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–Not graded
History · Blaine

Blaine dates to 1800, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1953 on, and the census since 1900.

1800founded
0on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
From Blaine’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Blaine began

When was Blaine founded?

1800

Blaine dates its founding to 1800 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 134 in 19002020 census: 66226 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1828.The full story ↓

What stands out about Blaine’s past

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

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Blaine’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
People over time

Blaine, census by census

01002003004001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 358

Peaked at 358 in 1980; 66 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Blaine’s Wikipedia page.

Timeline

Blaine, 1800 to 1980

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1800
    FoundingBlaine is established
  3. 1828Post officeThe Blain post office opens
  4. 1829Post officeThe Blain post office closes
  5. 1837Post officeThe Blaine post office opens
  6. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Lawrence County - Blaine - ED 64-9, ED…
  7. 1898Born hereKarl Holton is born here
  8. 20th century
  9. 1930In the archiveBank of
  10. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 358
The story

How Blaine came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Blaine.

Read it all →

Blaine was originally settled c. 1800 and established as a local trade center by 1882. The post office has been in operation since at least May 10, 1828 (Neri Swetnam, postmaster). Although the city was incorporated as "Blaine" on March 10, 1886, it was alternatively known as "Blainetown" or "Mouth of Hood" for the remainder of the 19th century.

The Blaine city government was officially dissolved on April 20, 2022, by circuit judge John David Preston. The last mayor was Geneva Wheeler, who remained in office until 2014. No one had stood for election to the four person city commission since 2010, and no one served on the commission after 2012.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Blaine, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1920snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1930s1 item
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Blaine on the map, 1953 to 1993

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

Blaine on the 1953 USGS mapBlaine on the 1978 USGS mapBlaine on the 1993 USGS map1953Blaine sheet · 1:24,000

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

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Lawrence County - Blaine - ED 64-9, ED 64-12
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Lawrence County - Blaine - ED 64-9, ED 64-12, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Blaine’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Blaine’s post office has been open since 1837. Another post office, Blain, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Blain
1828–1829
Blaine
1837–today
18201920today
Gone or out of use
Blaine Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Blaine
Griffith

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

Questions about Blaine’s history

What year was Blaine founded?

In 1800, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Blaine’s post office opened in 1828, and the census of 1900 counted 134 people here.

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 Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.