Quicksand, Kentucky

Quicksand is a Breathitt county community at the mouth of Quicksand Creek on the North Fork of the Kentucky River about a mile southeast of Jackson. During the early twentieth century the area was an important lumber producer with several mills operated by the Mowbray and Robinson Company. There were also charcoal producers, some coal mining, and other industry. The population of the Quicksand area exceeded 5,000 during that period. The timber was depleted and the mills were closed and dismantled by 1923.

A Quick Sand Mills post office opened, farther up Quicksand Creek, in 1878 and was renamed Quicksand in 1888. It closed, reopened, and moved to the mouth of the creek in 1906. It closed in 1907 and reopened in 1910 when the railroad arrived. It finally closed again in 1996.

Quicksand is the home of the University of Kentucky Robinson Center for Appalachian Resource Sustainability (RCARS), which includes Robinson Station, Robinson Forest, and the Wood Utilization Center.

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© 2024 David C. Elbon