Stanton, Kentucky
city in Kentucky
Stanton is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Powell County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 3,251 in the 2020 census.
Stanton is the birthplace of Hall of Fame thoroughbred horse trainer Woody Stephens.
History
The first post office to be located in present-day Stanton was established on July 7, 1849, and was named Beaver Pond, because of the settlement's proximity to a small body of water resulting from a beaver dam. In 1852, both the post office and the settlement were renamed Stanton for Richard H. Stanton, who served in Congress from 1849 to 1855 and later as a U.S. senator.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Stanton (and nearby Clay City) were booming logging centers for Eastern Kentucky. The city was also connected to much of the country by a railroad that went through the city and county. Since then the railroad has been removed. The original train depot still exists and is home to the Powell County Tourism Association.
Geography
Stanton is located at 37°50′51″N 83°51′33″W (37.847610, -83.859250).
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Stanton, Kentucky” as city in Kentucky. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as city in Kentucky. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3181333. VIAF identifies the subject as 124442360. The Library of Congress control number is n88155843. Authority coordinates are 37.847, -83.859. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1849, 1852 and 1855.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Stanton, Kentucky”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Stanton, Kentucky primary sources, Stanton, Kentucky archive and Stanton research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Stanton, Kentucky”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Stanton, Kentucky” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.