Wheelwright, KY

Tucked into a quiet mountain valley in southern Floyd County, Wheelwright is a small, close-knit eastern Kentucky town with roughly 500 residents. Life here moves at a relaxed pace along the banks of Otter Creek, surrounded by steep, wooded hillsides. Getting into town is part of its charm; there is essentially a single road leading in, crossing the Timothy Hall Memorial Bridge just off Kentucky Route 122 at Wheelwright Junction.

ATTRRussell Lee / Public domain

Wheelwright was originally built as a planned coal camp in the early twentieth century, later developed by Inland Steel into a self-contained community complete with its own neighborhoods, recreation spots, and even a historic pack horse library route. Decades later, state housing programs helped preserve and restore many of those classic company homes for local families. Today, school-age children attend Floyd County public schools, and the community offers a quiet rural lifestyle where the town's rich Appalachian heritage is still visible along every street.