A chronosequence approach was initiated to evaluate carbon accumulation (biomass and soil) as a function of time on reforested mined sites in Kentucky. A whole-tree harvesting method was employed for this approach where trees were extracted from the sites and separated into the following components: foliage, stem, branches, and roots. Four tree species (Platanus occidentalis: Sycamore, Fraxinus Americana: White Ash, Quercus alba: White Oak, and Liriodendron tulipifera: Yellow Poplar) representing 3 age classes (2, 3 and 7 years of age) on loose spoil material were examined. Soil samples were also collected to measure soil carbon. Ground soil and tree tissue samples were analyzed to determine the total carbon with a LECO carbon analyzer (CHN-2000 Elemental Analyzer, LECO Corporation, St. Joseph, MI). The carbon contents in trees varied with tree age and tree species. The average tree carbon of each tree was 8,571 kg ha^-1, 5, 590 kg ha^-1, 12,300 kg ha^-1, and 25,005 kg ha^-1 for 7 year old White Ash, White Oak, Yellow Poplar, and Sycamore, respectively. The tree carbon content varied between 25 to 90 kg ha^-1 for 2 year old trees, between 514 to 841 kg ha^-1 for 3 year old trees, and between 5,590 to 25,005 kg ha^-1 for 7 year old trees. Carbon accumulation rates of 5,028 kg ha^-1 yr^-1, 9,685 kg ha^-1 yr^-1, 17,363 kg ha^-1 yr^-1, and 9,888 kg ha^-1 yr^-1 were observed for White Ash, White Oak, Yellow Poplar, and Sycamore, respectively. This study showed that successful reclamation and reforestation of mined sites will largely restore the potential of forests and forest soil systems to sequester carbon at pre-mining levels and in some cases improve site quality by eliminating growth-limitation factors.