Middlesborough is a Bell county town northwest of the Cumberland Gap. Located on what became known as the Wilderness Road, native people and explorers often moved through the area. Settlers began arriving about 1810 and the area was known as Yellow Creek. In 1889 a planned mining and manufacturing city was begun with European financing. It was called Middlesborough after the city in England. The manufacturing enterprises never materialized and the backers were bankrupt by 1893. The post office opened in 1888 and in 1894 began using the spelling Middlesboro. Both spellings are still in use. The population in 1990 was 11,328.
Middlesborough is the home of Southeast Tech.
