Earlington founded in 1870 by St. Bernard Coal Co. Named for John Baylis Earle, who discovered No. 11 coal vein not far from this site, in 1869. John Bond Atkinson, the president of St. Bernard Coal, planned free public schools, free public library, Loch Mary Reservoir, an arboretum, home and church sites. In 1870, L & N Railroad began coal shipments from this area.