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Big South Fork

Ghost town · McCreary County, Kentucky

Barthell quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1934, 1:62,500)
Barthell quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1934, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Big South Fork is a ghost town in McCreary County, Kentucky. It is the only former community in McCreary County recorded on the federal names register, out of 1,175 across Kentucky.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Big South Fork as a historical populated place on the Barthell topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 36.7173° N, 84.5447° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleBarthell
Elevation780 ft
Nearest living townWhitley City, KY
Distance to it3.9 miles
GNIS feature ID1782005
Coordinates36.71730, -84.54466

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Big South Fork is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Whitley City, KY (population 782), about 3.9 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 780 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.