About Us

History of Laurel County Historical Society

The first Laurel County Historical Society was formed at the instigation of Rev. J. J. Dickey in 1896. Dr. Dickey was not a local resident but came to Laurel County to help establish Sue Bennett College. He was interested in the history of every area he visited, and soon he gathered a group of teachers and began to collect genealogical information on local families. This group became the basis of the first historical society. It is not known how long this society was active, but by the early 1900s it ceased to be mentioned in the old records.

Not until 1963 did another group of local historians establish the present Laurel County Historical Society. In January 1963, Fredora Pennington Lay and Nellie Jones Johnson paid the first dues as charter members of this new historical society, followed by Logan and Barbara Brown Ewell in early February. These four began to solicit memberships from across the country, and by March 21, 1963, the Laurel County Historical Society published a list of 158 charter members. The organization remained more or less active through the period described in the Society’s history.

Between 1963 and 1991, meetings were held at various venues, including the Laurel County Public Library. Because the Society had no permanent location, materials were not readily available for research. In 1991 the Laurel County Fiscal Court allowed the Society to move into quarters vacated by the Older Persons Activity Center in the basement of the old City Hall. For the first time in its history, the Laurel County Historical Society had its own space in which to display its collection of books and files.

In the spring of 2007, the Society moved to a dedicated building in London when the former health department building became available. The page supplied a street address, detailed driving directions, a telephone number, meeting time, weather advice, and a dated seminar notice. Those historical details are not current operating information.

Purpose recorded with the history

The Society’s purpose was to collect and maintain as many records and as much information about Laurel County’s history and people as possible, and to make that collection available to Laurel Countians and visitors who sought it. The library was described as holding reference volumes, old photographs, newspapers, microfilm, microfiche, and CD-ROMs, along with donated artifacts. The Society also transcribed and published census, marriage, cemetery, and old newspaper records and produced its newsletter, Branches of Laurel.