| Royalton, Kentucky | |
| Settlement Type: | Unincorporated community |
| Pushpin Map: | Kentucky#USA |
| Pushpin Label: | Royalton |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Kentucky |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Magoffin |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Population As Of: | 2000 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Elevation Ft: | 879 |
| Coordinates: | 37.675°N -83.0219°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP codes |
| Postal Code: | 41464 |
| Area Code: | 606 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 502439 |
Royalton is an unincorporated community in Magoffin County, Kentucky, United States. It lies along Route 7 southeast of the city of Salyersville, the county seat of Magoffin County.[1] Its elevation is 879 feet (268 m).[2] Although it is unincorporated it had a post office, with the ZIP code 41464.[3]
Royalton was established as a company town by the Dawkins Lumber Company of Ashland Kentucky who opened a mill there on August 1, 1920. They were financed by the Royal Bank of Canada for which the town is named.[4]
The lumber company established a railroad, the Dawkins Line, in order to transport lumber. After the lumber industry left the coal industry became big in Royalton. A coal tipple was built and the railroad was put to use by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in 1930 and later by CSX. The coal industry has since moved on and the Dawkins Line was sold to R.J. Corman in 2002 and abandoned in 2004. After the rail corridor was abandoned, the former railroad right-of-way was converted to the Dawkins Line Rail Trail, which opened in 2013.[5]
The Royalton post office was established on September 20, 1920.[6] In 2011 the post office was closed, one of several thousand being eliminated by the US Postal Service across the country in an effort to save revenue.[7]