In 1902, Justus S. Stearns purchased 30,000 acres of untouched timberland in southern Kentucky. Coal was then discovered in the area shortly afterward and the Stearns Coal and Lumber Company was founded. The town of Stearns was created and acted as the hub for the booming mining and lumber business. Economic prosperity came with the era of coal, but like other mining towns, businesses eventually closed their doors and the population dwindled as coal demand decreased. 

It wasn’t until the 1980s, when the final mines had been closed and passenger service on the railway had long since ceased, that the importance of preserving a simpler time became recognized. Today, a non-profit organization, the McCreary County Heritage Foundation, Inc., serves to preserve and protect the historic value alongside the Big South Fork Scenic Railway, and one of the few towns in America still surrounded by its coal, lumber, and railroad roots.