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History · Belfry

Belfry’s post office opened in 1926

Most of Belfry was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: maps from 1915 on.

1926first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Photo: FatCat96 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Belfry began

When was Belfry founded?

1926

The Belfry post office opened in 1926, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 263100 years
Founding year: the first Belfry post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Belfry’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Belfry are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Belfry’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Belfry’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Belfry, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Belfry yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Belfry is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Pike County, Kentucky. Belfry is located on U.S. Route 119, 16.8 miles (27.0 km) northeast of Pikeville. Belfry has a post office with ZIP code 41514, which opened on February 26, 1921. The origin of the name "Belfry" is obscure. Some of the community was treated by the United States Census Bureau as a census-designated place in 2020 with a recorded population of 263. The larger community of South Williamson borders Belfry to northwest. Public education in Belfry is administered by the Pike County Public School System, which operates Belfry High School. Schools also include Belfry Elementary School (formally known as South…

Its first post office opened in 1926.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Belfry on the map, 1915 to 1978

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Belfry. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Belfry on the 1915 USGS mapBelfry on the 1978 USGS map1915Williamson sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Belfry.

Famous people

Famous people close to Belfry

Nobody well known was born in Belfry itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Dwight YoakamAmerican country singer-songwriter, actor, and … · b. 1956
P
Patty LovelessAmerican country music singer · b. 1957
Mark ReynoldsAmerican baseball player · b. 1983
B
Bette HenritzeAmerican actress · b. 1924
John HendricksAmerican businessman · b. 1952
Doc EdwardsAmerican baseball player and coach · b. 1936
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Belfry’s post office has been open since 1926.

Gone or out of use
Belfry Railroad StationlocaleOranoco Railroad StationlocaleYardley Coal Camplocale
1cemetery inside Belfry
Murphy

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Belfry’s history

What year was Belfry founded?

The Belfry post office opened in 1926, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.