Harlan, Kentucky | What Happened To This Place?

Рет қаралды 18,071

11 ай бұрын

With a soaring poverty level of over 41%, Harlan Kentucky is one of the poorest cities in America. Hidden away in the Eastern Hills of Kentucky, this place has suffered immensely from the decline in coal mining. At a population height of 5,122 people in the 1940's to just 1,641 in 2023 this city continues to decline each year with no recovery in sight. Although Harlan has a low cost of living, and relatively safe community, finding a good job is extremely difficult. Many businesses have closed over the years, amenities are few, and people simply have to move away to find better opportunities. Let's take a look at some of the most impacted areas.

Пікірлер: 79

@saint.vitus.7775 11 ай бұрын

This town may have fallen on hard times - but the people still take pride in their homes and the town center itself. It looks like a clean safe place to live. May God bless them.

@mystikmello 6 ай бұрын

I'm from Harlan. Yeah, its a small town with a lot of run down places and poverty.. but there are also nicer areas in the county. Its not just all dilapidated buildings :) . The nature there is absolutely beautiful, partly because there aren't so many people there to mess it up. Love my hometown!

@dianamarie5663 11 ай бұрын

Interesting, even paced tour. No rushing or jerky camera work. I like viewing the businesses and there is actually a good amount of traffic in the commercial areas. Thank you and best wishes to the residents of Harlan.

@hoodsnhollers 11 ай бұрын

Thank you for watching Diana !

@bookmagicroe9553 11 ай бұрын

The downtown was clean, shows pride. The neighborhoods varied from dilapidated to decent. Even though collapse and nature are taking over some areas, I noticed there isn't tons of trash like so many other places. Best wishes to the people of Harlan, KY.

@deborahmacdonald9319 11 ай бұрын

100% Thumbs up for such a clean downtown. What a Contrast in this video. HOLA!

@hoodsnhollers 11 ай бұрын

Hola Deborah!! So glad to hear from ya

@hnrqlds 11 ай бұрын

"You'll never leave Harlan alive" Also, Justified (aired on Fox and starred by Timothy Olyphant) took place there, hell of a TV show.

@TeriLynn923 11 ай бұрын

I came here to say that! Great show!

@franklindrebin00 11 ай бұрын

Richtig gute Serie 👍

@1940limited 11 ай бұрын

Downtown looks pretty good with many buildings seemingly renovated or even new. Lots of cars parked curbside, but all the sidewalks are empty. Where is everybody? Very strange.

@lauralei6963 11 ай бұрын

It was once a coal mining town. That’s what happened.

@thefrankiepalmeri 11 ай бұрын

The fact any commercial business is operating at all here is actually dumbfounding. How the hell do 1700 people keep a city alive beyond gas, food and hygiene. Wild.

@RealArtfulDodger 11 ай бұрын

Just wanted to say thank you very much for this video, for personal reasons. It's been 30 years since I have been to Harlan. Lived there for 10 years as a kid. It was going downhill before I left. To see downtown like this now, it's heartbreaking. I barely recognized it. You even drove by the housing projects in Sunshine where I lived. Another KZfaqr I watch who was just there showed none of the town and only interviews with locals that put a positive spin on life there, which was fine, but this is actually what I have been most curious to see. Thanks again.

@hoodsnhollers 11 ай бұрын

Thanks so much for watching!

@onrycodger 11 ай бұрын

Such a drastic change since the early 80's. Those towns were still thriving then. It's so sad. I do however enjoy your videos because you show it as it is. As always, Thumbs up 👍

@hoodsnhollers 11 ай бұрын

Thank you for watching!

@michaellehmbeck8671 11 ай бұрын

Thank you so much Hoods N Hollers for uploading this great video, I appreciate it!

@dday9257 11 ай бұрын

I watched Patty Loveless sing You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive on KZfaq last night.

@jayjaynella4539 11 ай бұрын

Tom T Hall sings "A Hero in Harlan"

@sok_hai_official8366 11 ай бұрын

Beautiful forest landscape😊😊

@robertdavis5714 11 ай бұрын

Looks better than L.A.

@mrsk911 3 ай бұрын

Harlan is a great little city! Everybody is so friendly and it’s absolutely beautiful!

@tooge47 11 ай бұрын

As Patty Loveless sang, "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive"

@terralumenphotography1949 11 ай бұрын

Looks a lot better than places 3 times the size.

@rosseganjr9402 11 ай бұрын

you should visit Hawkins county Tennessee on the side roads it is awful looking!

@jayjaynella4539 11 ай бұрын

At least 3 pawn shops. Harlan must be near Olive Hill and Butcher's Hollow. Patty Loveless and Tom T Hall have written songs about Harlan. Always wondered what the place looked like. Now to Google earth for more viewing.

@KColleyTV 11 ай бұрын

Olive Hill is about three hours north of Harlan. It's fallen on hard times, but I really worry about Olive Hill in the next decade because Carter County (which has two high schools, one in Olive Hill) is consolidating West and East Carter to become one. This plan is expected to be in place beginning with the 2026-27 school year.

@northerntraveller3815 11 ай бұрын

One of the saddest looking places you've done so far. Unfortunately it's a sign of the times. More and more towns will look like this in the coming years😢.

@williebeamish5879 11 ай бұрын

I'm afraid you're right. Unless they have a selling point for the rich, like lakefront views and beaches. Even then they need to be close to various amenities.

@bridgetmuehlberger5141 11 ай бұрын

Was that still mail in the mailboxes outside the abandoned trailer home at the beginning of the vid? 😮

@1940limited 11 ай бұрын

Looked like it to me. Maybe houses are across the street and still lived in.

@johnmartin7182 11 ай бұрын

holey moley wow awesome content big fan

@hoodsnhollers 11 ай бұрын

Thank you so much John!

@retroroy8720 11 ай бұрын

I remember Harlan back in the late 90's and early 00's. I spent more time in Whitesburg, Elkhorn City, and Pikeville whenever I did go into Kentucky though. I wonder if we'll see Whitesburg or Elkhorn City on this channel?

@gpt465 4 ай бұрын

Miss that place❤

@blueamenaa749 11 ай бұрын

It's so sad. It looked so cool and full of life.❤❤❤

@lindapietrasz8070 11 ай бұрын

Town sure has plenty of pawn shops and Rent-to-Buy places.

@williebeamish5879 11 ай бұрын

Lots of nice newer cars parked downtown there. Saw a 149k Land Rover in the mix, too. Tourists or residents?

@patriotaRBC 10 ай бұрын

I'm here because of "Justified"

@CRUCIFi777 11 ай бұрын

“You’ll never leave Harlan alive”.

@TeriLynn923 11 ай бұрын

I see there are a few of us that watched Justified!

@MrsB197something 11 ай бұрын

Thank you for spotlighting these communities. I have alot of ancestors from thr areas you've covered and I appreciate you showing the homes and places these folks and others occupied. It is a shame and treasonous on my opinion how far communities on this nation have decayed without jobs, lives and families

@thejudgmentalcat 11 ай бұрын

I'm disappointed...I didn't see Raylan Givens anywhere 😂

@1940limited 11 ай бұрын

I didn't see anybody anywhere! Where is everybody? Streets are full of cars. Buildings downtown look new or renovated. Not a soul around. One lone guy walking a street. Strange.

@TeriLynn923 11 ай бұрын

😂😂 right? I don’t even see Boyd Crowder anywhere!

@karltork6040 11 ай бұрын

He's in Detroit now!!!

@brycewiborg8095 11 ай бұрын

I would cut through Harlan on US 25E. Haven't recently. Thank you.

@cherrylove3656 11 ай бұрын

as I mentioned before watching these video's make me wonder what's going on in this country. that we aren't being told.

@emc129 11 ай бұрын

That town has a lot of deep dark secrets or maybe I watched too much Justified.

@TeriLynn923 11 ай бұрын

Same

@Robmancan1987 Ай бұрын

The interstate is what happen to most places here in south eastern Kentucky. The only towns like this that are thriving are next to an exit.

@GeorgeHyland 5 күн бұрын

An abandoned house is a strange thing when you think about it….. I assume they were in the family and at some point the next generation could not keep up with the expenses and the cost of cleaning it up exceeds the value of the land. There are some places in PA that look like they sit on some acreage and one would think there is value in that. I know I would love to own some land.

@tubbers20 23 сағат бұрын

Still looks 1000% better than most of the crummy big cities.

@lindapietrasz8070 11 ай бұрын

Thanks! Did I ever mention how much I hate packing and moving? 📦📦📦📦📦🚚 Summer'll soon be over and you will have to go back to navigating through the ice and snow.

@hoodsnhollers 11 ай бұрын

Thanks so much Linda!! I was wondering if you made it to the destination yet lol not looking forward to snow!

@lindapietrasz8070 11 ай бұрын

@@hoodsnhollers Oh no, I am still in the packing phase. 🙄

@monoshock57 11 ай бұрын

Is the Bunny bread factory still there ? I remember that from when I was a kid.

@user-ys2wp4cr9g 7 ай бұрын

Nice library downtown, 2:25

@Weather_Nerd 11 ай бұрын

Beauty town, wish I could’ve seen it when it was thriving

@laretdenton9768 11 ай бұрын

Wonders never cease

@JamesWest_III 11 ай бұрын

Raylan Givens lived there

@litoreggie 11 ай бұрын

I think it looks pretty nice , then again, I’m from Pennsylvania 🥴

@Elainerulesutube 11 ай бұрын

😢

@gabe5946 11 ай бұрын

Don’t get to far from your bottle of water 💦 😳 way to hot out there

@Runfromthepolice1234 11 ай бұрын

Gotta go to Springfield Ohio whenever you are back in Ohio 🙏🏽✌🏽

@jerrydemain2346 11 ай бұрын

VERY SAD!!

@JayAR-15 11 ай бұрын

No Coal Mines

@jerryrick9030 11 ай бұрын

Try growing up there. Trust, it wasn't fun

@maryroberts6311 Ай бұрын

sounds like an opportunity for someone that needs to own and can bring their own income in

@thesixpkamerican1 11 ай бұрын

rental shops, payday loans, counseling services, pawn shops, and empty buildings.. America is dying

@mikedavis2969 11 ай бұрын

Coal is NO longer King ...

@r.pres.4121 11 ай бұрын

And these small Appalachian towns never diversified their economies beyond coal.

@willtaylor0104 11 ай бұрын

There are some beautiful places in Harlan. Also, there are more millionaires "than you can shake a stick at."

@humberger2011 2 ай бұрын

😢😢😢😢

@shirleymitchell1947 Ай бұрын

Most of the young people left.Drugs moved in.

@hollertrotter 10 ай бұрын

Harlan is much more preferable than San Francisco.

@michaelanthonyvideos 11 ай бұрын

Hopeless