Harlan’s Hope: Jordan Smith’s success is bright spot for hometown

When Jordan Smith returned to Harlan, Ky., for a visit between the pre-recorded and live rounds of "The Voice," he helped out his former choir teacher, Jeanne Ann Lee, by subbing for her in the choir room for two days. Harlan County High School senior Hunter Holland took a photo with the hometown celebrity.

By Susan Pierce December 7, 2015 3 min read

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Like Chattanooga, Harlan, Ky., is a town ringed by mountains and a river runs through it.

Unlike Chattanooga, Harlan’s economy is based on coal mining.

Folks in the small mining town – population 2,650 – are living a hardscrabble life right now. As many as one-fifth of them are unemployed – without work so long their benefits have run out, says Mayor Danny Howard, whose full-time job is pharmacist.

“Our economy, the mining economy, has been hit hard. It’s nonexistent,” says Howard. “All the mines have been shut down; we probably have two, maybe three, left in the county.”