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Middlesborough, Kentucky

Middlesboro, Kentucky
City
View of Middlesboro from the Pinnacle Overlook.
View of Middlesboro from the Pinnacle Overlook.
Nickname(s): The Magic City (official)
Queen City of the Cumberlands,
The Boro, M'boro, Crater City
Motto: Fac et Spera
(Latin: "Do and Hope")
Location of Middlesboro, Kentucky
Location of Middlesboro, Kentucky
Coordinates: 36°36′37″N 83°43′24″W / 36.61028°N 83.72333°W / 36.61028; -83.72333Coordinates: 36°36′37″N 83°43′24″W / 36.61028°N 83.72333°W / 36.61028; -83.72333
Country United States
State Kentucky
County Bell
Incorporated March 14, 1890
Named for Middlesbrough, England
Government
 • Type Mayor-Council
 • Mayor Bill Kelley
Area
 • Total 7.6 sq mi (19.8 km2)
 • Land 7.5 sq mi (19.5 km2)
 • Water 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km2)
Elevation 1,154 ft (352 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 10,334
 • Density 1,354.8/sq mi (523.1/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 40965
Area code(s) 606 Exchanges: 248,347,710
FIPS code 21-51924
GNIS feature ID 498153
Website www.middlesborokentucky.net

Middlesboro (local /ˈmɪdəlzbɜːrə/) is a home rule-class city in Bell County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 10,334 at the 2010 U.S. census, while its micropolitan area had a population of 69,060.

It is located 1 mile west of the Cumberland Gap and is the largest city in southeastern Kentucky. It is located entirely between Pine Mountain and the Cumberland Mountains in the Middlesboro Basin, an enormous meteor crater (one of three known astroblemes in the state). The city claims to be the only one in the United States built entirely inside such a crater, as well as the home of ragtime music and the oldest continuously-played golf course in the country.

Originally funded by English businessmen, the town opened its first post office on September 14, 1888, under the name Middlesborough, presumably in honor of the English town of almost the same name. The city was formally incorporated under that spelling on March 14 two years later, but the post office switched to "Middlesboro" in 1894 and that spelling has since been adopted by the city itself, the Kentucky Land Office, and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. Some still contend "Middlesborough" remains official, however.


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