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History · Hindman

Hindman’s post office opened in 1884, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Hindman was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 36 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers from 1880 on.

1884first post office
2on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Hindman’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Hindman began

When was Hindman founded?

1884

The Hindman post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, McPherson (1874), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

2020 census: 701142 years
Founding year: the first Hindman post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Hindman’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Hindman Historic District takes in 36 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hindman’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hindman’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

2 listings protect 37 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
37
each building in a district counts
first listed
2007
Bolen Building
Bolen BuildingHindman Historic District
BuildingsDistricts
Bolen BuildingBuilding
Hindman Historic DistrictDistrict

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

The story

How Hindman came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hindman.

Read it all →

Before Hindman was established, the area was known as The Forks of Troublesome.

The land for the town was provided by local landowner and postmaster Peyton Duke, but Hindman was named in honor of James Hindman, who was the lieutenant governor when the town was founded in 1884 to serve as the seat of government for the newly formed Knott County.

Early town politics included conflicts between the early settlers of The Forks, with fights between factions led by Anderson Hays and Clabe Jones in which several people were killed, including one where Clabe and supporters were barricaded in the Hindman jail and Hays and supporters were across the street in a log house.

Chapters2022 flood

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hindman, 1874 to 1976

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe McPherson post office opens
  3. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Knott County - Hindman - ED 60-1, ED 6…
  4. 1884Post officeThe McPherson post office closes
  5. 1884Post officeThe Hindman post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1912Born hereCarl D. Perkins is born here
  8. 1936In the archiveW.P.A. Packhorse Libraries
  9. 1976Born hereCherlynn Stevenson is born here
By decade

Hindman, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Knott County - Hindman - ED 60-1, ED 60-618801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Kn…
1890s–1920snothing 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
1930s1 item
W.P.A. Packhorse Libraries1936–1939W.P.A. Packhorse Libraries
1940s–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
Today4 recent
Bolen Building vertical2014Bolen Building verticalKnott county kentucky courthouse2008Knott county kentucky courthouseDowntown2008DowntownKYMap-doton-Hindman2004KYMap-doton-Hindman
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 - Knott County - Hindman - ED 60-1, ED 60-6
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Knott County - Hindman - ED 60-1, ED 60-6, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Hindman

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

See all →
Carl D. PerkinsAmerican politician · b. 1912
Cherlynn StevensonAmerican politician · b. 1976
C
Chris BlairAmerican radio sportscaster
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Hindman’s post office has been open since 1884. Another post office, McPherson, opened and closed inside today’s town.

McPherson
1874–1884
Hindman
1884–today
18701950today
Gone or out of use
McPherson Post Officepost office

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

Questions about Hindman’s history

What year was Hindman founded?

The Hindman post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Hindman?

Two places: the Bolen Building (listed 2007) and the Hindman Historic District (2013).

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.