Vest, Kentucky | |
|---|---|
  Vest  Vest | |
| Coordinates: 37°23′48″N83°00′24″W / 37.39667°N 83.00667°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Kentucky |
| County | Knott |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code | 41772 |
| Area code | 606 |
Vest is a post office in Knott County, Kentucky, United States, at the mouth of the Trace Branch of Balls Fork. [1] It serves a store, a crafts centre, and a school. [1]
Vest is located at Lat: 37.39667, Lon: -83.00667. It sits at 1,090 feet (332.232 meters) above sea level. Vest, Kentucky is in the Eastern Time Zone (EST) and observes Daylight Savings Time. [2] [ unreliable source? ]
The total population for Vest is 277.[ citation needed ]
 |
The main road that runs through Vest is KY-1087. From its start at the junction of KY-1087 and KY-550 to its end where it splits into KY-476, it runs about 20 miles long.
The second road that runs from just in front of the Vest building is KY-160.
Beckham Combs Elementary School, named after Beckham Combs (a former person in Knott County), was the elementary school near Vest until its closure in 2006. During its time open as a public elementary school, it offered education for children aged kindergarten through eighth grade. On average 136 students attended the school and there were 8 classroom teachers. [3] Now that the school is closed, most students attend school in Hindman, Kentucky at Hindman Elementary School and Knott County Central High School.
In the former elementary school's place, an attempt to open Beckham Combs Community Center was made. But it was permanently closed when the Big Branch Baptist Church purchased the building for church use and also to use it for the Bethel Christian Academy.
In addition to the private and public school options, the Hindman Settlement School offers support for families that are interested in preserving and continuing the unique way of life available in the eastern Kentucky Appalachian Mountains.
While there are many family cemeteries located in and around Vest, a few notable ones are the Oscar Ritchie Cemetery (located right on the junction of KY-1087 and KY-160), the Dobson Cemetery (located across a now nonexistent bridge and up a hill on KY-1087), and the Alonzo Dobson Cemetery (located off of KY-1087 on Alonzo Dobson Family Cemetery Rd just before Johnson Lick Rd). Many more cemeteries are in and around Vest, but most are private or forgotten to time.
| |
One of the biggest annual events for the residents of Vest is the Knott County Trail Ride. While the Mine Made Adventure Park and Campground is a popular place for outdoor enthusiasts, the first weekend in October every year is when the "Knott County Trail Ride" takes place. Described as a carnival, the Knott County Trail Ride is a gathering of locals and people who enjoy camping, music, horse-back riding, and four wheel drive vehicles on the trails and roads around the camping area.
A popular cultural pastime in any small southern town is going riding. During the summertime in Vest, one of the more popular places to ride ATVs, dirt bikes, four-wheelers, horses, or even in more rugged vehicles is Buckhorn. While there is a Buckhorn, Kentucky in Perry County, going to Buckhorn in Vest actually refers to taking a ride up Buckhorn Creek Rd. The road itself runs perpendicular to Balls Fork of Troublesome Creek and is a rough dirt road. People camp and build fires at the end of the road during the summer. There are a few unnamed parts of the road that follow along different branches of Ball's Fork.
Perry County is a county in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,473. Its county seat is Hazard. The county was founded in 1820. Both the county and county seat are named for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, a naval hero in the War of 1812.
Knott County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,251. Its county seat is Hindman. The county was formed in 1884 and is named for James Proctor Knott, Governor of Kentucky (1883–1887). It is a prohibition or dry county. Its county seat is home to the Hindman Settlement School, founded as America's first settlement school. The Knott County town of Pippa Passes is home to Alice Lloyd College.
Jackson County is located in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,955. Its county seat is McKee. The county was formed in 1858 from land given by Madison, Estill, Owsley, Clay, Laurel, and Rockcastle counties. It was named for Andrew Jackson, seventh President of the United States. Jackson County became a moist county via a "local-option" referendum in the Fall of 2019 that legalized the sale of alcoholic beverages in the city of McKee.
Jackson is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Breathitt County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 2,231 according to the 2010 U.S. census.
Cynthiana is a home rule-class city in Harrison County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 6,402 at the 2010 census. It is the seat of its county.
Hindman is a home rule-class town in, and the county seat of, Knott County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 777 at the 2010 U.S. census.
Kentucky Route 160, also known as KY 160, is a state highway in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It runs from the Virginia state line, where the roadway continues east to Appalachia, Virginia as State Route 160, north via Lynch, Benham, Clutts, Cumberland, Sand Hill, Gordon, Linefork, Kings Creek, Premium, and Hot Spot to Kentucky Route 15 at Van. KY 160 overlaps KY 15 through Isom to Cody, where it splits to run via Carr Creek, Brinkley, and Hindman, ending at Kentucky Route 1087 at Vest. Due to the mountainous terrain and numerous tight bends. KY 160 is signposted closed to tractor-trailers from Lynch to the Virginia state line.
Kentucky Route 237 is a 14.872-mile-long (23.934 km) state highway in Boone County, Kentucky, connecting the Florence/Burlington area with Hebron. The southern terminus of the route is at KY 536 in Florence. The northern terminus is at KY 8 near Hebron. Most of the land surrounding KY 237 is residential.
Settlement schools are social reform institutions established in rural Appalachia in the early 20th century with the purpose of educating mountain children and improving their isolated rural communities.
Hindman Settlement School is a settlement school located in Hindman, Kentucky in Knott County. Established in 1902, it was the first rural settlement school in America.
Lotts Creek is a creek in Perry County and Knott County, Kentucky in the United States. It a tributary of the North Fork Kentucky River that joins it at Darfork 3 miles (4.8 km) downstream of Hazard at an altitude of 820 feet (250 m). It is 8.5 miles (13.7 km) long from its mouth to where it splits into the Young's and Kelly Forks.
Trace Fork or Trace Branch is a creek in Perry County, Kentucky in the United States. It a fork of Lotts Creek 1 mile (1.6 km) upstream from the latter's mouth at an altitude of 825 feet (251 m).
Elmrock is an unincorporated community in Knott County, Kentucky, United States. Elmrock is located on Kentucky Route 1098 8.4 miles (13.5 km) north-northwest of Hindman. Elmrock had a post office from August 9, 1911, to September 2, 1989. The community was named for a large elm tree and large rock in the town.
Troublesome Creek is a creek in Breathitt, Perry and Knott counties, Kentucky, a fork of the North Fork Kentucky River. It is 41.46 miles (66.72 km) long with a gradient of 8.92 feet per mile (168.9 cm/km), normally free-flowing, and with banks that vary between tree-lined and open.
Kentucky Route 348 (KY 348) is a 20.566-mile-long (33.098 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The highway connects mostly rural areas of McCracken, Graves, and Marshall counties with Symsonia and Benton.
Kentucky Route 550 (KY 550) is a 43.212 miles (69.543 km) state highway in eastern Kentucky that runs from Kentucky Routes 15 and 80 in northwestern Hazard to Kentucky Route 80 and Judge Road in Eastern via Darfork, Dwarf, Fisty, Carrie, Hindman, Garner, Mousie, Lackey, Garrett, and Eastern.
Beginning on July 24, 2022, and lasting for a week, many flash flooding events hit several areas of the United States. These areas included parts of Missouri and Illinois, especially Greater St. Louis, Eastern Kentucky, Southwest Virginia, parts of West Virginia, and the Las Vegas Valley. Several rounds of severe thunderstorms began in Missouri on July 24, culminating during July 25 and 26, when St. Louis broke its previous 1915 record for the most rainfall in a span of 24 hours. Governor Mike Parson declared a state of emergency on July 26. Over one hundred people were rescued from floods, and two people were killed. Late on July 27 and into July 28, historic flooding began in central Appalachia, particularly in Kentucky, where a state of emergency was declared. A total of 38 people were killed in Kentucky as a direct result of flooding, with a 39th fatality occurring days later during cleanup efforts and a 40th coming in September during cleanup efforts in Pike County.
Balls Fork is a stream that is mainly in Knott County, Kentucky in the United States. It a fork of the Troublesome Creek tributary of the North Fork Kentucky River that it joins over the county line in Perry County. It is 19.5 miles (31.4 km) long.
The North Fork Kentucky River has several tributary creeks at, or in the immediate vicinity of, the city of Hazard, Kentucky. They were surveyed by the Kentucky Geological Survey in 1918. Most still exist, although some have since been eliminated by mining and the subsequent expansion of the city, and the post-World War 2 construction of the Daniel Boone Parkway.
Municipalities and communities of Knott County, Kentucky, United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |
|  |
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| post offices (and the creeks they are on) |
| |
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties. | |