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Sylvan

Ghost town · Simpson County, Kentucky

Woodburn quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1951, 1:24,000)
Woodburn quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1951, 1:24,000) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Sylvan is a ghost town in Simpson County, Kentucky. It is one of 15 former communities in Simpson County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 30th among the 101 Kentucky counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Sylvan as a historical populated place on the Woodburn 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 36.7649° N, 86.5962° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleWoodburn
Elevation651 ft
Nearest living townFranklin, KY
Distance to it3.9 miles
GNIS feature ID2742870
Coordinates36.76488, -86.59621

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Sylvan is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Franklin, KY (population 10,254), about 3.9 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 651 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Sylvan?

Sylvan is in Simpson County, Kentucky, at 36.7649, -86.5962.

How many ghost towns are in Simpson County?

Simpson County, Kentucky has 15 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

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.