Record

About Blue Heron

Blue Heron, also known as Mine 18, is a former coal mining community or coal town on the banks of the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River in McCreary County, Kentucky, United States, that has been recreated and is maintained as an interpretive history area in the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. Blue Heron was operated as a company town of the Stearns Coal and Lumber Company.
From Wikipedia, "Blue Heron, Kentucky", CC BY-SA 4.0.

This is a site record: what public sources say about Blue Heron, gathered in one place. We haven't written a full guide yet, so history, current access and photos are still to come. Treat the status as unknown until a guide confirms it.

Map

Where Blue Heron is

USGS topographic map around Blue Heron — USGS topographic map, The National Map (public domain). The pin marks the coordinates in the record; old townsites are often a little off.

Historic maps

5 historic USGS maps cover Blue Heron

Topographic sheets from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain), oldest first. Older sheets often show the camp, mines and roads while the place was alive. The downloads are large map scans; USGS topoView shows them in the browser.

1934 Barthell sheet, 1:62,500 · GeoTIFF download
1954 Barthell sheet, 1:24,000 · GeoTIFF download
1956 Corbin sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
1958 Corbin sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
1981 Corbin sheet, 1:100,000 · GeoTIFF download

Directions

Getting there

Google Maps directions Apple Maps OpenStreetMap

Before you go

Many ghost town sites are on private land, active mining claims or tribal land. Check land status and ask permission.
Roads to old townsites are often unmaintained dirt. Map apps may route over closed or impassable tracks.
Removing artifacts from public land is illegal under federal and most state laws.

Nearby

Other sites near Blue Heron

Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our Kentucky index.

Barthell1.5 mi NE · McCreary
Packard27.1 mi E · Whitley
Creelsboro39.0 mi W · Russell

Sources

Wikipedia, "Blue Heron, Kentucky": coordinates and summary.
Wikidata Q4929214.
USGS GNIS 510799.
USGS 3D Elevation Program, elevation at the coordinates.
USGS The National Map and Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain).