Jackson, KY

Jackson is Breathitt County's seat in eastern Kentucky, on the North Fork of the Kentucky River amid the hills of the Eastern Coal Field. When Breathitt County was created in 1839, landowner Simon Cockrell Sr. donated ten acres for the county seat; Breathitt Town became Jackson in 1845. The Kentucky Union Railroad arrived in 1891, turning Jackson into a shipping point for the upper Kentucky River region. The 2020 census counted 2,237 residents.

The river still shapes the city. In 1963, the Kentucky River was redirected through a mountain cut to reduce flooding, leaving the old meander as Panbowl Lake, now used for fishing. Jackson's civic map includes the courthouse, Breathitt County Museum, War Memorial, Jackson Independent Schools, the county school system, and the Lees College campus of Hazard Community and Technical College. The National Weather Service office at nearby Julian Carroll Airport has watched eastern Kentucky weather since 1981. Jackson is a county seat where river work, education, weather, and mountain roads converge.