A post office was established on September 19, 1828, but called "Harlan Court House" due to another Mt.

[6] During the Civil War, Confederate raiders under Gen. Humphrey Marshall occupied the town; the local postmaster renamed the community "Spurlock" after himself;[6] and, in October 1863, the courthouse was burnt down in reprisal for the Union destruction of the courthouse in Lee County, Virginia.

One year before, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad had arrived in Harlan and prompted massive growth.

[5] Harlan is the site of a criminal case in which a man, Condy Dabney, was convicted in 1924 of murdering a person who was later found alive.

[8] A flood in 1977 prompted federal aid that diverted the Clover Fork into man-made tunnels under Ivy Hill in 1989.

The closest city with a population greater than 10,000 is Middlesboro, Kentucky, 42 miles (68 km) to the southeast via U.S.

[4] The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.

Radio stations serving Harlan are WHLN (adult contemporary, 1410 AM), WFSR (gospel, 970 AM) and WTUK (country, 105.1 FM).

Some storylines of the FX Networks drama Justified take place in Harlan, although no scenes have been filmed there.

Eastovers refusal to sign a contract (when the miners joined with the United Mine Workers of America) led to the strike, which lasted more than a year and included violent battles between company personnel and the picketing miners and their supportive women-folk.

Director Barbara Kopple puts the strike into perspective by giving us some background on the historical plight of the miners and some history of the UMWA.