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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Welcome to Soft Shell ...

Soft Shell is located in Knott County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Soft Shell, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1926.

Soft Shell is 1,120 feet [341 m] above sea level.<2>.

Time Zone: Soft Shell lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Code for Soft Shell: 606

Communities near Soft Shell ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Soft Shell.

  • Hazard
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Hindman
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Fleming - Neon
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fleming - Neon have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleming - Neon
    • Fleming - Neon is located in Letcher County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 610 people
  • Pippa Passes
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pippa Passes have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pippa Passes
    • Pippa Passes is located in Knott County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
  • Martin
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martin have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
    • Martin is located in Floyd County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 541 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Martin <3>
  • Wheelwright
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wheelwright have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelwright
    • Wheelwright is located in Floyd County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 487 people
  • Wayland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wayland have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
    • Wayland is located in Floyd County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 373 people
  • Vicco
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vicco have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vicco
    • Vicco is located in Perry County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 295 people
  • Allen
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Allen have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
    • Allen is located in Floyd County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
    • Allen has also been known as:
    • Beaver Creek Junction
    • Beaver Creek
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Allen <3>
  • Blackey
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackey
    • Blackey is located in Letcher County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 141 people

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Soft Shell. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Soft Shell.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Soft Shell. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Soft Shell.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Soft Shell. See our Newspapers Page for Soft Shell.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Soft Shell ...

Looking for more information about Soft Shell? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Soft Shell, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Soft Shell.

Adding Soft Shell to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Soft Shell in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Soft Shell was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<5>

From that list, the Soft Shell post office opened in 1926.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Soft Shell.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Kentucky's counties, including Knott, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Soft Shell - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<5>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/