Letcher County, Kentucky

Founding: 1842
Parent counties: Perry and Harlan

Namesake: Robert Letcher, Kentucky governor
Seat: Whitesburg (1842–)

Land area: 338 square miles

Population (2020): 21,548

Population (historic): 2,512 (1850); 4,608 (1870); 6,920 (1890); 10,623 (1910); 35,702 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1850–1940; 1970s

Subdivisions: Four cities; four CDPs

National Register listings: Five

Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 1,566 (13.4%)
Pre-1940 housing survival rate: 21.5%
Pre-1860 housing survival rate (1940): 6%

Farm housing in disrepair (1950): 23%

Nonfarm housing in disrepair (1950): 20%

Average farmhouse value (1930): $342
Average outbuilding value (1930): $133
Average farmhouse size (1940): 3.6 rooms
Number of farms (1920): 1,601
Average farm size (1920): 31.8 acres
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Whitesburg

Namesake: Daugherty White, Kentucky politician

Founding: 1842 (platting); 1843 (post office); 1876 (incorporation)

Population (2020): 1,773

Population (historic): 194 (1900); 1,804 (1930)

Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 114 (11%)
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