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B−History
History · Corbin

Corbin’s post office opened in 1885, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns · #85 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it

8 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 6 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1952 on, and the census since 1900.

1885first post office
8on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
14famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Corbin’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Corbin began

When was Corbin founded?

1885

The Corbin post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1895.

First census: 1,544 in 19002020 census: 7,856141 years

How historic is Corbin?

B−

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Corbin post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1895.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Corbin’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Corbin is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #85 of 142 in Kentucky. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Corbin’s overall grade.
Founding era1885, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194010.3% of homes (±3.8) · typical KY town 5.9% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register8 listings, 12 historic buildings, 14.6 per 10,000 residents · typical KY town 29.9 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 48%
NewerOlder
Kentucky towns of 2,500+ (142)Ahead of 40%

Kentucky towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kentucky town has 29.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Corbin’s 14.6 sits near the middle of its state (43% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 12 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1895 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Corbin’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Landmarks on the Register8 places on the National Register.Famous sons and daughtersArthur Lake, Frank Selvy and 12 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Corbin’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

8 historic places in Corbin

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
8
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
12
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Louisville and Nashville Railroad Depot
Louisville and Nashville Railroad DepotCarnegie LibraryCorbin Bank BuildingEast Main Street Bridge, built 1890First Christian ChurchMershon BuildingSaint Camillus Academy, built 1908Gordon Hill Road Historic District
BuildingsDistrictsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival4
Pratt Truss1
Prairie1
Queen Anne1
American Four Square1
Bungalow1
Louisville and Nashville Railroad DepotBuilding
Carnegie LibraryClassical Revival
Corbin Bank BuildingClassical Revival
East Main Street BridgePratt Truss · Built 1890
First Christian ChurchClassical Revival
Mershon BuildingClassical Revival
Saint Camillus AcademyPrairie · Built 1908
All 8 listings
Gordon Hill Road Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1986

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

14 famous people were born in Corbin

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Arthur LakeActor · b. 1905
Frank SelvyAmerican basketball player-coach · b. 1932
J
Jerry BirdAmerican basketball player · b. 1935
Evelyn Bryan JohnsonAmerican aviator · b. 1909
D
Debbie DeanAmerican musician · b. 1928
Jarrett StidhamAmerican football player · b. 1996
The story

How Corbin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Corbin.

Read it all →

The first settlement in the Corbin area was known as Lynn Camp Station. The first post office was called Cummins, for community founder Nelson Cummins. It was discovered in 1885 that both Cummins and Lynn Camp were already in use as names for Kentucky post offices, and postmaster James Eaton was asked to select another name. He chose Corbin for the Rev. James Corbin Floyd, a local minister. The town was incorporated under that name in 1905.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Corbin, 1880 to 1952

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Knox County - Corbin - ED 61-13
  3. 1885Post officeThe Corbin post office opens
  4. 1890BuiltEast Main Street Bridge is built
  5. 20th century
  6. 1905Born hereArthur Lake is born here
  7. 1908BuiltSaint Camillus Academy is built
  8. 1908In the archiveOdd Fellows Hall. The Victors Temperance Brigade, Election Day, Dec. 8, 1906. Corbin, Ky
  9. 1909Born hereEvelyn Bryan Johnson is born here
  10. 1932Born hereFrank Selvy is born here
  11. 1935Born hereJerry Bird is born here
  12. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Corbin, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1900s4 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Knox County - Corbin - ED 61-1318801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Kn…Odd Fellows Hall. The Victors Temperance Brigade, Election Day, Dec. 8, 1906. Corbin, Ky1908Odd Fellows Hall. The Victors Temperance Brigade, Ele…Odd Fellows Hall. The Victors Temperance Brigade, Election Day, Dec. 8, 1906. Corbin, Ky1908Odd Fellows Hall. The Victors Temperance Brigade, Ele…The Majestic Theater, built by I.O.OF. Corbin, Ky1908The Majestic Theater, built by I.O.OF. Corbin, Ky
1910s–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
Today13 recent
Corbin Carnegie Library2014Corbin Carnegie LibraryCorbin Bank Building2014Corbin Bank BuildingSears2013SearsZipline swing above Laurel Lake2011Zipline swing above Laurel LakeView from high point2011View from high pointSunset in Daniel Boone N.F2011Sunset in Daniel Boone N.FLondon-Corbin Airport terminal and restaurant2011London-Corbin Airport terminal and restaurantKentucky Fried Chicken Restaurant and Museum, 688 Us Hwy 25 W2011Kentucky Fried Chicken Restaurant and Museum, 688 Us …Corbin, KY2011Corbin, KYAuger Spring2011Auger SpringLondon-Corbin Airport fuel tanks near runway2010London-Corbin Airport fuel tanks near runwayCorbin-ky-skyline22006Corbin-ky-skyline2KYMap-doton-NorthCorbin2004KYMap-doton-NorthCorbin
On the map

Corbin on the map, 1952 to 1970

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

Corbin on the 1952 USGS mapCorbin on the 1961 USGS mapCorbin on the 1970 USGS map1952Corbin 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 Corbin.

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 - Knox County - Corbin - ED 61-13
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Knox County - Corbin - ED 61-13, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Corbin, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 8,075

Between 1,544 and 8,075 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Corbin’s post office has been open since 1885.

Gone or out of use
Henry Fieldairport
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Corbin
BinghamHartPine Hill

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

North Corbin1 historic placeB−

Questions about Corbin’s history

What year was Corbin founded?

The Corbin post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1895.

How does Corbin rank for history?

Corbin is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #85 of 142 in Kentucky. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Corbin?

8 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Depot (listed 1978, the first), 1 historic district, the Gordon Hill Road Historic District, with 6 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 12 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Corbin?

10% of Corbin’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1975.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (16), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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.