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History · Hyden

Hyden dates to 1878, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Hyden was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 4 buildings. Below: 15 old photos and papers, maps from 1919 on, and the census since 1890.

1878founded
1on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
15old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Hyden’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Hyden began

When was Hyden founded?

1878

Hyden dates its founding to 1878 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 80 in 18902020 census: 303148 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1879.The full story ↓

What stands out about Hyden’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 647 in 1950; 303 people lived here in 2020.A town in old photos15 old photos, postcards and papers.On the map since 19194 editions of the USGS map, 1919 to 1980. Watch Hyden change.
★ What stands out · People over time

Hyden, census by census

01002003004005006007001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 647

Peaked at 647 in 1950; 303 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

By decade

Hyden, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s12 items
Untitled1935UntitledUntitled1935UntitledUntitled1935UntitledUntitled1935UntitledUntitled1935UntitledUntitled1935UntitledUntitled1935UntitledUntitled1935UntitledUntitled1935UntitledUntitled1935UntitledUntitled1935UntitledUntitled1935Untitled
1940s3 items
Farmstead in Kentucky, near Hyden1940Farmstead in Kentucky, near HydenGravel road near Hyden, Kentucky1940Gravel road near Hyden, KentuckyGravel road down mountain near Hyden, Kentucky1940Gravel road down mountain near Hyden, Kentucky
1950s–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
On the map

Hyden on the map, 1919 to 1980

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

Hyden on the 1919 USGS mapHyden on the 1954 USGS mapHyden on the 1961 USGS mapHyden on the 1980 USGS map1919Hyden 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 Hyden.

The story

How Hyden came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hyden.

Read it all →

The area was first settled around 1800 by the Sizemores, a mixed-blood (Anglo and Native-American) family migrating from North Carolina, with a brief stay in Hawkins County, Tennessee, before making it to Kentucky. John "Rock House" Sizemore and his wife, Nancy (Bowling) Sizemore, lived in a rock house about a hundred yards up from the mouth of the creek which would later bear his name (Rockhouse Creek). John Rock House later sold the land to a Lewis man who then donated the land to the government, which became the town of Hyden. The town was established in 1878 and incorporated in 1882, and was named after John Hyden, a state senator of the time who helped form Leslie County. The mountainous terrain made the region difficult to access except by river, which was no longer the dominant form of transportation by the late 19th century, hindering growth.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hyden, 1878 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878
    FoundingHyden is established
  3. 1879Post officeThe Hyden post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1919On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1935In the archiveUntitled
  7. 1940In the archiveFarmstead in Kentucky, near Hyden
  8. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 647
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.

Untitled
Retake this viewUntitled, 1935

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 listing protects 4 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1991
Frontier Nursing Service
Frontier Nursing Service
Districts
All 1 listings
Frontier Nursing ServiceDistrict · listed 1991

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

Help out

Finish Hyden’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewUntitled: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Hyden’s history

What year was Hyden founded?

In 1878, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Hyden’s post office opened in 1879, and the census of 1890 counted 80 people here.

What is on the National Register in Hyden?

One place: the Frontier Nursing Service (listed 1991).

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 the Library of Congress (15), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.