The Hazard post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Lennut (1914), Lothair (1915) and Allais (1922), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 76 in 18802020 census: 5,263172 years
How historic is Hazard?
B−
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Hazard post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hazard’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hazard is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #82 of 142 in Kentucky. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hazard’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 Hazard’s 2.0 sits below most of its state (27% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±7.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Hazard’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Local landowner Elijah Combs Sr. laid out the town in 1824 as the planned seat of the newly established Perry County. Both the town and the county were named for Cdre. Oliver Hazard Perry, a commander in the 1813 Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812. The post office was initially known as Perry Court House but the name was officially changed to Hazard in 1854. The city was formally incorporated by the state assembly in 1884.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hazard. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1891Hazard sheet · 1:125,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hazard.
Every building
Hazard, building by building, 1920–1923
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The Hazard post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Hazard rank for history?
Hazard is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #82 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 Hazard?
One place: the Memorial Gym (listed 2024).
How old are the homes in Hazard?
23% of Hazard’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.3 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1970.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (14), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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1913![Bridge No. 4, L & E RR [Lexington & Eastern Railroad] near Hazard, K](https://images.townratings.com/story/6985/1b9625d0bc7b722ce9e9-s.jpg)
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