Harman and these first settlers helped Jenny Wiley escape her Native American captors. Dr. Thomas Walker, a famed Kentucky historian who named the Louisa (Levisa) River and other areas in the Big Sandy Valley, also camped in Paintsville in 1750. River access and steamboat travel was a major economic driver for Johnson County. The first steam boat traveled up the Big Sandy to Paintsville in 1837, the county’s website reports. This mode of transportation allowed for the movement of timber and other goods into other parts of the state. Johnson County was the home of entrepreneur John C.C. Mayo, a “dreamer and doer” from Paintsville who helped open the coal fields of eastern Kentucky to America’s industrial states in the north and, according to the county’s website, “single-handedly brought railroad service to the region.” “Without the life and work of John C.C. Mayo, Paintsville, its banks and churches, its streets and public utilities would have been many years later in arriving,” the report stated. The railway system opened in 1904 in Paintsville, providing yet another means to expand the growing community. When the coal industry waned in Johnson County, Mayo negotiated mineral rights leases throughout Eastern Kentucky. By the early 1900s, tens of thousands of tons of coal were pouring out of the region. A millionaire, Mayo influenced politics in Kentucky and nationally. The region’s coal mining history is honored in the Coal Miner’s Museum in Van Lear. Johnson County has nearly 262 square miles within its borders, and is home to Paintsville Lake State Park, which offers many outdoor adventures for visitors. Outlying communities include Staffordsville, Tomahawk, Blaine, Red Bush, Lowmansville and others. The county is also well-known for its antique shopping district and the famed U.S. 23 Country Music Highway Museum, which plays hosts to numerous tours throughout the years. Other attractions include the Mountain Homeplace Farm and its “In the Pines Amphitheatre,” the Johnson County stock-yard, a large flea market that has welcomed guests for generations, and several large shopping plazas in the heart of downtown Paintsville. In a move to attract even more tourism, Paintsville officials are working toward achieving designation as a Kentucky Trail Town and the Big Sandy Area Development District is working with leaders in the both Johnson and Floyd counties to create a river trail attraction. Progress continues in this vibrant commercial district of Eastern Kentucky. 30
2015-2016
JOHNSON COUNTY AT A GLANCE Created: Feb. 24, 1843 from Floyd, Lawrence and Morgan counties
Name honors: Richard Mentor Johnson, a general in the War of 1812 who served vice president (1780-1850)
Historical highway markers: Mission Accomplished, U.S. 460, Paintsville; Jennie’s Creek, Paintsville; War on the Big Sandy, Hager Hill; Morgan’s Last Raid, Paintsville; Jenny ( Jennie) Wiley, Paintsville; Harman Station, Paintsville, The Walker Expedition, Paintsville, American Historian, Paintsville; County Named, 1843, Paintsville High school; Paintsville, Paintsville Bypass; and John C.C. Mayo “Dreamer and Doer,” Paintsville.
National Register of Historic Places: In Paintsville — Thomas Akers House, Fifth St.; Archer House, Euclid Ave.; Dameron Shelter Archaeological Site, address restricted (500-1499 BC); Daniel Davis House, U.S. 460; First Baptist Church, College St.; First Methodist Church, Main St.; First National Bank, Main St.; Foster Hardware, Main St.; Mayo Methodist Church, Third St.; John C.C. Mayo Mansion, Third St.; Thomas Mayo House, Second St.; Paintsville City Hall, Main St.; Paintsville County Club, Davis Branch; Paintsville High School, Second St.; Paintsville Public Library, Second St.; Patterson House (Slone House), West St.; H.B. Rice Insurance Building, Court St; Addison Salyer House (Salyer House), Jenny’s Creek; Sparks Stone Mounds, address restricted; Francis M. Stafford House, Paintsville; Judge Jim Turner House, Third St.; Webb House, Main St.; Byrd and Leona Webb House, Main St.; and Tobe Wiley House, Euclid St. In Oil Springs — Blanton Archeological Site (500-999 BC to 1499 BC); John Davis House; Oil Springs High School Gymnasium; Oil Springs Methodist Church; and Sparks Shelter Archeological Site, address restricted. In Stambaugh — Stambaugh Church of Christ; Stambaugh House ( J.H. Rice House); and Van Hoose House. In Red Bush — Jeff Bond House (Ellis Hamilton House); Williams House; and Lloyd Hamilton Mott House. Others — Flat Gap School, Flat Gap; John J. and Ellen Lemaster House, Low Gap; David McKenzie Log Cabin, Volga; Mine No. 5 Store (Webb Store), Van Lear; Meade Memorial Gymnasium, Williamsport; Ben Mollett Cabin, Williamsport; Wiley Rice House, Asa; and Salyer House, Asa.