The abundance and beauty of laurel shrub in the area impressed the early pioneers so much that they named the county for it. Dr. Thomas Walker’s party, exploring for the Loyal Land Company of England, first came to the area in 1750.
Laurel County was the 80th county to be organized in Kentucky, and was established by an act of the Kentucky General Assembly on December 12, 1825. It was formed from parts of Rockcastle, Clay, Knox, and Whitley counties. The actual operation of the county government began in March 1826.
Nine men were appointed as the first justices-of-the-peace for Laurel County in 1826. They were: Samuel McHargue, William Freeman, Jarvis Jackson, David Weaver, William Smith, James McNeil, John Pearl, Jacob Boyer, & James Wood. They assembled at Jarvis Jackson’s home on the first Monday of March in 1826.
After taking oath of office they appointed Lot Pitman as County Court Clerk; William Stuart, James Elkins, John Elkins, and John Hood as Constables; and John Jackson as Jailer.
The following officers were appointed by the governor: Thomas Buford as Sheriff; Samuel S. Griffin as Coroner; James McNeil as Surveyor; and Thomas J. Buford as Attorney for the Commonwealth.
Father and son John and Jarvis Jackson gifted 25 acres of land to start the town of London. They stipulated that part of that land should be laid out in a public square and town lots.
The Jacksons also agreed to build–at their expense, and deed to the county–a courthouse and a jail, provided the proceeds from the sale of the town lots should revert to them. This proposition of the Jacksons was accepted, and plans and specifications for a brick and stone courthouse and a white and red oak jail were drawn up.
Historic Timeline:
NOTE: The origin of the term “defeat” for what some today refer to as a “massacre” is rooted in the frontier vocabulary, which is itself rooted in Middle English of the 12th century. At that time “defeat” meant “destruction, ruin, undoing,” and could apply to one person or to many, unlike the word “massacre,” which means “deliberately and violently killing a large number of people.” To be “defeated” did not necessarily mean to be “killed,” it simply meant someone (or some group) lost a fight. So “defeat” or “defeated” is more accurate than “massacre” or “massacred” when it was used for certain events during the settlement of the frontier in the 18th century. ALSO NOTE that most of these attacks by Native Americans were renegade groups not sanctioned for their actions by their tribal leaders. These renegades were also sometimes accompanied by white men attired as Native Americans. The motive for most of these attacks was greed. The attackers stole money, horses, cattle and other goods that had value, leaving behind or destroying items that did not.
1779
August – John English’s Defeat by Native Americans
August – Fowler’s Defeat by Native Americans on Boone Trace near Modrel Station on what is now Highway 229 south of London.
1779 or 1780
April or May – five persons killed by Native Americans near Raccoon Springs.
1780
April or May – Henderson’s Defeat near Big Laurel River west of Modrel Station near what is now Kentucky Highway 229 south of London; 14 people were killed by Native Americans; one girl was scalped but survived.
1783
February – Farris’ Defeat: Brothers Nathan and Isaac Farris were killed by Native Americans.
1784
September or October – McClure’s Defeat on Boone Trace. This event followed a number of Native American attacks on small parties in which several were killed. No details are available on those other attacks.
October 3 – Moore’s Defeat; 9 persons killed by Native Americans on Boone Trace northeast of London.
1786
October 3 – McNitt Defeat on the east bank of Little Laurel River in what is now Levi Jackson Wilderness Road Park. This was the worst recorded defeat of settlers by Native Americans in Kentucky, with an estimated 24 persons killed of the 27-40 travelers in the group.
1790
Bishop Francis Asbury, en route to the first Methodist conference in Kentucky, held worship near the site of the current Camp Ground Methodist Church (about 7 miles south of London on Highway 229). The first church was made of logs. The present building was constructed in 1876.
1791
Julian’s Defeat on Skaggs Trace east of where Fort Woods (Woods Block House) would be built in 1793.
Jenkins Defeat on Skaggs Trace west of where Fort Woods (Woods Block House) would be built in 1793.
1793
Wood’s Blockhouse, the earliest permanent building in the wilderness, was built about 7 miles north of London at the crossroads of Skaggs Trace and Boone Trace.
March – Drake’s Defeat by Native Americans on Boone Trace northeast of London between Moore’s and McFarland’s Defeats.
March 21 – Thomas Ross, first postman (“post rider”) in Kentucky, killed by Native Americans.
April 1 – McFarland’s Defeat by Native Americans on Boone Trace northeast of London.
1793-94
Modrel’s Station, located near the crossing of Laurel River and Highway 229, offered safety for travelers until the danger of attacks by Native Americans ended.
1796
The Wilderness (wagon) Road was built by Kentucky between Cumberland Gap and Crab Orchard. A principal highway, it promoted the settlement of Kentucky and the West. It operated as a toll road for about 80 years.
1804
Wilderness Road Inn was built by John Freeman on a Revolutionary War land grant (on Highway 229 about a half mile south of the current entrance to the Levi Jackson State Park). The tavern stood beside the historic Wilderness (wagon) Road. The inn burned in 1962, but a Kentucky Historical Highway Marker stands at the site.
1826
Laurel County government was established. The county had been created by the State Legislature in December 1825, but the county government was not functional until March 1826.
London was established as the county seat. The first courthouse was built.
1830
The first United States Census taken after Laurel County was established enumerated the county’s population as 2,206 persons.
1831
February 4 – The first Post Office in the county was established at London. Branham Hill was the first Postmaster.
1836
February 11 – London was incorporated as a city.
1841 to around 1910
The Sublimity Springs Hotel Resort was in business.
1858
Laurel Seminary opened on North Main Street in London. The school temporarily closed and the building was used as a hospital during the Civil War. The Seminary operated as a common school, 1870-84; a private school, 1884-93; a common school, 1893-1906; then a public school. The original building was replaced in 1954. The property is currently the site of London Elementary School.
1861-1865
The first African American church established in London was on West 13th Street around the Civil War, then moved to a church on Short Street adjacent to the Mill Street Baptist Church. Mill Street Baptist Church is the current location of the Laurel County African American Heritage Center.
1861
October 21st – Battle of Camp Wildcat; first engagement of regular troops in Kentucky; Union victory.
1862
August 17th – Battle of London; this week-long series of skirmishes ended in a Confederate victory.
1864
One African American school was included in the Annual Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction of Kentucky for the school year ending Dec. 31, 1864.
1865
1st Christian Church of London was established.
1873
October 11 – W.E. Word and J.H. Wilson first published The Mountain Echo newspaper in Barbourville, Kentucky (Knox County). The paper contained many Laurel County news items and is a good source of Laurel County history and genealogy information.
1875
January 23 – Flem D. Sampson was born in Laurel County. He would become Kentucky’s 42nd governor, serving from 1927 to 1931.
June 4, the last issue of The Mountain Echo was published in Barbourville, and the operation moved to London.
The Altamont Baptist Church (African American) was organized.
1880-1894
Approximately 120 Swiss families moved to Laurel County and settled into two major centers, Bernstadt and East Bernstadt. This was Kentucky’s largest foreign colonization.
By 1880, there were two African American schools in Laurel County — one in London and one in East Bernstadt.
1882
July 17 – The Louisville & Nashville Railroad arrived in London.
November 26 – The first passenger train left London, making her run from London to Whitley County. Captain Sweeney was the conductor. Several prominent Laurel County residents were on board.
1883
September 9, Laurel County Fair was established at Camp Ground, 8 miles south of London.
1886
The second Laurel County Courthouse was completed.
1887
The African Methodist Episcopal Church (African American) was organized at London. Some sources say the church was established at Altamont.
1888
The first regularly established banking institution in London, the First National Bank, was organized.
Shiloh Baptist Church (African American) was organized at Altamont.
1891
Dec. 18, a group of African Americans bought several acres of land near the intersection of US 25 and KY 80 with the intention of building a college. The school, known as the London District Colored Baptist College, was active until at least 1906 and possibly later. Prof. T. M. Faulkner was principal and Miss Stella Tate, assistant. The site where the two-story college building once stood was later the site where the Tuberculosis Hospital was built in 1950-51.
1893
The Church of Christ (African American) was organized at London.
1894
March 11, the first 1st Baptist Church of London was built at Long and 7th streets.
1896
May 11, groundbreaking for Sue Bennett Memorial School.
The first Laurel County Historical Society was established in London by the actions of Rev. J. J. Dickey, who gathered a group of teachers who began gathering genealogy information about Laurel County families. By the early 1900s, this first historical society apparently ceased to exist.
1896
Parker Cemetery was established, later to be named A.R. Dyche Memorial Park.
1897
Sue Bennett Memorial School opened. The school taught all grades and educated more than 11,000 students between 1897-1997. It operated as a county high school 1910-33; a normal school 1900-1910; became junior college, 1922. The name was changed to Sue Bennett College in 1930. The school closed in 1997.
1903
The Camp Ground Telephone Company was incorporated. The company operated extensive long distant lines and several exchanges, including that at London.
1904
Pennington Infirmary opened in downtown London and later moved to the building that stood where Commercial Bank is now on Main Street. Later a hospital was built on the hill on 9th Street and was appropriately named Pennington Hospital after Dr. H.B. Pennington, who started both the infirmary and the hospital.
The East Bernstadt Banking Company, a small state bank, was organized. In 1912, it became the First National Bank of East Bernstadt.
1907
June 13, Russell Dyche established The London Sentinel newspaper.
1908
The brick building for First Christian Church of London was built at Main and 7th streets.
Russell Dyche purchased The Mountain Echo plant and the two papers, The Mountain Echo and The London Sentinel, merged to become The Sentinel-Echo, which is still in publication.
1909
December 3rd, cornerstone laid for the Federal Building. The building was completed at a cost of $82,294.00
1910
1st Methodist Church of London was built.
1912
London National Guard was established. (The organization, not the building.)
1915
London Christian Church women started organizing London’s first public library.
1916
March 1 – The first rural mail route out of London was established. It went out Sublimity Road to Skate, and then across the Whitley Road below Bonham, up to the new Whitley Road to Henri Jordi’s place, thence by Old Union to the end of the pike, and by the pike back to London. The distance of the route was 24.3 miles.
1920
Laurel County Library Assocation was organized.
1922
August – The London Fire Department was organized.
Sue Bennett Memorial School became a junior college and changed its name to Sue Bennett College.
1923
January 23, the second building for the First Baptist Church was built at Main and Third Streets.
1925
U.S. Highway 25 was completed through London.
1927
A two-year high school for African American students was established at London.
1930
March 20 – Harland Sanders opened the Sanders Court and Cafe at North Corbin in southern Laurel County. This establishment would eventually become the basis for the Kentucky Fried Chicken (now KFC) franchise.
1931
July 1, Laurel County Health Department opened.
1932
November 16, Laurel County opened its first library building on East Fourth Street.
Sue Bennett College received accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.
1935-1937
A twelve-room London School building was constructed by the WPA at the current site of the Laurel County Board of Education on North Main Street.
1936-1967
An eight-room East Bernstadt School building was constructed by the WPA.
1936
The WPA constructed 50,580 square feet of sidewalks in London, most of which are still in use today.
1938-1941
Lily High School was constructed by the WPA.
London City Hall and Fire Station was constructed by the WPA. London City Hall was in what is now the Sheriff’s Office building and the Fire Station was in the basement of that building.
1939-1940
London’s African American School was constructed on Mill Street across from West 14th Street.
1938-1939
Hazel Green School and Gym was constructed by the WPA, replacing the old building.
Late 1930s to Early 1940s
London served as a central collection agency for books donated to the Pack Horse Library Project. It also had a pack horse library which delivered books to rural residents in the mountains.
1942
Laurel County celebrated Kentucky’s Sesquicentennial (150 years).
1946
July 19, Governor Simeon Willis placed the cornerstone of the London TB (tuberculosis) Hospital.
1948-1949
State Police Post was built in London at a cost of $31,893.00.
1950
Colony and Keavy Elementary Schools were built; these were identical buildings.
1951
The London TB Hospital admitted its first patients on January 31, and it reached a capacity of 100 patients by May.
St. Andrews Catholic School was established.
1953
October 1 – The first Piedmont Airlines flight took place from the new London-Corbin Airport.
1954
June 19, the decision was made to build London Elementary School on North Main Street at the site of the former Laurel Seminary. That building was razed in 2005 after the current building was completed.
1958
December 9 – The County Courthouse was damaged by fire.
1961
The third Laurel County Courthouse was completed.
1963
January – The Laurel County Historical Society was re-established at London, and is still active today.
1969
December 4 – Interstate 75 opened.
1990
September – The first World Chicken Festival was held at London, Laurel County, to celebrate the life of Kentucky Colonel Harland Sanders, who originated the Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise. It has been held annually ever since, with the exception of 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions.
1997
November 26 – Sue Bennett College was permanently closed at the end of the fall semester. The United Methodist Daily News issued this statement about the school’s closing in December: “After 101 years of educating students, United Methodist-related Sue Bennett College in London, Ky, closed its doors Nov. 26, the end of the fall semester. The college was stripped of its accreditation Sept. 22 by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools because of ongoing financial and administrative problems. The school was notified in June that the association had recommended its removal from its list of approved members. The trustees appealed the decision and diligently worked to save the school – including launching a fund-raising campaign – but the appeal was not successful. Without accreditation, no federal or state funds were available to Sue Bennett students and the State of Kentucky withdrew the school’s license to teach effective Nov. 26.”
2007
June 4 – The Laurel County History Museum and Genealogy Center, Inc., was incorporated by the Kentucky Secretary of State.
2020
The 2020 United States Census enumerated 62,613 people, and 22,573 households and families residing in Laurel County.
* Information gathered from Inventory of the County Archives
** Timeline Information: “History of Laurel County” by Russell Dyche