Blue Heron

A rebuilt outdoor museum of an abandoned 1937-1962 coal mining town within Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.

Blue Heron, KY

About Blue Heron

Blue Heron, also called Mine 18, was a coal mining community on the banks of the Big South Fork River, run by the Stearns Coal and Lumber Company. Mining ended in 1962 and the buildings were removed or decayed. In the 1980s the community was recreated as an outdoor museum using open metal frames, called ghost structures, placed near the original sites. Each frame is themed on a part of town life, such as the school, church, or women's life, and holds audio recollections from former residents plus an exhibit case of photographs and everyday objects. The train depot is the suggested starting point, with a town model and a coal tipple model.

#ghost-town
#coal-mining
#outdoor-museum
#audio-stories
#national-park-service

What's around here?

The closest stops to Blue Heron, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

Museums
McCreary County Museum
Under $25
Local history museum in Stearns, Kentucky, set inside a former coal and lumber firm's office building.
4.3 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
Sightseeing
Big South Fork Scenic Railway
$25–$50
A vintage tourist train in Appalachian Kentucky that runs round trips to Blue Heron through the Big South Fork area.
4.3 mi awayMore like this
Sports & Outdoors
Outdoor Adventure
Cumberland Falls State Resort Park
No admission fee
See the 68-foot Cumberland Falls pour a 125-foot-wide curtain of water and, on clear full-moon nights, a rare moonbow.
17 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors
Sightseeing
History Buff
Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument
No admission fee
Watch a short film on the January 1862 Union victory, then follow a 10-stop driving tour and a ravine trail across the Kentucky battlefield.
29 mi awayMore like this
Eat & Drink
Quirky Fun
Harland Sanders Café and Museum
No admission fee
Eat in Colonel Sanders' restored 1940s dining room and see the kitchen where his fried chicken recipe took shape.
32 mi awaySwitch it up: Eat & Drink
Sports & Outdoors
History Buff
Levi Jackson Wilderness Road Park
Check prices
Hike sections of the Wilderness Road and Boone's Trace, see a reproduction 1939 grist mill and walk through a pioneer village museum.
40 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors