The Forks of Troublesome

The Forks of Troublesome, more simply The Forks, are the Left Fork and Right Fork tributaries of Troublesome Creek in what is now Knott County, Kentucky. This was the name of the place where they met until the city of Hindman was established as the county seat in April 1884, and the name used in the Act of the Kentucky General Assembly that established Knott County. At the time, The Forks was in Letcher County, Kentucky.

Left Fork is 6 mile long, and Right Fork is 6.5 mile long.

Early settlers in the area were Samuel Cornett who had a home and a watermill on Left Fork, followed by the families of Peyton M. Duke and Anderson Hays.

Tributaries and other locations
What is now Hindman is 42.75 mile upstream along Troublesome Creek from its mouth, at an altitude (measured at the town courthouse steps) of 1032 ft


 * Upstream, the major tributaries are:
 * Right Fork at an altitude of 1015 ft
 * Baker Branch 0.375 mile upstream at an altitude of 1020 ft
 * Perkins Branch 1.25 mile upstream at an altitude of 1035 ft, mouth at 37.32254°N, -82.96731°W headwaters at 37.29757°N, -82.96889°W
 * Cave Branch 1.75 mile upstream at an altitude of 1040 ft, mouth at 37.31982°N, -82.96016°W headwaters at 37.29611°N, -82.95875°W
 * Parks Branch 1.875 mile upstream at an altitude of 1045 ft, mouth at 37.31905°N, -82.95828°W headwaters at 37.33026°N, -82.94164°W
 * Trace Fork 2.5 mile upstream at an altitude of 1060 ft, mouth at 37.31547°N, -82.9479°W forks at 37.29613°N, -82.94581°W
 * Right Fork 1.5 mile upstream at an altitude of 1175 ft, headwaters at 37.29317°N, -82.942°W
 * Left Fork 1.5 mile upstream at an altitude of 1175 ft, headwaters at 37.29463°N, -82.94709°W
 * Saw Pit Branch 3 mile upstream at an altitude of 1065 ft, mouth at 37.31419°N, -82.93854°W headwaters at 37.32384°N, -82.93273°W
 * Calhoun Branch 3.125 mile upstream at an altitude of 1070 ft, mouth at 37.31308°N, -82.93678°W headwaters at 37.32022°N, -82.92468°W
 * Cy Branch 3.75 mile upstream at an altitude of 1090 ft
 * Sams Branch 4 mile upstream at an altitude of 1100 ft, mouth at 37.30247°N, -82.92616°W headwaters at 37.29802°N, -82.93355°W
 * Reynolds Fork (or Runnells Fork) 4.625 mile upstream at an altitude of 1125 ft, mouth at 37.30272°N, -82.91853°W
 * Left Fork at an altitude of 1015 ft
 * Owens Branch 0.875 mile upstream at an altitude of 1020 ft, mouth at 37.345°N, -82.97625°W headwaters at 37.36047°N, -82.97668°W
 * Possum Trot Branch 2.25 mile upstream at an altitude of 1040 ft, mouth at 37.34782°N, -82.95602°W headwaters at 37.36789°N, -82.94818°W
 * Mill Creek 2.5 mile upstream at an altitude of 1045 ft, mouth at 37.34709°N, -82.94997°W headwaters at 37.31857°N, -82.91705°W
 * Jones Fork 4 mile upstream at an altitude of 1080 ft, mouth at 37.35549°N, -82.92678°W headwaters at 37.37783°N, -82.91162°W
 * Nealy Branch 4.375 mile upstream at an altitude of 1090 ft, mouth at 37.35148°N, -82.92161°W
 * Alum Cave Branch 4.75 mile upstream at an altitude of 1115 ft, mouth at 37.34626°N, -82.91887°W headwaters at 37.33635°N, -82.89744°W

The KGS Fourth Report recorded Jones Fork as a left branch of Left Fork, and Nealy Branch and Alum Cave Branches as direct tributaries of Left Fork; however some modern maps have erased the name Jones Fork and switched Left Fork to its place, giving the KGS-reported route of Left Fork proper the name Watts Fork.

before Knott County
The Cornett's Valley post office was established on 1854-10-12 by postmaster Samuel Cornett, and was the first post office in the area. Peyton M. Duke took over as postmaster in February 1861, with the new name Cornett's Mill. It closed in October 1863. Duke reëstablished it on 1874-02-17 as McPherson, to serve Cornett's mill, several families, and a general merchanise store owned by Lewis Hays. Lewis Hays was also one of its postmasters.

It is not certain where the name McPherson came from. Two possibilities are that it was named after James Birdseye McPherson and (as suggested by local Kentucky historian R. Lee Stewart) that it was named for a USPS department official.

At the foundation of Hindman, it became Hindman post office, after the city, on 1884-10-07 with postmaster Franklin Pierce "Chick" Allen.

in Knott County
The Brinkley post office was established on 1892-09-29 by postmaster Randolph Adams. It was originally at the head of Trace Branch, but in 1913 moved 1 mile downstream and proceeded to be located at several places in the vicinity. It closed in June 1993.

The Ivis post office was established in 1902-03-21 by postmaster Laura A. Hammons. It was originally located at the mouth of Trace Fork; moved 0.3 mile east in 1912, placing it roughly midway between Hindman and Mallie; and then in 1933 moved 0.75 mile further east to the mouth of Calhoun Branch. It closed in 1956.

In 1918, Joseph Childress had a mine at Right Fork, 0.25 mile upstream. Henry Magyard had a mine at Perkins Branch, 0.125 mile upstream, as did Daniel Hays, 0.25 mile upstream, and Albert Madden, 0.75 mile upstream. Jack Sturgill's mine was on a minor fork of Perkins, 0.5 mile upstream, and Benjamin Everidge's on another Perkins minor fork, 1.5 mile upstream.

Jasper Baker's mine was on Baker Branch, and Wiley Parks's mine was on a minor fork of Parks Branch, 0.375 mile upstream.

On Cave Branch, John Fugate had a mine 0.5 mile upstream, and Joseph Parley one 1.5 mile upstream.

Wesley Hays's mine was 2 miles upstream on Right Fork itself. Joseph Pigmans's was on a minor branch of Right Fork, 2.375 mile upstream. N. Craft's mine was also on Right Fork, 4.5 mile upstream.

Along Trace Fork, Grant Smith had a mine 0.25 mile upstream and A. J. Smith a mine 0.375 mile upstream; with Shade Stacy's mine being on a minor fork of Trace 0.875 mile upstream, and William Mullins's mine on another minor fork 1.125 mile upstream. Randolph Adams's mine was 0.125 mile upstream on the Right Fork of Trace Fork.

Trace Fork is the route of Kentucky Route 160, over a gap (altitude 1550 ft) leading to Irishman Creek.

E. H. Hammond had a mine on Saw Pit Branch, 0.25 mile upstream; and J. Jones on Calhoun Branch, 0.25 mile upstream. On two minor forks of Sams branch, J. M. Pigman had a mine 0.25 mile upstream, and E. Short had one 0.375 mile upstream.

William Hodge's mine was on a minor branch of Reynolds Fork, 0.25 mile upstream, with W. T. Campbell's mine on another minor branch, 0.625 mile upstream. W. Reynolds's mine was 0.5 mile upstream on Reynolds itself.

W. H. Pratt's mine was 0.25 mile upstream on Possum Trot Branch. I. Thacker's was on a minor fork of Mill Creek, 0.75 mile upstream; R. B. Tate's was on another minor fork of Mill, 2.25 mile upstream; and William Cox's mine was 2.375 mile upstream on Mill itself.

George Tuft had a mine on Jones Fork, 0.875 mile upstream.

G. C. Childress's mine was on a minor branch of Left Fork, 5 mile upstream. Silas Watts's mine was 5.375 mile upstream on Left Fork itself, and Squire Watts's mine 6 mile upstream.

Mallie
The Mallie post office was established on 1895-04-24 by postmaster Thomas J. Craft. Although it has been suggested that it was named after Craft's daughter, she was not born until 1897. It was, and still is, located at the head of Right Fork, and has over the years been at several sites in the vicinity.

Leburn
The Leburn post office was established on 1908-07-26 by postmaster Minta Pratt. It was at the mouth of Mill Creek. It moved 0.4 mile west some time before 1911, to the mouth of Possumtrot Branch, where it still exists today.

Garner
The Garner post office was established in 1936 by postmaster Mollie Gayhart. She had wanted either of the names Mollie or Farley. It was named after John Nance Garner. It was, and still is, at the mouth of what used to be Alum Cave Branch, but whose downstream end is now Watts Creek.

Early settlers
Samuel Cornett was the son of Revolutionary soldier William Cornett and Mary Everidge Cornett. His wife Polly Adams came from the Adams settlement at the headwaters of the Kentucky River. It's not known exactly when he arrived at The Forks of Troublesome; but when he did he built the aforementioned watermill and two-storey log house.

Solomon Everidge, nicknamed "The Granddaddy of Troublesome", was a later settler, along with Peyton Duke from North Carolina.

The Hays family comprised Captain Anderson Hays, his wife Rachel Sizemore Hays, and Lewis Hays, their son. Anderson Hays was born in Lackey, and had been a Confederate soldier. He settled on what was then known as Hays Creek, 1 mile upstream from The Forks, building a watermill. Lewis was later to marry Solomon's daughter Margaret.

By the time of the establishment of Knotts County, there were also a few farmers and businessmen, including Franklin Pierce "Chick" Allen and Robert Bates. Allen married Bates's daughter Mary. Bates himself had large landholdings at The Forks and was one of the principal people responsible for the creation of Knott County, earning him the nickname "The Father of Knott County". He planned Hindman alongside attorneys T. Y. Fitzpatrick of Whitesburg and Fielding Johnson of Carrs Fork and was a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives.

On 1885-07-08 the Louisville Commercial characterized The Forks as "nothing [...] but two or three log houses not grouped together with any view of making a beginning for a town" with "vast forests exist[ing] in every direction". "A road extends to Whitesburg [...];", it continued, "another to Hazard [...], a third to Jackson [...] and one going to Prestonburg".