 1363 near Stearns.
June 2006Thunderstorm WindWhitley City$15,000Multiple trees and power lines down across the county. Tree also on fire in Whitley City.
January 1997Thunderstorm WindWhitley City$15,000no account filed
April 2012Thunderstorm WindWhitley City$10,000There were numerous trees and power lines blown down. A roof was blown off of building and now on top of a car wash.
February 2012Thunderstorm WindMarshes Siding$10,000Trees and large limbs were blown down at Marshes Siding. A possible funnel cloud was also spotted.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindStearns$10,000The superintendent of McCreary county schools reported that the McCreary County Middle sustained damage from the storm. Several ridge caps were torn from the roof of the school and the press box at the football field was completely ripped off the bleachers.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindSilerville$10,000The roof of a barn was blown off. A board was blown through the window of a truck. The top snapped off of a 20 inch diameter tree.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindWhitley City$10,000A trained spotter estimated winds of up to 60 mph with multiple trees down 3 miles southeast of Whitley City.
March 2008Thunderstorm WindStearns$10,000Trees were blown down on Highways 1470, 742, and 1045.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindStearns$10,000Numerous large tree limbs the size of a mans upper arm were torn from trees on Pigskin Road by thunderstorm wind gusts.
September 2008Thunderstorm WindPine Knot$10,000Six or seven telephone poles were blown down by thunderstorm wind gusts on Highway 92 East between Route 1044 and Poplar Ford Road.
March 2002Flash FloodStearns$10,000A trained spotter reported 4.3 inches of rain had fallen since March 16. This resulted in repeated episodes of flash flooding and numerous road closures.
April 1998Flash FloodCountywide$10,000no account filed
November 1996Flash FloodHollyhill$10,000no account filed
June 2018Thunderstorm WindWhitley City$8,000A Skywarn Spotter reported a portion of a roof of a commercial building blown off, along with a couple of carports being blown over, in Whitley City.
June 2006Thunderstorm WindWhitley City$8,000Numerous trees and power lines down.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindPine Knot$7,000Several trees were blown down in the Pine Knot area around the intersection of Highways 27 and 92.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindMarshes Siding$5,000Reports of trees and power lines down throughout the county, including a few trees blocking roadways.
February 2020Flash FloodHollyhill$5,000Dispatch reported several roads with water rushing over them along Osborn Creek and near Hollyhill. This includes Granny Holt Knob being closed to traffic.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindHill Top$5,000Dispatch reported trees blown down throughout much of McCreary County, especially the northern portion of the county south to Whitley City.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindMarshes Siding$5,000There were trees blown down.
August 2009Thunderstorm WindPine Knot$5,000Trees were blown down on Cal Hill Road.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindWhitley City$5,000Trees were blown down in Whitley City between 553 and 623 pm.
March 2008Thunderstorm WindWhitley City$5,000A tree fell on a powerline near Wagon Ridge on Highway 92. A tree also fell on a power line in Vanover Ridge near Parkers Lake.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindStearns$5,000Two trees were blown down, including one that fell on a truck.
July 2004Thunderstorm WindParkers Lake$5,000Large tree limbs and power lines were down.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindWhitley City$5,000Trees were downed.
June 1997Tornado (F0)Revelo$5,000A small tornado downed trees and power lines.
June 1997Flash FloodWhitley City$5,000Flash flooding occurred along Hayes and Marsh Creeks. A car was washed downstream.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindGilreath$4,000There was damage to a mobile home and some 3 to 4 inch diameter tree limbs down on highway 92.
January 2008Thunderstorm WindHollyhill$4,000Trees were blown down onto Oscar Morgan Road at Highway 1470 by wind gusts estimated at 61 mph.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindMarshes Siding$3,000Trees and powerlines were downed north of Whitley City. Additional tree damage was reported countywide.
April 2024Thunderstorm WindMarshes Siding$3,000Downed trees and powerlines along the 800 block of KY-700 (Sandhill Road), NNE of Whitley City.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindMarshes Siding$3,000Some trees were blown down in the north end of the county.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindStrunk$3,000Trees were blown down on Rock Creek Rd, Whirly Circle, and Lum Strunk Rd.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindWhitley City$3,000Trees were blown down on Alum Ford Rd at Yahoo Falls.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindPine Knot$3,000Trees were blown down with an estimated wind gust of 40-45 mph.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindMarshes Siding$3,000Trees were blown down in a persons yard.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindWhitley City$3,000A was blown down and onto a power line on Beulah Heights Road.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindGreenwood$3,000Three structures were damaged by thunderstorm wind gusts.

Mines and quarries

3 recorded

The Survey's mineral resources record lists 3 workings inside this county. None of them still produces: all are closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.

Commodity Workings
Clay2
Silica1

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

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Yamacraw Sandstone RoadcutSilicaProspect
Parkers Lake ShaleClayProspect
Whitley Clay BedClayProspect

Every populated place in the county

32

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 McCreary 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.