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Freeburn, KentuckyPhoto: Magnolia677 · CC BY 4.0
–Not graded
History · Freeburn

Freeburn’s post office opened in 1933

Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1917 on.

1933first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Freeburn’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Freeburn began

When was Freeburn founded?

1933

The Freeburn post office opened in 1933, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Liss (1911), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 29693 years
Founding year: the first Freeburn post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Freeburn’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19174 editions of the USGS map, 1917 to 1992. Watch Freeburn change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Freeburn’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 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 map

Freeburn on the map, 1917 to 1992

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

Freeburn on the 1917 USGS mapFreeburn on the 1928 USGS mapFreeburn on the 1976 USGS mapFreeburn on the 1992 USGS map1917Matewan 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 Freeburn.

The story so far

Freeburn, in brief

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

Freeburn is a census-designated place, unincorporated community and coal town in Pike County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 census, Freeburn had a population of 296. A post office called Liss was established in the community in 1911. In 1932, it was renamed Freeburn supposedly for a freeburning coal seam fire.

Its first post office opened in 1933. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 399 to 296 (-26%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Freeburn, 1880 to 1933

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 - Pike County - Freeburn - ED 98-37
  3. 20th century
  4. 1911Post officeThe Liss post office opens
  5. 1917On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1933Post officeThe Liss post office closes
  7. 1933Post officeThe Freeburn post office opens
By decade

Freeburn, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Pike County - Freeburn - ED 98-3718801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Pi…
1890s–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
Today1 recent
Freeburn, Kentucky2014Freeburn, Kentucky
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 - Pike County - Freeburn - ED 98-37
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Pike County - Freeburn - ED 98-37, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Freeburn

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

See all →
Bev PerdueAmerican politician and 73rd Governor of North … · b. 1947
John HendricksAmerican businessman · b. 1952
Ryan O'QuinnAmerican actor · b. 1972
Doc EdwardsAmerican baseball player and coach · b. 1936
L
Lee SmithAmerican writer · b. 1944
S
Spike MaynardAmerican judge · b. 1942
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Freeburn’s post office has been open since 1933. Another post office, Liss, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Liss
1911–1933
Freeburn
1933–today
19101970today
Gone or out of use
Liss Post Officepost officeLiss-Freeburn Schoolschool

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

Questions about Freeburn’s history

What year was Freeburn founded?

The Freeburn post office opened in 1933, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (2), 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.