Butcher Hollow (also known as Butcher Holler) is a coal-mining community located in Johnson County, Kentucky, USA. Its claim to fame is being the birthplace of country music legend Loretta Lynn, who paid tribute to the community in the song Coal Miner's Daughter, which begins with the lyrics
"Well, I was born a coal miner's daughter
In a cabin on a hill in Butcher Holler"
Later in the song, she also mentions Van Lear, the larger community in which Butcher Hollow is located:
"My daddy worked all night in the Van Lear coal mines.
All day long in the fields a-hoein corn"
as well as on a recent album, Van Lear Rose.[1]
Butcher Hollow is a part of the community of Van Lear, which was constructed by the Consolidation Coal Company in the early part of the 20th century. Van Lear was named for Van Lear Black, one of company's directors. Although most of Butcher Hollow lies outside of the old Van Lear city limits, the mailing address of those who have lived there has been Van Lear since the establishment of the Van Lear post office in 1909. Butcher Hollow is not an independent town or village in its own right.
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Thousands of tourists visit the town of Van Lear each year to see the childhood home of Loretta Lynn and her siblings. Herman Webb, one of Lynn's brothers, gives tours of the house for a fee of five dollars.