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History · McDowell

McDowell’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of McDowell. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

McDowell is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Floyd County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 census, McDowell had a population of 661.

Half of its homes were built before 1977.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of McDowell yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start McDowell’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how McDowell’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from McDowell

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KRKenny RiceSports
By decade

McDowell, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in McDowell is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean McDowell has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Wheelwright Commercial District in Wheelwright, 8.7 miles away.

McDowell and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = McDowell. Tap a dot.
Wheelwright Commercial DistrictPauley BridgeYork MansionPikeville College Academy BuildingCollege Street Historic DistrictChesapeake and Ohio Passenger Depot

Closest to McDowell

Wheelwright Commercial DistrictWheelwright · District8.7miPauley BridgePikeville · Structure10.8miYork MansionPikeville · Building11.3miPikeville College Academy BuildingPikeville · Building11.4miCollege Street Historic DistrictPikeville · District11.5mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Wheelwright Commercial District’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in McDowell?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to McDowell’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Wayland📜 Martin📜 Wheelwright📜 Allen
We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in McDowell, KYView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
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