Editing Floyd County, Kentucky (section)

==History==
On December 13, 1799, the [[Kentucky General Assembly]] passed legislation to form Floyd County as the 40th county of Kentucky.<ref name="kleber">Kleber, John E. ''The Kentucky Encyclodpedia'' (University Press of Kentucky), p. 330</ref> The county was made from parts of [[Fleming County, Kentucky|Fleming]], [[Montgomery County, Kentucky|Montgomery]], and [[Mason County, Kentucky]]. The legislation became effective on June 1, 1800.<ref name="kleber"/> The county was named for [[James John Floyd]], a pioneer surveyor who helped lay out the city of Louisville. The county seat was Preston's Station, later renamed Prestonsburg. The first court house burned down on April 8, 1808, destroying all the early records, so the earliest records of government activity do not date prior to 1808.<ref name="kleber"/> Prestonsburg was used as a [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] stronghold during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] and two battles took place nearby, the [[Battle of Ivy Mountain]] on November 8, 1861, and the [[Battle of Middle Creek]] on January 10, 1862.<ref name="kleber"/> Both were Union victories.
[[File:Harry Fain, coal loader. Inland Steel Company, Wheelwright ^1 & 2 Mines, Wheelwright, Floyd County, Kentucky. - NARA - 541452 - cropped and restored.jpg|left|thumb|A coal miner in [[Wheelwright, Kentucky]], 1946]]
Since the early 1900s, coal mining has had a large presence in Floyd County. In 1900, the first commercial coal mine in eastern Kentucky was opened in the Floyd County community of [[Betsy Layne, Kentucky|Betsy Layne]]. Soon, coal would become the dominant industry in Floyd County. With the arrival of coal, [[coal town]]s began popping up all over the county. These coal towns included [[Wheelwright, Kentucky|Wheelwright]], [[Bypro, Kentucky|Bypro]], [[Emma, Kentucky|Emma]], [[Garrett, Floyd County, Kentucky|Garrett]], [[Wayland, Kentucky|Wayland]], and many more. By 1950, the county had a population of over 50,000 people. With the decline of coal in eastern Kentucky, people began migrating away from the area in large numbers, in what's known as the [[Hillbilly Highway]]. As of 2016, the county had 23 coal mines in operation, and produced roughly around 640,000 tons of coal.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kentucky Coal Facts |url=https://eec.ky.gov/Energy/Coal%20Facts%20%20Annual%20Editions/Kentucky%20Coal%20Facts%20-%2017th%20Edition%20(2017).pdf |website=Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet (.gov)}}</ref>

On February 28, 1958, the county was the site of [[Prestonsburg, Kentucky, bus crash|one of the deadliest bus accidents in U.S. history]], leaving 27 people dead.

On June 30, 2022, [[2022 shooting of Kentucky police officers|a mass shooting]] targeting police officers occurred in [[Allen, Kentucky|Allen]], a city in Floyd County. Three police officers and a [[police dog]] were killed, and four other people were injured. The alleged shooter, 49-year-old Lance Storz, was arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder of a police officer before committing suicide in the county jail.<ref name=ABC.3Killed>{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/kentucky-officers-killed-hurt-gunman-opened-fire-home/story?id=86076193|title=3 Kentucky officers killed, several hurt by gunman who opened fire at his home|publisher=ABC News|last=Shapiro|first=Emily|date=July 1, 2022|accessdate=July 1, 2022}}</ref><ref name=ABC.2Killed>{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/police-officers-wounded-eastern-kentucky-shooting-86052607|title=3 police officers killed in Kentucky by suspect with rifle|publisher=ABC News|date=July 1, 2022|accessdate=July 1, 2022|via=Associated Press}}</ref><ref name=WSAZ.Dead>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsaz.com/2022/07/02/wsaz-gets-first-look-home-where-mass-shooting-happened/|title=Third officer confirmed dead from Ky. mass shooting|publisher=WSAZ-TV|last1=Bennett|first1=Emily|last2=Colegrove|first2=Andrew|date=July 1, 2022|accessdate=July 1, 2022}}</ref>