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History · Cawood

15% of Cawood’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1919 on.

0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Cawood’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 Cawood are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19194 editions of the USGS map, 1919 to 1976. Watch Cawood change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cawood’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cawood’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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On the map

Cawood on the map, 1919 to 1976

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

Cawood on the 1919 USGS mapCawood on the 1935 USGS mapCawood on the 1954 USGS mapCawood on the 1976 USGS map1919Nolansburg 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 Cawood.

The story so far

Cawood, in brief

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

Cawood is a census-designated place (CDP) and coal town in Harlan County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 census, Cawood had a population of 630. A post office in Cawood was established in 1890 by Wilson S. Hensley. He said one of his ancestors was Berry Cawood, a hero of the Revolutionary War.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 731 to 630 (-14%).

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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Famous people

Famous people close to Cawood

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

See all →
Nick LacheyAmerican singer, actor, producer and television… · b. 1973
Morgan WallenAmerican country singer · b. 1993
John HensleyAmerican actor · b. 1977
Peggie CastleAmerican actress who specialized in playing the… · b. 1927
Juanita M. KrepsUnited States Secretary of Commerce · b. 1921
Louise SlaughterAmerican politician · b. 1929
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Cato Railroad Stationlocale
1cemetery inside Cawood
Field

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Cawood’s history

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 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.