Editing Blackey, Kentucky

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name      = Blackey, Kentucky
| settlement_type    = [[list of cities in Kentucky|City]]
| nickname           = 
| motto              = <!-- Images -->
| image_skyline      = Blackey Public Library.jpg
| imagesize          = 250px
| image_caption      = Blackey Public Library
| image_flag         = 
| image_seal         = <!-- Maps -->
| image_map          = File:Letcher County Kentucky Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Blackey Highlighted 2107012.svg
| mapsize            = 250px
| map_caption        = Location in Letcher County, Kentucky
| image_map1         = 
| mapsize1           = 
| map_caption1       = <!-- Location -->
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = United States
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Kentucky]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in Kentucky|County]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Letcher County, Kentucky|Letcher]]
| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = 
| leader_title       = 
| leader_name        = 
| leader_title1      = 
| leader_name1       = 
| established_title  = Incorporated
| established_date   = January 27, 1915

<!-- Area -->| unit_pref          = Imperial
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_21.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=March 18, 2022}}</ref>
| area_magnitude     = 
| area_total_km2     = 1.16
| area_land_km2      = 1.13
| area_water_km2     = 0.03
| area_total_sq_mi   = 0.45
| area_land_sq_mi    = 0.44
| area_water_sq_mi   = 0.01

<!-- Population -->| population_as_of   = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_footnotes = 
| population_total   = 109
| population_density_km2 = 96.27
<!-- 2016 est. -->| population_density_sq_mi = 249.43
| timezone           = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
| utc_offset         = -5
| timezone_DST       = EDT
| utc_offset_DST     = -4
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m        = 307
| elevation_ft       = 1007
| coordinates        = {{coord|37|8|25|N|82|58|46|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code_type   = [[ZIP code]]
| postal_code        = 41804
| area_code          = [[Area code 606|606]]
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 21-07012
| blank1_name        = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info        = 0507346
| website            = 
| footnotes          = 
| pop_est_as_of      = 
| pop_est_footnotes  = 
| population_est     = 
| name               = 
}}
'''Blackey''' is an [[unincorporated area|unincorporated community]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kentucky DLG - Counties View|url=https://kydlgweb.ky.gov/Cities/16_CityView.cfm?City_ID=29|access-date=2022-02-01|website=kydlgweb.ky.gov}}</ref> in [[Letcher County, Kentucky|Letcher County]], [[Kentucky]], in the United States. As of the [[2010 United States Census|2010 census]], the population was 120.<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=Blackey,%20KY&g=1600000US2107012&tid=DECENNIALSF12010.P1| title=Total Population: 2010 Census DEC Summary File 1 (P1), Blackey city, Kentucky| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau| website=data.census.gov| access-date=February 11, 2020}}</ref> It is located near the early settlement of [[Indian Bottom, Kentucky|Indian Bottom]]. Blackey is thought to have been named after Blackey Brown, one of its citizens.<ref>[http://www.uky.edu/KentuckyAtlas/21179.html Blackey, Kentucky], Kentucky Atlas. Retrieved 18 May 2006.</ref>

==History==
The history of Blackey began in 1908, after local resident Jim Brown was given permission to establish a post office on Elk Creek. He decided to name the post office "Blackey", after his brother Joseph "Blackey" Brown. Due to the area's massive [[coal]] deposits, the Lexington and Eastern Railroad ran a line through Blackey in November 1912. Over the next fifteen years, Blackey was transformed from a sleepy mountain town to a bustling modern city. It was chartered in November 1912 and incorporated on January 27, 1915.<ref name="history"/> In 1913, the community became the home of the [[Stuart Robinson School]], a [[Presbyterian]] [[settlement school]] that was to operate there until 1957.<ref name=UNCA>{{citation |url=http://toto.lib.unca.edu/web_exhibits/settlement_schools_southern_appalachians/stuart_robinson/default_stuart_robinson.htm |title=Stuart Robinson School |work=Settlement Schools of the Southern Mountains |author=Helen Wykle |date=October 28, 2008 |publisher=D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina Asheville |access-date=2012-01-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320193252/http://toto.lib.unca.edu/web_exhibits/settlement_schools_southern_appalachians/stuart_robinson/default_stuart_robinson.htm |archive-date=2012-03-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1917, the Blackey Coal Company was established as the first coal company in the community. The company constructed thirty houses and employed eighty miners.<ref name="history">[http://appalshop.org/cbcaudill/blackey.htm History of Blackey, Kentucky] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223235423/http://appalshop.org/cbcaudill/blackey.htm |date=2012-02-23 }} Retrieved on 2010-04-10</ref>

In May 1927, a [[flash flood]] devastated the city. In one hour, the North Fork of the [[Kentucky River]] rose {{convert|18|ft}}, killing 26 people in Letcher County alone. Later in December a fire broke out, destroying most of the city's [[business district]]. Then in February 1928, another fire broke out and destroyed the rest of the town. Shortly afterwards, Blackey State Bank failed and the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]] ended the prosperity of the boom town.<ref name="history"/>

Today, Blackey is home to just over 150 people, with only a few abandoned buildings and a few occupied homes on Main Street. Within the last few years, the city has seen some revitalization consisting of a [[Head Start Program|Head Start]], a new city water system, and a public [[library]].<ref name="history"/>

==Geography==
Blackey is located in western Letcher County at {{Coord|37|8|25|N|82|58|46|W|type:city}} (37.140413, -82.979368),<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2011-04-23|date=2011-02-12|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> in the valley of the North Fork of the Kentucky River. [[Kentucky Route 7]] passes through the town, leading west and northwest down the North Fork valley {{convert|19|mi}} to [[Jeff, Kentucky|Jeff]], and northeast up the valley of Rockhouse Creek then north down the valley of the Right Fork of Beaver Creek {{convert|40|mi}} to [[Wayland, Kentucky|Wayland]]. [[Kentucky Route 588]] leads south and east up the North Fork of the Kentucky {{convert|15|mi}} to [[Whitesburg, Kentucky|Whitesburg]], the Letcher [[county seat]].

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city of Blackey has a total area of {{convert|1.2|km2|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|0.03|sqkm|order=flip|2}}, or 2.72%, are water.<ref name=Gazetteer>{{cite web| url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_21.txt| title=U.S. Gazetteer Files: 2019: Places: Kentucky| website=U.S. Census Bureau Geography Division| access-date=February 11, 2020}}</ref>

==Demographics==

{{US Census population
|1920= 269
|1930= 349
|1940= 545
|1950= 393
|2000= 153
|2010= 120
|2020= 109
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}

As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=2008-01-31 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref> of 2000, there were 153 people, 65 households, and 49 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|314.6|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 73 housing units at an average density of {{convert|150.1|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 98.69% [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census|White]] and 1.31% from two or more races.

There were 65 households, out of which 23.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.0% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.1% were non-families. 21.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.66.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 17.0% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 34.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $19,250, and the median income for a family was $20,625. Males had a median income of $30,536 versus $21,875 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $11,278. About 22.9% of families and 24.3% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 28.1% of those under the age of eighteen and 33.3% of those 65 or over.

==Education==
Blackey has a [[public library|lending library]], a branch of the Letcher County Library.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://kdla.ky.gov/librarians/pages/librarydirectory.aspx | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190111202017/https://kdla.ky.gov/librarians/pages/librarydirectory.aspx | url-status=dead | archive-date=11 January 2019 | title=Kentucky Public Library Directory | publisher=Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives | access-date=5 June 2019}}</ref>

==Arts and culture==
[[File:Blackeysigncropped.jpg|thumb|Disused railroad sign (possibly c. 1930s) bearing the inscription "BLACKEY." Photo taken on the porch of the C. B. Caudill Store in Blackey, Kentucky, summer 1998.]]
Just across a small bridge is the C. B. Caudill Store & History Center, which was operated by Joe Begley (1919-2000) and his wife Gaynell (1917-2008). It was formerly a [[general store]] but has been converted into a history and community center.<ref>[http://www.appalshop.org/cbcaudill/ C.B. Caudill Store and History Center] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070625115355/http://www.appalshop.org/cbcaudill/ |date=2007-06-25 }} Retrieved on 2010-04-10</ref><ref>https://www.themountaineagle.com/articles/gaynell-begley-dies-at-91-was-storekeeper-leader/</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927143731/http://www.appalshop.org/cbcaudill/blackey.htm Blackey page], from Appalshop site
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070625115355/http://www.appalshop.org/cbcaudill/ C. B. Caudill Store & History Center], from Appalshop site

{{Letcher County, Kentucky}}
{{Eastern Mountain Coal Fields (Kentucky)}} 
{{Kentucky}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Letcher County, Kentucky]]
[[Category:Cities in Kentucky]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1915]]
[[Category:Company towns in Kentucky]]
[[Category:Coal towns in Kentucky]]
[[Category:1915 establishments in Kentucky]]