Cawood Kentucky Map

About Cawood, Kentucky

Cawood is a locality in Harlan County, Kentucky, United States. It is a small community with a population of 630. The population density is 166.8 people per km². Cawood is located at 36.7840°N, 83.2282°W. It observes the Eastern Time (America/New_York) timezone. ZIP code: 40815.

Cawood occupies a rugged fold in the Appalachian landscape where the insistent, low-slung currents of Crummies Creek carve a path through the dark, mineral-rich earth. It lies 28.1 miles north-northwest of Hawkins, TN (from Hawkins, TN: bearing 327°T), and is situated 6.6 miles southeast of Harlan. The air here holds a permanent, cool dampness that rises from the shadows of Slack Hollow, clinging to the limestone outcrops like a held breath. To the distant horizon, the jagged, hazy silhouette of the Cumberland Mountains defines the scale of the world, reminding any observer of the immense pressure that once compressed these ridges into existence. When the light shifts at dusk, the steep inclines of the valley floor seem to deepen into a bruised violet, casting long, lean shadows across the timber and the tangled undergrowth that creeps toward the quiet margins of Herb Smith Lake.

Cawood bears the indelible mark of a coal-camp memory, its identity forged in the subterranean labor that once drove the local economy and gave the region its stubborn, resilient character. While the heavy machinery of the past has largely retreated, the legacy remains in the quietude of the roads and the slow, deliberate pace of those who still navigate the winding paths toward the nearby Cranks Creek Wildlife Management Area. The influence of the wilderness is never far, as the dense canopy of Kentenia State Forest dictates the rhythm of the seasons, demanding a certain patience from those who live among its thickets. Travelers seeking the high, thin air of the ridges occasionally veer toward the Little Sheppard Trail, yet Cawood itself remains tethered to the creek, holding onto a quiet, unadorned history that persists long after the trains have ceased their constant, rhythmic hauling.

About This Cawood Map Page

This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Cawood, Kentucky. Coordinates: 36.783977, -83.228233. Live weather conditions are sourced directly from the National Weather Service. Real-time local and world news feeds keep the page current.

Detailed location data for Cawood includes the ZIP code (40815), telephone area code (606), county seat of Harlan County (Harlan), and school district assignment (Harlan County School District).

Location data is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and cross-verified against 2020 US Census records by coordinate proximity. Population figures are sourced from the 2020 US Census.