Its Register listings are the Jenkins School and the Dunham High School. Below: 17 old photos and papers, maps from 1912 on, and the census since 1920.
The Jenkins post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1912. Two smaller post offices, Moss (1898) and Dunham (1913), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 4,707 in 19202020 census: 1,902115 years
How historic is Jenkins?
B−
More historic than 55% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Jenkins post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1912.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Jenkins’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jenkins is more historic than 55% 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 Jenkins’ 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 Jenkins’ 14.2 sits near the middle of its state (42% 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 (±11.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1912 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Jenkins’ 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.
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 autumn of 1911, the Consolidation Coal Company purchased the current location of Jenkins as part of a 100,000-acre (40,000 ha) tract of land in Pike, Letcher, and Floyd counties from the Northern Coal and Coke Company. After the acquisition was finalized, plans were made to extend the Lexington and Eastern Railroad from Jackson to a town named McRoberts. The plans also included the establishment of the town of Jenkins for George C. Jenkins, one of the Consolidation Coal Company's directors.
The Jenkins post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1912.
How does Jenkins rank for history?
Jenkins is more historic than 55% 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 Jenkins?
Two places: the Jenkins School (listed 2011) and the Dunham High School (2025).
How old are the homes in Jenkins?
47% of Jenkins’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.4 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1953.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (13), 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) 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.
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