Incorporated in 1912, in Johnson County Kentucky. Van Lear was named for a director of Consolidation Coal Company (Consol); Van Lear Black and owes it's existence to the viable efforts of John Caldwell Calhoun Mayo.
Mayo bought coal rights to land along Millers Creek in Johnson County which he later sold to Northern Coal and Coke, which in turn was later acquired by Consolidation Coal Company of Maryland. Consol built five miles of railroad into the Johnson County property with money loaned by Van Lear Black's Fidelity Trust. Eventually five coal mines were opened and operated in Van Lear from 1910 through 1946. The company then divested itself of its Miller's Creek properties. The people who lived in the company houses were given first chance to purchase those homes and many of them did just that. Ultimately, most of the major buildings were torn down, and the railroad removed. The population if Van Lear is approximately 2,075 (2000)
