Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Coldiron was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Below: maps from 1919 on.
The Coldiron post office opened in 1925, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Coldiron’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Coldiron. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Coldiron.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Coldiron yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Coldiron is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Harlan County, Kentucky, United States. Its population was 222 as of the 2020 census.
Its first post office opened in 1925. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 223 in 2010, 222 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nobody well known was born in Coldiron itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Coldiron post office opened in 1925, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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.
