Harlan, KY - Our Most Bleeped Episode (so far)

Welcome to Harlan, Kentucky, the "Coal Capital on Kentucky!"  The town is located in the Appalachain Mountains at the junction of the Clover Fork and Martin's Fork rivers.  Harlan sits in the "sweet spot" of coal mining in southeastern Kentucky near the Tennessee border.  In the 1800s families moved to Harlan with the promise of work and better living conditions provided by the coal mines in the area.  The town flourished and experienced massive growth with the arrival of the railroad in 1913.  The good times soon turned sour and the Harlan County War erupted in the early 1930s between coal unions and the coal mines over fair wages, living conditions, and the right to organize unions.  The industrial revolution also took it's toll on the coal mining communities of Appalachia.  Spurred on by instability in coal prices and ongoing union fighting, may left the area for better paying jobs and living conditions in large cities.  This out-migration was known as the Hillbilly Highway and was captured in a song of the same name by Steve Earle in 1986.  With the decline and further regulation of the coal mining, Harlan has turned to other economic opportunities including tourism.  Harlan has been the subject of many bluegrass songs and is the location of the popular TV series Justified.  We hope you enjoy our trip to Harlan!Small Town News--whose headline is it, anyway? @SmallTownNewsImprov