Tourism officials tout importance of signage for Hatfield-McCoy sites
Rep. Bill Wesley, R-Ravenna, speaks Thursday during a meeting of the Interim Joint Committee on Tourism, Small Business, and Information Technology. With him is Rep. Ryan Dotson, R-Winchester. A high-res version can be found here.
FRANKFORT — The Hatfield-McCoy Feud Trail is important not only for its history, but also for tourism dollars the popular sites generate in Eastern Kentucky, according to testimony to a state committee Thursday.
Three advocates – Bob Scott, Tony K. Tackett and Jay Shepherd – from Pikeville-Pike County Tourism testified to the Interim Joint Committee on Tourism, Small Business, and Information Technology about the significance of signage and tourism growth in the area.
“The visitors to the Hatfield-McCoy area increase every year by the thousands,” said Tackett, a descendant of the Hatfield family.
But even some residents may not know much history about the Hatfields and McCoys, he said. Sometimes GPS devices and cell phones won’t work in the area, and that’s one reason why signs are needed, Tackett said.
“The cell signal just does not get down in there, and people are lost. They spend most of their time running around looking for the sites,” he said.
Shepherd said signage is needed along US Route 119 and State Highways 319 and 1056. He said strategic signage would not only help people find their way around the area, but also help market the sites.
According to the presentation, tourists spent $72.93 million in Pike County in 2017. That number rose to $114.6 million in 2024.
“Does this replace the coal mining industry that has kind of fell apart in our region? No. But does it offset a lot of issues economically in our region? Absolutely,” Shepherd said. “It’s one leg of many legs that we need to explore in making Pike County economically strong. And it also helps in tax revenues as well, obviously.”
Committee Co-Chair Sen. Phillip Wheeler, R-Pikeville, described the Hatfields and McCoys as having the most famous and perhaps infamous history in Eastern Kentucky.
Rep. Ryan Dotson, R-Winchester, noted that he’s related to both families and grew up in the area.
“Growing up there, that was just a story that we were always told. We understood the story but didn’t really know the significance of it until we got out of the area. When I got in the Army, everybody talked about the Hatfields and McCoys. Traveled the world – everybody talked about the Hatfields and McCoys. So I think this is long overdue,” he said.
Rep. Mitch Whitaker, R-Fleming-Neon, said he’s very proud to represent part of Pike County – the history, the geography and the people. He asked the trio if lodging is sufficient in the area and if the area is falling behind surrounding states.
“I know we want to work collaboratively, but at the same time, we have to make sure that Kentucky dollars circulate in Kentucky as much as possible,” he said.
Scott said a new hotel is expected to be constructed in Pikeville within the next three years and there does need to be more signage, lodging and marketing.
“It’s about keeping the mom and pop alive. We can keep them alive. We’ll be good,” Scott said.
Tackett said that the allure of knowing more about the Hatfields and McCoys exists.
“We’re sitting on an opportunity with this because for some reason, people love the word Hatfield and McCoys. It’s either the feudin’, the fussin’ or it’s kind of like Romeo and Juliet. It’s also a love story,” he said.
