Earlington

History

Founded in 1870 by the St. Bernard Coal Co., Earlington was named a year later, upon its incorporation, for John Baylis Earle, the man who stuck the first pick into the hillside at the opening of Hopkins County's first commercial coal mine. Earle was a lawyer who was central to developing the coal industry in the region. Shortly after the town was founded, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad completed its line from Henderson to Earlington, and became the primary hauler in the area. The town boomed as a coal center and as the center of L&N operations on the Evansville line. The early development of Earlington can most readily be credited to St. Bernard Coal Company's second president, John B. Atkinson. Originally from New Jersey, Atkinson taught school before becoming a civil engineer. He relocated to Kentucky from Boston in 1871 to take charge of mining operations at Earlington and eventually became president of the company. Because of his background in education, Atkinson placed a great deal of emphasis on schools in Earlington, and modern buildings for the grade schools and high schools were built and furnished at the expense of St. Bernard. Other amenities offered at Earlington included housing, a library, an arboretum, and churches. Unusual for Western Kentucky at the time was the firm's electric generating plant, which made Earlington one of the first fully electrified towns in the region. Earlington boomed for its first 40 years, and was largely worked by black coal miners. Around World War I, consolidation in the mining industry sent coal company headquarters and profits to companies based in St. Louis, New York and other major cities, including the West Kentucky Coal Co. (based in New Jersey), which took over much of the Earlington operation. This drain of…

Geography

Earlington bordered to the north by Madisonville, the county seat. U.S. Route 41 (Hopkinsville Road) passes through the center of Earlington, leading north to the center of Madisonville and southeast to Nortonville. According to the United States Census Bureau, Earlington has a total area of , of which are land and , or 4.55%, are water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,094
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,314
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  2,306
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,208
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,153
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,153
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  2,144
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,776