Harlan County, Kentucky

Harlan County, Kentucky
Harlan County courthouse in Harlan
Location in the U.S. state of Kentucky
Kentucky's location in the U.S.
Founded	1819
Named for	Silas Harlan
Seat	Harlan
Largest city	Harlan
Area
• Total	468 sq mi (1,212 km2)
• Land	466 sq mi (1,207 km2)
• Water	2.3 sq mi (6 km2), 0.5%
Population
• (2010)	29,278
• Density	63/sq mi (24/km²)
Congressional district	5th
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website	www.harlancountyclerk.com

Harlan County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2010 census, the population was 29,278. Its county seat is Harlan.

With regard to the sale of alcohol, it is classified as a moist county—a county in which alcohol sales are prohibited (a dry county), but containing a "wet" city, in this case Cumberland, where package alcohol sales are allowed. In the city of Harlan, restaurants seating 100+ may serve alcoholic beverages.

Harlan County is well known in folk and country music, having produced many prominent musicians. During the 20th century it was often a center of labor strife between coal mine owners and workers, especially in the Harlan County War of the 1930s. The coal mining industry began to decline in the 1950s and was accompanied by a steadily declining population and depressed economy. Harlan became one of the poorest counties in the United States.

The Commonwealth's highest natural point, Black Mountain (4,145 feet (1,263 m)), is in Harlan County.

Harlan County was formed in 1819 from a part of Knox County. It is named after Silas Harlan. A pioneer, he was born on March 17, 1753 in Berkeley County, West Virginia (when it was still part of Virginia), the son of George and Ann (Hunt) Harlan. Journeying to Kentucky as a young man with James Harrod in 1774, Harlan served as scout, hunter, and held the rank of Major in the Continental Army. Harlan assisted Harrod's party in Harrodsburg to deliver gunpowder to settlers in Kentucky, and to assist them against the British in the Revolutionary War.