Paintsville (locally /ˈpeɪntsvəl/)[2] is a home rule-class city[5] along Paint Creek in Johnson County, Kentucky, in the United States.

[citation needed] The site was named for Indian art painted on the debarked trees near a local salt lick when the first white settlers arrived and was originally part of a 19,050-acre (7,710 ha) tract belonging to George Lewis.

[2] The trading post was purchased by the Carolinian Rev.Henery Dixon in 1812 and laid out as the town of Paint Lick Station in 1826.

[2] It was incorporated as a city under its present name of Paintsville in 1843,[1] the same year it became the seat of Johnson County.

The Civil War found Johnson County Fiscal Court passing an ordinance barring both Union and Confederate flags from being flown in its jurisdiction.

[12] Paintsville is located at 37°48′41″N 82°48′24″W / 37.81139°N 82.80667°W / 37.81139; -82.80667 (37.811324, −82.806780)[13] in the bottomland at the confluence of Paint Creek and the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River amid the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in the Cumberland Plateau.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.3 square miles (14 km2), all of it land.

In May 2009 Paintsville received a grant to redevelop Main Street in hopes of making it one of the city's popular shopping districts again.

In 2019, the following crime rate (per 100,000 population) was reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation by the city police department:[23] 2022 shooting that left three people fatally wounded.

The council members include Roger "Bo" Belcher, Tim Hall, David Vanhoose, Michael Conley, Ashley McKenzie and Eva Holbrook.

[25] The city mayor oversees the following departments:[25] Chief Danny Smith, Assistant Chief Billy Ramey, Sargent Brian Runyon, Patrolmen Nathan Collins, Sebastian Sheppard, Jim Bradley, Justin Jackson, Tim Ratliff, Darrell Preston.

[30][31] Our Lady of the Mountains School is a private institution operated by the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Lexington.

[32] Big Sandy Community and Technical College operates a campus in Paintsville that offers two-year degrees in various fields of study.

Events include live music, carnival rides, a pageant, various competitions, a parade, and a car show.

[35] The Awaken Conference, an annual Christian concert event attracting thousands of people to the area, is held each July in the city.

Country music entertainers profiled in the museum include Loretta Lynn, Crystal Gayle, and Hylo Brown.

[40] The Mountain Homeplace is a living history museum located within Paintsville Lake State Park, in Staffordsville, Kentucky.

These structures were all moved from nearby locations in the early 1980s to prevent them from being submerged underneath the planned Paintsville Lake.

Tour guides and park workers wearing traditional period attire demonstrate old skills and crafts such as forging horseshoes, quilting, and tending to farm animals.

There is also a Welcome Center, consisting of the Museum of Appalachian History and a gift shop featuring regional arts and crafts.

Located southeast of Paintsville in neighboring Martin County is Big Sandy Regional Airport.