Silica
Ghost town · Carter County, Kentucky

Silica is a ghost town in Carter County, Kentucky. It is one of 11 former communities in Carter County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 39th among the 101 Kentucky counties with a vanished settlement on record.
The U.S. Geological Survey lists Silica as a historical populated place on the Olive Hill topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 38.2658° N, 83.2260° W.
Key facts
| USGS quadrangle | Olive Hill |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 831 ft |
| Nearest living town | Olive Hill, KY |
| Distance to it | 4.2 miles |
| GNIS feature ID | 2337218 |
| Coordinates | 38.26577, -83.22598 |
What's there now
Silica is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Olive Hill, KY (population 1,488), about 4.2 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 831 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.
Nearby places
- Offill's Millghost town · Carter County · 2.1 mi
- Shady Groveghost town · Elliott County · 3 mi
- Clay Forkghost town · Elliott County · 3.4 mi
- Rossghost town · Carter County · 4 mi
- Cold Springsghost town · Carter County · 4.3 mi
- Reederghost town · Carter County · 4.3 mi
- Globe Communityghost town · Carter County · 4.4 mi
- Bald Pointghost town · Lewis County · 8.3 mi
- Fannin Valleyghost town · Elliott County · 9.3 mi
- Cliftyghost town · Carter County · 10.7 mi
- Devil Forkghost town · Elliott County · 12.4 mi
- Oak Hillghost town · Morgan County · 14 mi
Questions
Where is Silica?
Silica is in Carter County, Kentucky, at 38.2658, -83.2260.
How many ghost towns are in Carter County?
Carter County, Kentucky has 11 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.
- USGS Geographic Names Information System (Domestic Names) — GNIS Domestic Names, feature record (public-domain)
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line and ACS — Census Gazetteer + ACS 5-year population (public-domain)
Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.