Editing Leslie County, Kentucky (section)

==History==
Leslie County was formed in 1878 from portions of Clay, Harlan, and Perry counties, and named for governor Preston Leslie.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Leslie County Kentucky - Historical |url=http://www.trailsrus.com/lesliecounty/historical.html |access-date=July 6, 2023 |website=www.trailsrus.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Around Town! |url=http://www.leslieky.com/leslie-county-main |access-date=July 6, 2023 |website=Hyden & Leslie County |language=en-US}}</ref> Its county seat, Hyden, is named for state senator [[John Hyden (Kentucky politician)|John Hyden]], who was one of the commissioners that helped form the county.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hyden, Kentucky |url=https://www.kyatlas.com/ky-hyden.html |access-date=July 6, 2023 |website=www.kyatlas.com}}</ref>

On December 30, 1970, a blast occurred at the [[Hurricane Creek mine disaster|Finley Mine on Hurricane Creek]]. The blast resulted in the deaths of 38 men. Following the recovery of bodies, an investigation revealed a failure to enforce new safety laws. Traces of [[dynamite]] and [[Primacord]] were found inside the mine.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=McKenzie |title=Hurricane Creek Mine Disaster |url=https://explorekyhistory.ky.gov/items/show/559 |access-date=July 6, 2023 |website=ExploreKYHistory |language=en}}</ref>

After resigning the presidency, [[Richard Nixon]] made his first public appearance, in July 1978, at the Leslie County dedication of a recreation facility named for him. County Judge-Executive C. Allen Muncy claimed the Nixon invitation prompted the U.S. Department of Justice to obtain indictments of him and his associates on vote-fraud charges; while on appeal for his conviction, he won renomination in the Republican primary but lost the 1981 general election to independent Kermit Keen.<ref>"The Big Lever," Appalshop Inc., 1982</ref>