Home » Kentucky » London

James W. Loewen (1942-2021)

We mourn the loss of our friend and colleague and remain committed to the work he began.

London

Kentucky

Basic Information

Type of Place
Independent City or Town
Metro Area
Cumberlands
Politics c. 1860?
Don’t Know
Unions, Organized Labor?
Don’t Know

Sundown Town Status

Sundown Town in the Past?
Possible
Was there an ordinance?
Don't Know
Sign?
Don’t Know
Year of Greatest Interest
Still Sundown?
Probably Not, Although Still Very Few Black People

Census Information

The available census data from 1860 to the present
Total White Black Asian Native Hispanic Other BHshld
1860
1870
1880
1890
1900
1910
1920
1930 1959 98
1940 2263 122
1950
1960
1970 4337 134
1980
1990 5757 109
2000 5692 104
2010
2020

Method of Exclusion

  • Unknown

Main Ethnic Group(s)

  • Unknown

Group(s) Excluded

  • Black

Comments

“You should look into the London, Kentucky area because my mother (who lived there for almost 20 years) tells of a lynching incident that happened several decades ago but that still seems to keep a good majority of blacks from the area.”

One witness who ran an international program in Barbourville claims his students “bragged about it. Our kids came from all over the country and used the little airport at London and the bus station at Corbin. People in both towns would always warn me not to let them be there after sundown…I’d heard about London before I ever went to Kentucky.”

“I wanted to suggest London, Kentucky as another possible area of study. I’m not sure it’s a true “sundown” town but it seems a good many of the residents believe that it is, or should be. I was made aware of this while doing some lectures this past spring at Union College, Barbourville, Kentucky….While I was involved in the speaking engagement at Union College at Barbourville, a few of the faculty and staff mentioned the fact that it really wasn’t safe for blacks, especially those out of town, to be in London after dark. Apparently the dean of students has had to bail some of Union’s students out of jail there on charges that he seems to have felt were trumped up.”