"As early as 1760 Christopher Gist explored in this vicinity.  The first house here was built about 1785 by William Prince, for whom the settlement was called Prince's Flat.  It was later named Norton for Eckstein Norton, President of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, and was incorporated in 1894.  Norton is the center of a bituminous coal region.  High Knob, National Forest area, is nearby."