BlockOlive Hill, Kentucky
9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1950 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the Olive Hill census division. It lies in ZIP code area 41164. It stands on Mill Branch. The Survey maps it on the Olive Hill quadrangle. 1,580 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 748 feet above sea level.
On record in Olive Hill
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 2 records
Olive Hill C & O Depotlisted 1992- Saltpeter Cavelisted 2001
Population over time
2 figuresOlive Hill fell from 1,599 to 1,580 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,599 | |
| 2020 | 1,580 | -19 (-1%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 9 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.
- 1950 USGS Olive Hill quadrangle1:24000
- 1957 USGS Huntington quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1960 USGS Huntington quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Olive Hill quadrangle1:24000
- 1970 USGS Olive Hill quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1982 USGS Morehead quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
159 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 159 fires within 5 miles of Olive Hill between 1997 and 2020, burning about 1,526 acres in total. None started naturally. 29 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 | 56 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 49 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 29 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 21 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
| Smoking | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 4 September 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 23 September 2010 | Debris and open burning | 7.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | B AND B LANE |
| 18 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 13 September 2007 | Debris and open burning | 4.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 12 September 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | CHERYL ROGERS HOLLOW |
| 10 September 2002 | Debris and open burning | 40 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 18 August 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 9.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | FORT FALLS |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
7 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Olive Hill: 3 past producers, 2 prospects, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Silica, Clay, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Durham Fork Shale | Clay | Prospect | ||
| Ford Burchett Clay Mine | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Olive Hill Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| V Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Chespeake Sandstone Pit | Silica | Past Producer | ||
| Lawton Sandstone Pit | Silica | Prospect | ||
| Railroad Sandstone Pit | Silica | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
30 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Olive Hill in 30 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 12 thunderstorm wind, 10 hail, 4 flash flood, 4 flood. The reports record 1 death and 1 injury. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 1996 | Flash Flood | Olive Hill | 1 killed, $75,000 | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Olive Hill | 1 hurt, $3,000 | no account filed |
| July 2012 | Flash Flood | Olive Hill | $285,000 | Three to 5.5 inches of rain fell in about 3 hours in a west to east band, mainly on the north side of Interstate 64. A gauge at Carter Caves measured 3.11 inches in just an hour. Rain totals included 5.35 inches at Carter Caves, 4.27 inches at Olive Hill and 3.78 inches at Grayson.||Several small streams and their feeder runs flooded. Near the Lewis County border, Jordon Fork and McGlone Fork saw the most severe flooding. Other flooded basins included Smith Creek, Brushy Creek, Long Fork, and Smoky Creek. Sections of roads and culverts were washed out or damaged. There were about 10 to 15 homes flooded or affected. Two homes were washed downstream and destroyed. One was a mobile home, with 2 adults and dogs inside. They were rescued. The other was an unoccupied house. In addition, another 10 to 15 outbuildings were flooded. At least 2 vehicles were washed away and destroyed. |
| July 2010 | Flood | Olive Hill | $50,000 | After a night of flash flooding, the larger streams and the Little Sandy River were still flooding across roads and fields. The crest at Grayson on the Little Sandy River was near 25 feet during the late afternoon on the 21st. Flood stage is 21 feet. Damage was minor compared to the earlier flash flooding. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Olive Hill | $25,000 | Several trees were blown down, some onto power lines. One tree fell onto a house, trapping the resident inside. |
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Olive Hill | $25,000 | Trees were blown down. |
| June 2021 | Flash Flood | Olive Hill | $15,000 | Both of the west bound lanes of Interstate 64 at Mile Marker 166 were underwater near the town of Gregoryville. In Fultz, Four Mile Road became flooded and a portion of the roadway was washed out. Acorn Lane was also under water for a brief time near Cold Springs. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Olive Hill | $10,000 | Numerous trees were knocked down. Power outages occurred. |
| August 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Olive Hill | $8,000 | Numerous trees were blown down around Carter Cave State Park. One large wind was broken in the lodge. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Olive Hill | $5,000 | Multiple trees were knocked down in town. |
| June 2022 | Flash Flood | Olive Hill | $3,000 | Water entered into the basement of a home in the town of Olive Hill. |
| May 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Olive Hill | $3,000 | no account filed |
| April 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Olive Hill | $2,000 | Several trees were blown down in the Olive Hill area. |
| March 2012 | Hail | Olive Hill | $2,000 | no account filed |
| February 2025 | Flood | Olive Hill | $1,500 | Tygarts Creek above Olive Hill rose above its bankfull level of 10 feet during the pre-dawn hours of February 6th. The creek rose to a crest of 14.5 feet during the morning, then receded below bankfull around midday. While above its banks, the lower section of Chili Street and the American Legion building off Lawton Road flooded. Agricultural fields, Bond Hollow Road, and low sections of Biggs Bridge Road next to the creek also flooded. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Olive Hill | $500 | Several trees were blown down around Olive Hill. |
| February 2025 | Flood | Olive Hill | - | Route 986 was closed due to flooding just south of Olive Hill. |
| February 2024 | Flood | Olive Hill | - | The Tygarts Creek river gauge above Olive Hill exceeded a bankfull level of 10 feet on the morning of February 28th. The river crested around 11.3 feet just before noon and then returned below bankfull level early that same afternoon. Biggs Bridge Road and Bond Hollow Road both experienced flooding from Tygarts Creek. |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Olive Hill | - | Trees and power lines were knocked down. |
| December 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Olive Hill | - | Around 4 trees were blown down and fell across roads. |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Olive Hill | - | Large branches were snapped off. |
| June 1997 | Hail | Olive Hill | - | Dime size hail fell around Carter Caves State Park. |
| May 2017 | Hail | Olive Hill | - | no account filed |
| May 2017 | Hail | Olive Hill | - | no account filed |
| April 2015 | Hail | Olive Hill | - | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Hail | Olive Hill | - | no account filed |
| April 2009 | Hail | Olive Hill | - | no account filed |
| May 2008 | Hail | Olive Hill | - | no account filed |
| May 2008 | Hail | Olive Hill | - | no account filed |
| August 1997 | Hail | Olive Hill | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cold Springs (historical) | 0.6 miles | 9 | |
| Clark Hill | 0.9 miles | 9 | |
| Garvin Ridge | 1.9 miles | 9 | |
| Mountain Top | 2.7 miles | 9 | |
| Ross (historical) | 2.9 miles | 9 | |
| Limestone | 2.9 miles | 9 | |
| Prater | 2.9 miles | 9 | |
| Counts Crossroads | 3.2 miles | 9 |
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 Olive Hill | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1023022 | 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 499923. 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.