Olympia, Kentucky
10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1929 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the Owingsville census division. It lies in ZIP code area 40358. The Survey maps it on the Olympia quadrangle. It stands 761 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 10 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.
- 1929 USGS Salt Lick quadrangle1:62500
- 1934 USGS Salt Lick quadrangle1:62500
- 1953 USGS Olympia quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Huntington quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1960 USGS Huntington quadrangle1:250000
- 1977 USGS Olympia quadrangle1:24000
- 1982 USGS Morehead quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
38 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 38 fires within 5 miles of Olympia between 1997 and 2016, burning about 802 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 6 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 | 10 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 8 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 6 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 2 |
| Natural | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 April 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 8 April 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 50 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | OLYMPIA SPRINGS |
| 6 April 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | OLYMPIA LUMBER |
| 25 April 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 3.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 24 April 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 50 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 24 April 2008 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 21 April 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 250 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 19 April 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 7.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | SOUR SPRINGS RD. |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
4 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Olympia: 4 prospects. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Iron. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horton-North Iron Tract | Iron | Prospect | ||
| Horton-South Iron Tract | Iron | Prospect | ||
| Indian Creek Iron Track | Iron | Prospect | ||
| Rose Run Iron Tract | Iron | Prospect |
Storms near this place
21 since 2001Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Olympia in 21 storm reports between 2001 and 2024: 8 thunderstorm wind, 6 flash flood, 4 hail, 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Olympia | $30,000 | Strong winds hit a barn in an open field from the west on KY-36 just NW of Olympia, blowing off the barn roof and throwing it eastward. The barn was also pushed off it's foundation, partially exposing the classic cars it was housing. Metal roofing was blown several hundred yards to the east. |
| April 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Olympia | $20,000 | Strong easterly winds led to substantial damage for a garage and mobile home along Lafafette Road in the community of Olympia. Both structures were facing westward, taking the brunt of the impact. The mobile home sustained porch and roof damage. The large metal-framed garage had bay doors on both the west/frontward and east/rear facing sides. Winds caused the west facing doors to bow in, and the east facing doors to blow out. |
| April 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Olympia | $20,000 | An old barn and several sheds sustained major damage at the end of Lafafette Road in the community of Olympia. The main barn lost the majority of it's roofing and had the collapse of walls, though still standing. Several nearby sheds were also destroyed, with debris blown out to the east. Multiple trees were also broken in the area. Meanwhile, a neighboring new barn frame being built about 100 yards to the north received little to no damage. |
| September 2018 | Flash Flood | Olympia | $20,000 | Water was observed flowing over Kentucky Highway 36 near Interstate 64 south of Owingsville, resulting in the closure of the road. Additionally, a woman was rescued from rapidly flowing flood waters as her vehicle became submerged northwest of Olympia. |
| December 2019 | Flood | Olympia | $10,000 | Emergency Management reported knee-deep water over McCarty Branch Road east of Olympia, resulting in a stalled car. A 78 year old woman was stuck in her car for a period of time, but was not injured. |
| May 2010 | Flash Flood | Olympia | $10,000 | Flood waters picked up several cars along Mill Creek 7 miles southeast of Owingsville and carried them downstream. One woman had to be rescued from her car. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Olympia | $3,000 | Few large limbs and one tree blown down. |
| August 2007 | Flash Flood | Olympia | $1,000 | Six or more inches of water flowing across a golf course. |
| July 2019 | Flash Flood | Olympia | $500 | Dispatch reported water flowing over the road at the intersection of Pine Grove Road and Pistol Road southeast of Olympia. Impacts included a culvert being washed out as well as the intersection being closed for a brief period. |
| July 2020 | Hail | Olympia | - | A public social media post showed an image of hail estimated to be the size of quarters in the community of Olympia. |
| September 2018 | Flash Flood | Olympia | - | Dispatch reported water flowing across Elk Lick Road and Kentucky Highway 36 south of Olympia, resulting in the road being closed. |
| September 2018 | Flood | Olympia | - | Emergency Management reported water over the road in several spots on Kentucky Highway 211 near its intersection with Kentucky Highway 36 southeast of Olympia. |
| April 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Olympia | - | Dispatch reported numerous trees and power lines down from Olympia on Kentucky Highway 36 to Salt Lick along U.S. Highway 60. |
| August 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Olympia | - | Trees were blown down on the 1700 block of Hwy 36 West. |
| October 2014 | Tornado (EF1) | Olympia | - | An EF-1 tornado, with peak winds estimated at 90 mph, touched down near Olympia Springs. The tornado had a path length of 0.3 miles and a maximum path width of 35 yards. A boat trailer with a boat on it was overturned and a camping trailer was blown onto a truck. Numerous shingles were blown off a house. There was also sporadic tree damage along the tornado's path. This occurred near Mudlick Rd and KY Hwy 3290. |
| December 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Olympia | - | Trees were blown down onto power lines. |
| April 2011 | Hail | Olympia | - | A firefighter reported quarter sized hail between 845 and 900 PM EDT. |
| November 2003 | Flash Flood | Olympia | - | Water up to one and a half feet deep was covering low water bridges at Adams, Black Creek, Anderson, and Elk Lick. Water was over the road on Highway 211 South near Salt Lick and on Saltwell Road, near United States Highway 60. |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Olympia | - | Trees were blown down. |
| May 2005 | Hail | Olympia | - | no account filed |
| March 2003 | Hail | Olympia | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson Schoolhouse (historical) | 2.0 miles | 10 | |
| Olympia Springs | 2.8 miles | 10 | |
| Shrout (historical) | 2.8 miles | 10 | |
| Ore Mines (historical) | 2.8 miles | 10 | |
| Black Sulpher Spring (historical) | 3.0 miles | 10 | |
| Preston | 3.2 miles | 8 | |
| Polksville | 3.5 miles | 10 | |
| Lower Salt Lick (historical) | 4.0 miles | 10 |
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 Olympia | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q30621961 | 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 514351. 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.






