8 Of The Quietest Kentucky Towns

Kentucky's quietest towns tell some of the state's coolest stories. Corbin showcases the state's tradition of great food and hospitality at the cafe where KFC began. Hodgenville preserves the ground that Abraham Lincoln learned to walk on as a toddler. These communities also feature some of Kentucky's most extravagant natural places, such as a towering natural bridge in a deep canyon at Slade or one of the largest waterfalls in the South at Cumberland Falls. Read on to learn more about 8 of the quietest Kentucky towns and what they have to offer.

Harrodsburg

Harrodsburg's greatest attribute is its living history, anchored by its status as the oldest founded town in Kentucky. Founded in 1774 as a frontier fort, Old Fort Harrod State Park acts as a replica of the original, complete with a blockhouse and colonial-era tools and weapons. Some of its best collections are within the Mansion Museum, with artifacts from the American Revolutionary War and the American Civil War. The park also contains the Lincoln Marriage Temple, a brick shelter built around the relocated cabin where Abraham Lincoln's parents Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks were wed in 1806. The cabin was moved to Harrodsburg in 1931. About seven miles northeast of town, in 1805, a religious group called the Shakers (known for their dancing, intense religious experiences, and celibate lifestyles) settled at Pleasant Hill. They remained there until 1910, and today the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill preserves the historic buildings and wooded trails of the community and serves up farm-fresh food at The Trustees' Table.

Corbin

Kentucky's biggest contribution to the worldwide restaurant scene is KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken). Before it was a chain, Colonel Sanders sold his homemade recipe of fried chicken out of a small cafe in Corbin. Today, that cafe is maintained both as a restaurant and a museum as the Harland Sanders Cafe & Museum. The museum contains Sanders' early open-kitchen concept along with artifacts from the brand's history. Speaking of history, Corbin has a large collection of vintage pinball machines dating back to the 1960s at the Pinball Museum of Corbin. Unlike many museums, visitors can touch and play the old machines. Corbin's other big attraction is the Cumberland Falls State Resort Park, where the 68-foot-high, 125-foot-wide Cumberland Falls (often called "the Niagara of the South") spills over a sandstone ledge and produces a regular moonbow on clear nights of a full moon, a phenomenon found at almost no other waterfall in the Western Hemisphere.

London

One of the best ways to experience the outdoors is to take a bike out on a rural road and enjoy the fresh air. The roughly 8,000 residents of London have built a rich cycling culture out of the area's diverse biking trails and shops, which is why the town is known as the Cycling Capital of Kentucky. There are biking trails on rural roads such as the Yellow Route, used during the annual Redbud Ride each April. Hidden around London are several important historical sites, including Boone's Trace Trail, blazed by Daniel Boone in 1775 during his Kentucky expeditions, and the Camp Wildcat Battlefield, the site of a small military engagement in the opening days of the American Civil War.

Pikeville

Every town has a story, and some are more dramatic than others. In the quiet Appalachian town of Pikeville, there was a grand struggle for land, livestock, and honor between the Hatfield and McCoy families. The origins of the feud are obscure, with some claiming it all began over a stolen hog. Several members of both families were murdered, and the perpetrators were sentenced at the Historic Pike County Courthouse. Visitors to this town can view several other sites of importance to the feud, such as the burial ground of multiple McCoys at the Dils Cemetery, or they can go off on their own mountain adventures via the Hatfield & McCoy River Trail, or up the overlook trails at Bob Amos Park. Pikeville also maintains a vibrant arts scene at The Appalachian Center for the Arts for theater, music, and other art forms.

Hodgenville

Hodgenville is notably the location of Abraham Lincoln's birthplace. His family lived in the area before moving to Indiana in 1816 in search of better opportunities. The Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park has two main units: the Birthplace Unit and the Boyhood Home Unit. The Birthplace Unit contains a memorial building with a Symbolic Cabin representing his birthplace. The Boyhood Home Unit at Knob Creek contains several natural features of the Lincoln family plot, including a spring, a boundary oak tree, and a few buildings. Hodgenville gives a broader overview of Abraham Lincoln's life at the Lincoln Museum, while the Lincoln Days Celebration lights up the town in October with food, craft vendors, and family activities.

Cumberland

Cumberland is an Appalachian Mountain town that was once known as Poor Fork because the soil by the Cumberland River wasn't fertile. Coal mining brought much-needed business, and the town was officially renamed Cumberland in 1926. The town is also called the Black Bear Capital of Kentucky, as black bears often wander through Kingdom Come State Park nearby. The park sits at 2,700 feet above sea level and offers great views from Creech Overlook and the 12 O'Clock Overlook. Visitors can fish for largemouth bass, bluegill, crappie, or trout at a small mountain lake or take a scenic drive on the Little Shepherd Trail that runs along Pine Mountain. In Cumberland proper, visitors can grab a Mexican lunch or dinner at El Sazon, or take a short drive just south of town to the Kentucky Coal Mining Museum, which catalogs the state's reliance on coal mining.

Slade

Slade is a natural treasure inside the Red River Gorge Geological Area, a canyon that itself sits within the Daniel Boone National Forest. The gorge's most impressive features are its sandstone cliffs and more than 100 sandstone arches. Climbers travel here from across the country to free climb or rappel up the cliffs. Slade is the closest town to Natural Bridge State Resort Park, named after the gorge's massive sandstone arch, which stretches 78 feet across at 65 feet above the ground. Visitors can hike up to the bridge or take a ride on the Natural Bridge Skylift. Beyond the park, Slade also has the Kentucky Reptile Zoo, which focuses on venomous snakes and research into the medicinal benefits of snake venom.

Fort Mitchell

Just under 8,800 people call Fort Mitchell home. It's a small-town oasis inside the larger Cincinnati, Ohio, metro area. The town was built during the American Civil War as one of several forts to protect Cincinnati from Confederate raids, which grew more daring as the war went on. Fort Mitchell contains several peaceful historic centers, such as Highland Cemetery. This 1869 burial ground is the resting place of several important Kentuckians, including industrialist Amos Shinkle and Medal of Honor recipient Calvary M. Young. Fort Mitchell also has the unusual Vent Haven Museum, which houses a large collection of ventriloquist dolls and equipment, open by appointment. For food, Fort Mitchell has Asian fare at the Oriental Wok or burgers at the BRU Burger Bar Fort Mitchell.

Visitors to any of these towns will get to enjoy rich Kentucky culture and nature, plus a few unusual places. In Cumberland, you can gain insight into the state's mining history while hiking up old mining ridges at Kingdom Come State Park. Pikeville offers a look at the contentious nature of land claims through the Hatfield-McCoy story, while Corbin celebrates the legacy of the Kentucky Colonel who turned a family recipe into a household name. These towns don't have a lot of noise pollution, which lets you hear their stories that much more clearly.