Editing Bell County, Kentucky (section)

==History==
Bell County is considered a "Moist" county, a classification between [[dry county|dry]] and [[Wet county|wet]] in terms of alcohol sales. The County changed to moist by a vote in September 2015, that approved [[Moist county|alcohol-by-the-drink]] sales in [[Middlesboro, Kentucky]]. On June 23, 2020, Middlesboro voters approved a "wet" status by 1,215 to 653 votes. In a standard dry county, all sales of alcoholic beverages are prohibited. Under [[Alcoholic beverage control state|ABC]] terminology, a limited county is an otherwise dry county in which at least one city has approved the sale of alcohol by the drink at restaurants that both seat a state-mandated number of diners and derive no more than 30% of their revenue from alcoholic beverages. In the case of Bell County, Pineville had voted to allow alcohol by the drink in restaurants that seat at least 100 diners.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://abc.ky.gov/Licensing%20Resources/WET-DRY-LIST-04.9.13.pdf|title=Kentucky Counties Wet/Dry Status as of January 30, 2013|publisher=Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control|access-date=July 12, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714205120/http://abc.ky.gov/Licensing%20Resources/WET-DRY-LIST-04.9.13.pdf|archive-date=July 14, 2014}}</ref> This terminology was used to describe the area until the Middlesboro vote allowed retail sale of alcohol.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Yes wins moist vote - Middlesboro Daily News - middlesborodailynews.com|url=http://middlesborodailynews.com/news/2948/yes-wins-moist-vote|website=Middlesboro Daily News|access-date=November 28, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208071006/http://middlesborodailynews.com/news/2948/yes-wins-moist-vote|archive-date=December 8, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[Middlesborough, KY Micropolitan Statistical Area]] includes all of Bell County.

The [[Wilderness Road]] was constructed in 1775 through what is now Bell County.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hAVlVS29NKIC&q=%22bell+county%22+1914+1918+1976&pg=PA193|title=Kentucky Ancestry: A Guide to Genealogical and Historical Research|publisher=Ancestry Publishing|date=1992|access-date=July 26, 2013|author=Hogan, Roseann Reinemuth|page=193|isbn=9780916489496}}</ref>

Bell County was formed in 1867, from portions of Harlan and Knox counties. It was named for Joshua Fry Bell, an attorney and member of Congress. The county courthouse has been thrice destroyed. In 1914 and 1918, it was destroyed by fire and in 1977 nearly destroyed by flooding. The documents stored there were destroyed as well. The flood occurred in April 1977 and although it caused extensive damage, the historical courthouse survived with substantial water damage to the interior.

The community of "South America" (known as [[Frakes, Kentucky|Frakes]] since the 1930s) in Bell County appears to have been established in the Spanish Era. Spain made land grants in Old Kentucky prior to English settlement. The community of South America links southeast Kentucky to an era of Indian herbal harvest and sales much like the Daniel Boone era in the state.{{Citation needed|date=July 2015}} <!-- Why is that? No explanation -->

Bell County has one of the highest ratios of local peace officer deaths of any KY or U.S. county per capita, with 28 deputy sheriffs and 4 county sheriff's K-9 having been killed in the county's history.<ref>[https://www.odmp.org/search?name=&agency=&state=Kentucky&cause=&from=1867&to=2018&filter=all www.odmp.org Kentucky page]</ref> There has been considerable violence related to the prohibition of alcohol and production of [[moonshine]].

Bell County is the only Kentucky county hosting both a State Park ([[Pine Mountain State Resort Park]]) and a National Monument ([[Cumberland Gap National Historical Park]]).<ref name=about/>