Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1871.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Earlington’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Earlington is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Earlington’s overall grade.
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 Earlington’s 18.5 sits near the middle of its state (46% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±11.6 points). Two sources give 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Earlington’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Founded in 1870 by the St. Bernard Coal Co., Earlington was named a year later, upon its incorporation, for John Baylis Earle, the man who stuck the first pick into the hillside at the opening of Hopkins County's first commercial coal mine. Earle was a lawyer who was central to developing the coal industry in the region. Shortly after the town was founded, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad completed its line from Henderson to Earlington, and became the primary hauler in the area. The town boomed as a coal center and as the center of L&N operations on the Evansville line.
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.
In 1870, according to Wikidata. Earlington’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1880 counted 907 people here.
How does Earlington rank for history?
Earlington is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns. 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 Earlington?
Two places: the Oakmoor (listed 1988) and the Hotel Earlington (1988).
How old are the homes in Earlington?
28% of Earlington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.6 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1952.
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 (8), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2017
2014
2005
2005
2005
2005
2005
