Stearns in McCreary County, Kentucky — The American South (East South Central)

Stearns Coal & Lumber Company

Photographed by Tom Bosse, September 15, 2023

1. Stearns Coal & Lumber Company Marker

Inscription. In 1902, Justus S. Stearns of Ludington, Michigan bought 30,000 acres of virgin timberland in southern Kentucky. When coal was discovered soon afterwards, the Stearns Coal & Lumber Company was established. The company built the town of Stearns to serve as the hub of a logging and mining empire that would control over 200 square miles of land, built the Kentucky and Tennessee Railway, erected the first all-electric sawmill in the U.S. and employed over 2,200 people living and working in 18 coal and lumber camps. Almost all the buildings in Stearns were painted the company’s color of white with green trim, and included residences, a freight depot, office building, pool hall, theater, the renowned Stearns Hotel, and company store where residents could purchase nearly anything with company issued money, called scrip, or US currency. The company also provided water, electricity, steam heat, tennis courts, a golf course, and a baseball field in addition to a dentist and medical doctor. The Stearns Company operated mines from 1902 until 1975 when the last mine, the Justus Mine, was sold.

Topics. This historical marker is

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1902.

Location. 36° 41.937′ N, 84° 28.582′ W. Marker is in Stearns, Kentucky, in McCreary County. It is at the intersection of Henderson Street and Kentucky Route 1651, on the right when traveling east on Henderson Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Stearns KY 42647, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Eastern Kentucky, in the Lake Cumberland Region,

and in the Cumberland Plateau.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 12 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Historic Stearns Kentucky (within shouting distance of this marker); Sandstone Tree Stump (within shouting distance of this marker); Princess Cornblossom

Photographed by Tom Bosse, September 15, 2023

2. Stearns Coal & Lumber Company Marker

(approx. ¼ mile away); First Kentucky Oil Well / Martin Beaty (Beatty) (approx. 1.9 miles away); McCreary County, 1912 (approx. 1.9 miles away); Edward "Eddie" Ward (approx. 3.2 miles away); Tennessee / Kentucky (approx. 7.4 miles away in Tennessee); Big Bend Loop (approx. 12 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Stearns.

Another marker is no longer nearby. 4-H Craft Center (was approx. 11.9 miles away but has been confirmed missing).

Historic Stearns Kentucky image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tom Bosse, September 15, 2023

3. Historic Stearns Kentucky

Credits. This page was last revised on September 21, 2023. It was originally submitted on September 20, 2023, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 1,254 times since then and 107 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on September 20, 2023, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.