This southeastern section of Kentucky is famous for the coal industry and the Appalachian Mountains. Lynch was built by the United States Coal and Coke Company in 1917. The city of Lynch was incorporated in 1963. It is also home to the tourist attraction, Mine Portal Number 31, built in 1920. The town gets its name from Thomas Lynch, a former executive of the founding coal company. You can learn more about early Lynch history at the www.coaleducation.org website.

As you enter this region you are greeted by signs that read, "John J. Fox, Jr., Trail of the Lonesome Pine". Fox was a great American novelist from the 1863 to 1919 era. Lynch is located along Highway 160, just a few miles south of Kindgom Come State Park and Southeast Community College. Near to Lynch is the highest point in Kentucky at the Virginia-Kentucky border; Black Mt. 4,139 feet. The Kentucky Coal Mining Museum and park is located in Benham. Harlan County is named after Major Silas Harlan who fought the British during the Revolutionary War. The USS Harlan County was an active Navy ship from 1972 to 1995.

Facts of Local History:

• Mine 31 was operational from 1917 to 1963.
• Most large buildings in Lynch were constructed of native sandstone.
• The Mine 31 Lamphouse issued over 2000 Electric Cap Lamps to miners each day.
• The Mine 31 Bath House had 71 showers.
• The first coal shipment left Lynch on November 2, 1917.
• During 1919, one million tons of coal was mined at Lynch.
• The population of Lynch was once over 10,000 residents.
• Mine 31 once produced 500 tons of coal per hour.
• The Lynch Railroad Depot opened in 1925.
• L&N Railroad discontinued train service to and from Lynch in 1956.
• The Lynch Tipple was once the largest in the world.
• Mine 31 features a 3 story, 60 foot high Tipple building.
• The Lynch Chapter of the Eastern Kentucky Social Club was organized in 1971.
• The Charles Stewart Golf Tournament is held at Lynch each year.
• The Lynch Grand Reunion Celebration is held each summer.