Baxter, Kentucky
25 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1887 and the latest in 1977. It stands in the Harlan census division. It lies in ZIP code area 40806. It stands on Poor Fork Cumberland River. The Survey maps it on the Harlan quadrangle. It stands 1,211 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
11 surveys from 25 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1887 USGS Jonesville quadrangle1:125000
- 1891 USGS Jonesville quadrangle1:125000, 9 printings
- 1903 USGS Harlan quadrangle1:48000
- 1916 USGS Harlan quadrangle1:48000
- 1919 USGS Harlan quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1954 USGS Harlan quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1955 USGS Johnson City quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Johnson City quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Johnson City quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Johnson City quadrangle1:250000
- 1977 USGS Middlesboro quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
189 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 189 fires within 5 miles of Baxter between 1997 and 2020, burning about 13,368 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 33 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 73 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 61 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 33 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 16 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Natural | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 5.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 25 September 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 22 September 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 22 September 2007 | Debris and open burning | 8.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 21 September 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 19 August 2019 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | PINE BRANCH FIRE |
| 23 July 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 21 July 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
2 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Baxter: 1 producer, 1 prospect. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Silica. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harlan Mine | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Pine Mountain Sandstone Outcrop | Silica | Prospect |
Storms near this place
12 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Baxter in 12 storm reports between 1998 and 2025: 5 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood, 1 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2018 | Flood | Baxter | $5,000 | Local broadcast media and dispatch relayed reports of nearly 3 feet of standing water in a poor drainage area on Duffield Street in Harlan. Farther southwest of Harlan, runoff caused Little Creek in Crawford Branch to develop a swift enough current to wash out a culvert on a driveway on Kentucky Highway 2425. |
| April 2025 | Hail | Baxter | - | In addition to downed trees from thunderstorm winds, the social media report also showed quarter sized hail along KY-413 in Baxter, just north of Harlan. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baxter | - | A picture on social media showed a downed tree along KY-413 in the community of Baxter, just north of Harlan. |
| March 2021 | Flash Flood | Baxter | - | Officials were in the process of closing one lane of Hwy 119 due to high water over the road. |
| May 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baxter | - | Trees were blown down. |
| May 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baxter | - | Trees were blown down and power outages were occurring on US Hwy 421. |
| April 2007 | Flash Flood | Baxter | - | Three inches of flowing water on Highway 421 at Baxter. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baxter | - | Large trees downed. |
| February 2009 | Hail | Baxter | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Baxter | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Baxter | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Hail | Baxter | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harlan | 1.2 miles | 25 | |
| Clovertown | 1.3 miles | 25 | |
| Loyall | 1.3 miles | 25 | |
| Harlan Gas | 1.5 miles | 25 | |
| Sunshine | 1.6 miles | 25 | |
| Rex | 1.7 miles | 25 | |
| Gatun | 1.8 miles | 25 | |
| Rio Vista | 1.9 miles | 25 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Baxter | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q4873821 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 486480. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
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.










