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History · Payne Gap

Payne Gap’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Payne Gap. 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

Payne Gap is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Letcher County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 census, Payne Gap had a population of 347. U.S. Route 119 passes through the community.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 329 to 347 (+5%). Half of its homes were built before 1988.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Payne Gap 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 Payne Gap’s collection

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

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

Famous people close to Payne Gap

See all 19 →
George C. ScottGeorge C. ScottWise · 13 miPeggie CastlePeggie CastleAppalachia · 18 miJuanita M. KrepsJuanita M. KrepsLynch · 18 miLouise SlaughterLouise SlaughterLynch · 18 miJMJoe MaggardLynch · 18 miBernie BickerstaffBernie BickerstaffBenham · 20 mi
By decade

Payne Gap, 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 Payne Gap is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Payne Gap has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Jenkins School in Jenkins, 2.7 miles away.

Payne Gap and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Payne Gap. Tap a dot.
Jenkins SchoolDunham High SchoolFlat Gap High SchoolSunnydale FarmWhitesburg Historic DistrictDickenson County Courthouse

Closest to Payne Gap

Jenkins SchoolJenkins · Late 19th and 20th Century Revival2.7miDunham High SchoolJenkins · Building2.7miFlat Gap High SchoolPound · Classical Revival4.5miSunnydale FarmPound · Craftsman6.2miWhitesburg Historic DistrictWhitesburg · Late Victorian8.7mi

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. Jenkins School’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Payne Gap?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Payne Gap’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
📜 Jenkins📜 Pound📜 Fleming-Neon📜 Whitesburg
We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

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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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