USA > Kentucky > Campbell County > History of Campbell County [Ky.] as read at the centennial celebration of 4th of July, 1876 > Part 1
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F 457 .C2 J7 Copy 1
C
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.
Chap. F 457 Shelf. C 2.Jg
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
C
C
4
HISTORY ,
OF
Campbell County,
AS
READ AT THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
OF
4th of July, 1876.
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1876
NEWPORT, KY. 1876.
451
History of Campbell County.
In accordance with the President's Proclamation of May 25, of this centennial year, this sketch of Campbell County, in the State of Kentucky, is made from the earliest attainable data up to the present period.
In order to trace the origin of the County, to determine who . first beheld and owned it, it is necessary to begin with tradition. Tradition relates that more than two centuries before the white man came, two mighty nations of the red man had contended for the " Dark and Bloody Ground," so named from the river Kentucky signifying " River of Blood." Of their several tribes none had dared to occupy the territory, but here they came in turn, to chase the panther, the bear, the wolf, the fox, the wild- cat, the deer, the elk and the buffalo ; and here they battled with each other. In proof of which, scattered over the hills and val- leys, quantities of Indian arrow-heads, beads, pipes and graves were found by the early settlers, who learned from the different tribes their legendary history.
Of the Europeans who first sailed down the Ohio river, none can doubt that they were Frenchmen. The French had built a chain of forts, extending from Canada to Louisiana, which gave them the command of the great rivers, of which the discovery of the Ohio was accorded to La Salle, a Frenchman. Both France and England claimed the vast domain between the Allegheny mountains and the Mississippi river, and each nation endeavored to obtain possession of this magnificent country. The key to the Ohio was the French post, Fort Duquesne.
As early as 1754, Robert Dinwiddie, His Majesty's Lieutenant- Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Virginia, issued a procla-
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HISTORY OF CAMPBELL COUNTY.
mation, offering. to give two hundred thousand acres of his Majesty the King of Great Britain's lands, on the east side of the River Ohio, to those patriots who would volunteer to build a fort at the fork of Monongahela, and to defend the frontier from the encroach- ments of the French and Indians.
In 1755, the King of England sent over Gen. Braddock to com- mand an expedition of the Colonists against Fort Duquesne ; Brad- dock was defeated and slain. Three years after, in 1758, Colonel George Washington obtained a decisive victory over the French and Indians, who burned and evacuated Fort Duquesne, and Fort Pitt was at once erected on the same site.
Thus was the way opened for King George's Colony of Virginia to people her extensive county of Fincastle.
FINCASTLE.
The tide of emigration flowed to this Eldorado of the then far west. The bounty-lands were apportioned and patented to the officers and soldiers according to rank. Captain William Crawford was appointed to survey these lands, and while thus engaged, was captured, barbarously tortured, and murdered by the Indians.
Among the earliest pioneers to descend the Ohio as far as this point, was Simon Kenton, who arrived in 1771, and was the first person known to have ascended the Licking from its mouth. In July, 1773, Hancock Taylor, in company with Capt. Thomas Bul- litt, the McAfees, and others, landed at the mouth of the Licking. They went to the Big-Bone Lick and spent several days in making seats and tent poles from the large mastodon bones which they found there.
Hence, one hundred years ago, when Liberty Bell pealed "de- fiance" to the mother country, this vast wilderness was being ex- plored by Boone, Kenton, Taylor, George Rogers, Clark, and a host of daring men, chiefly from Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the Carolinas. The next important advance was in December, 1776. when to a portion of the extensive County of Fincastle was given the name Kentucky.
KENTUCKY COUNTY.
The mouth of the Licking, called by the Indians Nep-e-pem- .mi-ni, was a noted point in the war-path of the savage tribes ;
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HISTORY OF CAMPBELL COUNTY.
here they met for hunting and for battle ; here they hid their boats, and made attacks upon the settlers ; and here in 1779 oc- curred the memorable fight, known as " Rodgers' Defeat," thus related by McClung :
" In the autumn of 1779, a number of keel boats were ascending the Ohio, under the command of Maj. Rodgers, and had advanced as far as the mouth of the Licking without accident. Here they saw a few Indians standing on a sand bar opposite Dayton, while a canoe rowed by three others, was in the act of putting off from the Kentucky shore as if to take them aboard. Rodgers ordered his boats to be made fast on the Kentucky shore, while the crew, to the number of seventy men, well armed, cautiously advanced in such manner as to encircle the spot where he had seen the enemy. Only five or six Indians had been seen, and no one dreamed of encountering more than fifteen or twenty. When Rodgers had, as he supposed, completely surrounded the enemy, and was pre- paring to rush upon them from several quarters, he was thunder- struck at beholding several hundred savages suddenly spring up in front, rear and upon both flanks."
The slaughter of the whites was almost total.
In the spring of 1780, Hubbard Taylor, a youth of twenty, procuring the office of a Deputy Surveyor for the County called Kentucky, came out from Virginia to locate lands for his father, Col. James Taylor, and for Col. George Muse, on the Ohio, and at the mouth of the Licking.
Another step forward, and in the autumn of 1780, the County of Kentucky was divided into three, Jefferson, Lincoln and Fayette ; of the last named, from which Campbell was destined to be carved, John Todd was appointed Colonel, Daniel Boone, Lieutenant- Colonel, and Thomas Marshall, Surveyor.
In 1782, Jacob Fowler, a famous woodsman, piloted Bowman and Logan with nearly a thousand men from Lexington to the mouth of the Licking, to join General George Rogers Clark, in his suc_ cessful expeditions against the Miami towns. This intrepid pioneer, Jacob Fowler, built the first cabin at the point of Licking in 1789 ; he fought at both Harmer's and St Clair's defeats, and was with General Anthony Wayne in his victory of 1794.
The creation from Fayette of two new Counties, Woodford and Mason, in 1788, marked the next progress of events.
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HISTORY OF CAMPBELL COUNTY.
In this year a settlement was begun opposite the mouth of the Licking, by Colonel John. Patterson, and one John Filson, for which the singular name L'osantiville, was compounded by Filson ; L' was the French for the; os was Latin for mouth; anti for against ; and ville was French for city, hence, " The City opposite the mouth." A year after, this name was changed to Cincinnati, and in the summer of 1789, Major Doughty arrived with one hun- dred and forty soldiers and built Fort Washington. Protected by the garrison, the settlement at Cincinnati added an impetus to immigration into the new County of Mason.
LEITCH'S STATION.
Major David Leitch, a Scotchman, and a revolutionary officer, came with about twenty followers in 1789, built a block-house with pickets, and established LEITCH'S STATION on the Licking, about six miles from its mouth. Major Leitch located a large body of land, gave leases to settlers for improvements, and sold portions to Thomas Lindsay, Bernard Stewart, Archer, Reese, Digby and others.
About the same period, William Kennedy, also a Scotchman, and a Kentucky surveyor, with his son James, and his son-in-law Ben- jamin Beal, came to Flag Spring. James Kennedy played finely on the fiddle ; he had been a class-mate at school of Scotland's great poet, Robert Burns, and said he had often listened while he played " Highland Mary." These were the first actual settlers who formed the nucleus for the population of our now flourishing County.
The first white child born in the County was Eliza Barite, daughter of John Barite. She was born in Newport in 1791; was married when young to Elijah Pierce ; and lived to see this cen- tennial year, but was recently followed to the grave by a large procession, her venerable husband surviving.
Notwithstanding the perils of the wilderness, Major Leitch, in 1791, brought his young bride of seventeen (who was Miss Keturah Moss) to visit their intended home at the station ; Miss Moss was one of the earliest pioneers to Kentucky, emigrating from Vir- ginia in 1783 to Bryan's Station. She was reared under the discip- line of those fearless women whose courage has become historic.
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HISTORY OF CAMPBELL COUNTY.
An instance of Mrs. Leitch's heroism is worthy of mention. In 1791, Major Leitch and his young wife were going, in company with Mr. Thomas Lindsay, and others, under a military escort, from the mouth of the Kentucky toward Frankfort. Mr. Lindsay had lagged behind more than a hundred yards, when the guard saw an Indian ; they encircled Mrs. Leitch, and urged her to hurry on, as they feared other savages in ambush, but she declared that she would not desert Mr. Lindsay, and turning her horse's head, she refused to move until he came in sight, when she waved to him to hasten, which he did in a gallop.
NEWPORT.
In October, 1791, when the Kentucky troops went from Lexing- ton to Fort Washington to go on St. Clair's campaign, Hubbard Taylor accompanied them to the mouth of the Licking. As agent for his father, he laid out some lots on the river, and called the place Newport, in honor of Captain Lord Newport, who came over in the first ship to old Jamestown.
STATE OF KENTUCKY.
The year 1792 beheld Kentucky admitted as a State, the second daughter of the Union. The result was a stream of immigration to this "Land of the Cane." In 1792, James Taylor, son of the . proprietor of Newport, visited Mason county ; he found one hun- dred and fifty persons living in Cincinnati, including the military ; while over in Newport there were only a few rude log cabins. Pleased with the prospect, he fixed upon a beautiful ridge for his future home, and returned to Virginia. The next year, May 3, he landed at the mouth of the Licking. The sun was just rising as he caught the first glimpse of Fort Washington; we can imagine better than describe his feelings of hope and joy when he heard the bugle sound, and beheld the flag of his country-the signal of safety.
James Taylor brought with him an Englishman, named Robert Christy, and his wife; also two slaves, able-bodied men; two blooded horses, and a boat load of iron ware, pots, kettles, axes, hoes, etc., which he had bought at Pittsburg. Thus furnished, he began cutting down trees, and clearing the underbrush, and assisted in building his own cabin.
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HISTORY OF CAMPBELL COUNTY.
There was not one person at that time in Newport, man, or woman, who wore shoes,-all wore moccasins made of deer skin. The chief citizens of Newport, at that date, were Jacob and Edward Fowler, Uriah Hardesty, Jacob Barrackman, James McClure, David Lewis, John Bartle, and Robert Benham.
In company with the two Fowlers, James Taylor marked out the first road from Newport towards Lexington. In the autumn of 1793, an expedition was planned to hunt buffaloes at Big-Bone Lick. The party killed twenty-three of these immense animals. They took down salt (which was then five dollars per bushel), and salted the meat at the Lick.
GRANT'S LICK.
About the same period salt water was found at Grant's Lick, by Samuel Bryant, who, in conjunction with John Grant, and Charles Morgan, sank a well, and began the manufacture of salt, with which they supplied the interior of Kentucky.
Charles Morgan was a renowned Indian fighter, and an energetic settler. In 1790, he cleared the first farm in what is now Camp- bell County, three miles from the mouth of Licking. He gave it to his son-in-law, David Morton, and it is now the property of Col. James Taylor, of Newport.
CAMPBELL COUNTY.
Fourteen years after the formation of the County of Kentucky in 1794, Campbell was erected out of parts of Mason, Scott and Harrison. In the year 1795, James Taylor married the widow Leitch, uniting the two largest estates in the county. During the same year, Mr. Washington Berry came with his family from Clark County, he had moved from Virginia two years before, and had purchased from the daughters of Col. George Muse, a tract of a thousand acres, where the town of Dayton is situated, for a thou- sand dollars. Mrs. Berry was sister to Hubbard and James Taylor, and daughter of the proprietor of Newport, having been reared to womanhood in the colony. Mrs. Berry possessed many of the graces and accomplishments which characterized the ladies of the Old Dominion.
NEWPORT A TOWN. .
In 1795, Newport was incorporated as a town, the charter vest-
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HISTORY OF CAMPBELL COUNTY.
ing in Thomas Kennedy, Washington Berry, Henry Brasher, Thomas Lindsey, Nathan Kelley, James McLure and Daniel Dug- gan. Soon after came large reinforcements of settlers.
In 1795, Mr. Richard Southgate, a gentleman of superior edu- cation, and a lawyer of eminence, moved out from Virginia. Dr. Hinde, who had been an assistant-surgeon at the siege of Quebec, came from Clark County with his family. Dr. Hinde was the father of Mrs. Southgate and Mrs. Edmund Taylor, afterwards Mrs. McKenny. Major McKenny, who was an aid-de-camp to Gen. Lafayette, was also one of the early settlers in Newport.
In 1795, Daniel Mayo was appointed the first postmaster, Jas. McLure kept the first store, Jacob Fowler the first tavern, and John Bartle the first ferry. For many years skiffs and flats were used, they in time yielded to the horse-boat, which, in turn, was superseded by the steam ferry-boat. The first ferry-boat com- manders were Captains George and John Doxon, and afterward the late Captain Robert Air, all highly esteemed citizens of Camp- bell County. The currency of early times was measured like that of the colony by L. s. d. (pounds, shillings and pence), and so scarce was coin, that wolf, raccoon and fox skins were used as a circula- ting medium. The Mexican silver dollar was afterwards cut into small pieces to make change.
COUNTY SEAT.
In 1796, Newport was declared the county seat, the first courts had been held at Wilmington (now in Kenton), and the County Court Justices were Robert Benham, Thomas Kennedy, John Hall, John Bush, John Ewing and Thomas Corwin. The Justices of the first quarter sessions Court, were, Washington Berry presid- ing, Capt. John Craig and Charles Daniel, Sr .; James Taylor was the first clerk of both courts ; and Nathan Kelley was the first Sheriff of Campbell County.
RELIGION.
The Religions which obtained the first hold upon Campbell were the Baptist and Methodist.
EDUCATION.
There were at first many obstacles to the progress of education, books were few, and for the primary classes, paddles were substi -
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HISTORY OF CAMPBELL COUNTY.
tuted, upon which were pasted the alphabet, and the simplest spelling and reading lessons.
Col. James Taylor, the proprietor, had donated two acres to the town for public use, and a log school-house was erected thereon.
The cause of learning was further advanced in 1799, by the organization of a School Board. The General Assembly had the year before passed an act creating the Newport Academy, and had endowed the same with six thousand acres of land. Pursuant to this Act of the General Assembly, William Kennedy, Washing- ton Berry, Charles Morgan, John Grant, Thomas Kennedy. Thomas Sanford, Thomas Carneal, Richard Southgate, Daniel Mayo, John Crittenden, Robert Stubbs, and James Taylor, were appointed Trustees of the " Newport Academy." They met at the house of Jacob Fowler, 21st September, 1799. The Board appointed Ed- mund Taylor, clerk; and chose Washington Berry, chairman ; Bernard Stewart was elected to fill a vacancy ; Charles Morgan, was chosen treasurer; James Taylor was selected to locate the lands, and Robert Stubbs was invited to take charge of the Seminary. " The Board agreed to furnish him with a house and seventeen acres of cleared land, and to pay him seventy-five pounds annually for three years ; and if the number of scholars should amount to more than the sum aforesaid, at the rate of eight dollars for an English scholar, four pounds for each Latin scholar, and those learning English Grammar, and any branch of the . mathematics, the said Stubbs should have the benefit of the sur- plus." The Rev. Stubbs accepted, and came in the spring of 1800.
Robert Stubbs was an Englishman, and a minister of the Episco- pal Church ; he moved out from Virginia to Scott, next to Boone, and from thence to Campbell. Among the scholars whom he in- structed were, Richard M. Johnson, who became Vice-President of the United States ; John McLean, late justice of the Supreme Bench ; Taylor and Hubbard Berry, Thos. D. Kennedy, Philip S. Bush, Alexander P. and Alfred Sandford, James Ewbank, James Garrard, Oner R. Powell, and Col. James Taylor, who alone sur- vives. After teaching a year at the Academy, Mr. Stubbs went to the country, just about the Two-Mile House, on the Alexandria Pike. He opened a boarding-school for boys, and taught the classics. It was the custom of this remarkable man to walk up
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HISTORY OF CAMPBELL COUNTY.
and down under the trees before his door, reciting Latin and Greek, to the astonishment of the passers by, who regarded him with awe.
By reason of his sacerdotal office, the Reverend Stubbs was sent for, far and wide, to marry the early inhabitants : he also knew the mystic virtue of the hazel-bough as described by Virgil, could discover hidden springs, and was often employed to tell where wells should be dug. Mr. Stubbs calculated the first almanac ever made west of the Allegheny mountains.
IN 1800.
Early in the new century many settlers came to our County, William Caldwell, Col. David Perry, Peter McArthur, Hezekiah Hayman, John Murman and others. Their descendants are now among the leading citizens of Newport and the County.
NEWPORT BARRACKS.
In 1803, General James Taylor, as agent for his father and other owners, sold to the government the ground upon which the barracks are situated. General Charles Scott, of Kentucky, pay- ing the purchase money, and receiving the deed for the govern- ment. General Taylor accepted the agency to erect the buildings. He says: "The masonry of stone and brick was let out by contract to the lowest bidders, and taken by John Metcalf and Daniel Mayo. John Metcalf was uncle to Governor Thomas Metcalf, who it is said worked on the buildings as a stone mason, the carpenter work was take by Stephen Lyon, and the joiner work by Amos B. Watson, a very ingenious cabinetmaker from New York. General Scott was required to come down from Frankfort to in- spect the barracks, and report to the War Department ; his report was in high terms of the execution of the trust The work was completed in 1804.
MAJOR MARTIN.
Major Thomas Martin, a distinguished revolutionary officer, was the first commandant of Newport barracks ; he was also the military store keeper. Major Martin possessed extraordinary physical prowess and infinite humor ; he was exceedingly popular in dispensing his hospitality and good cheer to the officers ; and it is related " that their parting- toast over the flowing bowl was :
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HISTORY OF CAMPBELL COUNTY.
"Major Martin, may the war last as long as he lives, and the troops lay at the mouth of the Licking."
In 1811 and '12, Newport barracks was the chief depot for military stores. From here were sent supplies of ammunition, arms and provisions, to General Harrison at Vincennes. Here in 1811 General Boyd came with the gallant Fourth Infantry; for six months their tents ranged from the mouth of Licking to Taylor's Creek, and from here they marched to the bloody battle of Tip- pecanoe. Some of the most distinguished officers of our army have been stationed at this post, Zachary Taylor when Captain, General Posey, General Jessup and Colonel Whistler. From New- port barracks many a brave soldier has gone forth to meet death for his country. The people of Campbell, inheriting from their pioneer ancestors a love of military glory, have ever been quick to respond to the call "to arms." During the late war with Great Britain in 1812, many of our citizens enlisted, and one of the most gallant actions of the war was performed by Major James T. Ewbank of this place. General Harrison (afterwards President), wrote thus : "At Fort Meigs, during the seige of that important Fortress, Major Ewbank rendered the most important services, not only in his particular department, but by volunteering his services for the performance of other duties. One instance of which deserves to be particularly mentioned. On the eventful 5th of May, the squadron of dragoons commanded by Major Ball, had been detached to cover the landing of a part of the Kentucky militia, from boats descending the Maumee river. From the discovery of a meditated attack upon the rear by the enemy, it became neces- sary to recall the dragoons. But the conveyance of the order for the purpose was a service of extreme danger, as the person who should bear it would necessarily be exposed to the fire of a party of Indians who occupied a wood within point blank shot of the route which he would be obliged to pass. This circumstance was mentioned to the officers who were convened near, and a volunteer asked for, to convey the order ; Major Ewbank immediately offered his services, and performed the duty at the utmost hazard, hav- ing been fired on by the Indians from their covered positions for a considerable part of the distance. For his other services, and particularly for the important one rendered on this occasion,
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HISTORY OF CAMPBELL COUNTY.
he obtained my entire confidence and approbation, and I think they gave him claims upon his country. W. H. HARRISON."
MILITIA MUSTERS.
In early days, the musters of the militia were the great events. In 1804, Brigadier-General James Taylor commanded the Twenty- Second Brigade of the Kentucky Militia; Thomas Sanford was Colonel of the Forty-Eighth Regiment ; Christopher Stewart, Cap- tain ; and Edmund Taylor, Lieutenant, of a company belonging to Campbell. The late Captain Samuel Perry, who was a soldier at the siege of Fort Meigs, was a noted trainer of the militia men, in which he took great pride.
In 1812, General James Taylor, who had been acting as Quar- termaster and Paymaster of all the disbursements in and about the Newport garrison, was appointed Quartermaster-General and Pay- master-General for the army of the Northwest, and marched with General Hull to Detroit, where that officer ingloriously surren- dered.
The Fourth of July, in former times, was usually celebrated with the enthusiasm of early patriotism ; barbecues, processions, the reading of the Declaration, an oration, and military reviews, were the order of the day. An old paper of 1817 shows that the forty- first birthday of Independence was honored in Newport by a grand military parade and drill of the Volunteer Rifles. .
General James Taylor was President of the day.
J. T. McKenney, Captain.
Sam'l Winston, Lieutenant.
Sam'l M. Clifford, Ensign.
Elijah Pierce, Samuel Carter, Reese Gaddis and Col. James Taylor, are the only surviving members of that military company.
In 1824, Captain John Cleves Symmes, a citizen of Newport, who had several years previous advanced his theory of "Concen- tric Spheres," delivered lectures to prove that land and a mild climate could be found at the North Pole.
CITY OF NEWPORT.
Newport was created a city in 1830, by the election of six trus- tees, and the late Major Francis T. Helm, Mayor.
The first Railroad meeting was held at the Newport Exchange,
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HISTORY OF CAMPBELL COUNTY.
May 28, 1836. Col. John W. Tibbatts was appointed President, John N. Taliaferro, Vice-President, and W. A. Pendleton, Secre- tary. The object was to consider the practicability of building a railroad from Newport to Lexington, to form a part of the Charles- ton and Cincinnati Railroad, which it was hoped would ter- minate at Cincinnati. It was then almost the same project as the one which is now being carried on, called "The Southern Railroad."
Our County, at the period when it received the name of Cam p- bell, in 1794, embraced a very large territory. Two years after, in 1796, it furnished a portion on the southeast to form Bracken ; two years after, in 1798, parts were taken off on the south and west to erect Pendleton and Boone; and in 1840 the western half of Campbell became Kenton, the Licking the dividing line. In this year, the seat of justice was moved to Alexandria, and thereby the facilities for developing the County were increased. About this time the County began to receive large accessions of immi- grants from Europe, chiefly from Germany. These foreigners brought with them habits of industry, thrift and endurance. The Germans with their gold and silver bought much of the land, and in a few years the vine-clad hills of the Ohio and the Licking made for them another Rhine-land. In the towns and villages; the many signs with Teutonic names prove the firm hold they have gained in every department of life, and demonstrate the necessity for the study of the German language.
The Irish, of whom there had always, since the first settlement, been some representatives in the County, began to seek homes .among us. They have made their mark and identified themselves with our people. St. Patrick's day is now celebrated in Newport with the same music and processions as in "The Emerald Isle."
When in 1845 the Mexican War aroused the patriotism of the land, a company of voulunteers was raised in Newport, and the command given to Captain Lytleton Bennett. An address was made to the Company by Col. James Taylor, and a flag presented by Miss Jordena Harris (the late Mrs. Foote).
In 1847, Col. John W. Tibbatts, of the 16th Regiment of Infantry, Regulars, went to Mexico, taking with him many of the young men of Newport and vicinity.
In 1848 and '9, the increased population of Campbell County ex-
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HISTORY OF CAMPBELL COUNTY.
tended itself along the river : and from Major James Berry's large plantation, and other adjoining farms, sprang the two villages, Jamestown and Brooklyn.
In October, 1849, a convention was held at Frankfort, to frame the present constitution of the State. Ira Root had the honor of representing the County of Campbell in that distinguished assem- blage. Mr. Root was a friend to education, and an ardent supporter of the public school system. In the late civil war the Union senti- ment prevailed throughout the County.
PROGRESS.
Within the past thirty years, the causes of religion and educa- tion have been progressive. There are now, in Newport, two Methodist, two Presbyterian, one Baptist, one Episcopal, two Ger- man Protestant, and three Roman Catholic churches, besides one Baptist church for the colored population, one congregation of the Christian Church, and several religious Catholic houses. In the other towns, and in the County, all these denominations have churches and meeting houses. St. Joseph's Catholic Orphan Asy- lum for boys, and the Sisters of the Good Shepherd's Angel Guardian for destitute girls, are flourishing charitable institutions.
EDUCATION.
The public schools have advanced in both County and city to a degree of which we may well be proud ; not only are the rudiments taught, but the principles of the sciences, the polite arts, and two languages, French and German, have been added to the course of study. The young men and women of Newport may now take their diplomas and qualify as teachers. 'At the last exhibition of the graduating class in May of this centennial year, there were twelve young ladies and one young gentleman. They all spoke their essays, which were highly creditable.
For many years an effort has been made to sustain a newspaper . in Newport. The Weekly Leader, neutral in politics and religion, has been ably edited for five years by Messrs. J. B. and A. L. Quimby.
In 1866, the villages of Jamestown and Brooklyn were united under the name of Dayton. In 1870, Belleview, just below Day- ton, on the Ohio, was incorporated as a town ; it is separated from
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HISTORY OF CAMPBELL COUNTY.
Newport by Taylor's Creek. Alexandria, the county seat, is thirteen miles from Newport; Carthage and California are flour- ishing villages ; John's Hill, Cold Spring, Indian Spring, Gubser's Mill, Grant's Lick, and the Highlands, are voting precinets and settlements.
Four fine turnpike roads lead from Newport. The street cars run from Newport through Covington, over to Cincinnati, and also from Newport to Dayton. Three splendid bridges span the rivers, all within sight of each other. The wire suspension bridge, con- necting Covington and Newport, was built in 1854. Soon after it was opened for travel, it fell, with two men on horseback, and nineteen head of cattle belonging to Mr. Joseph Morlidge. One horse and six of the beeves were killed. The cost to repair made the whole amount to about $101,000. The still finer struc- ture of the suspension bridge, from Covington to Cincinnati, was erected in 1869, at the cost of $1,700,000. In 1872, the iron railroad bridge was finished. It required four years to complete this stupendous bridge, and many laborers were killed by falling, while at work upon it. The first trains crossed April 1, 1872. The Louisville Short Line Railroad runs a few miles through the County, having its depot in Newport, and a, station near Three- Mile Creek, where a railroad bridge spans the Licking, and the train goes on to Louisville in about four hours.
POLITICAL.
Our County has been ably represented in the National and State Legislatures. Of the distinguished dead of Campbell, whose ser- vices in congress are remembered with pride, we may mention the names of Thomas Sanford, William Wright Southgate and John W. Tibbatts. Of the honored dead, who have represented Campbell in the State Legislature, we recall the names of Richard Southgate, Thomas Sanford, Leonard Stephens, Alexander P. and Alfred Sanford, William Wright Southgate, John W. Tibbatts, Horatio T. Harris, John N. Taliaferro, William and T. W. W. De Coursey, Ira Root and Charles J. Helm.
This being the Centennial year, it is in order to present the names of the public men to whom the control of affairs is confided. In the United States Senate, we have the Hon : John W. Steven- xon and the Hon. Thomas C. McCreery ; Member of Congress from
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HISTORY OF CAMPBELL COUNTY.
the Sixth District, Hon. Thomas L. Jones ; members of the past Legislature : Senate, General George B. Hodge; Representatives. Col. R. W. Nelson and Mr. J. D. Otten ; Judges of the Chancery Court, Hon. J. W. Menzies ; of the Circuit Court, Judge Strother Boyd; of the Criminial Court, Judge John Perkins ; and of the County Court, Judge Washington J. Berry.
COUNTY OFFICERS .- Hon. W. J. Berry, County Judge ; Edward Air, County Clerk ; Jno. S. Ducker, County Attorney ; Thomas Jones, County Sheriff; O. M. Winson, County Coroner; B. A. Boyer, County Surveyor ; John Greenwood, County Jailor ; John Tocher, County Assessor ; John C. Schroll, 'Circuit Clerk ; Gustavus Artsman, Master Commissioner ; L. Tibbatts, School Commissioner.
CITY OFFICERS .- A. S. Berry, Mayor; Samuel Geisler, City Judge; L. R. Hawthorn, City Clerk ; Eugene E. Bowers, City Treasurer ; George Hornung, Sup't Water Works; D. R. Lock, City Marshal; B. R. Morton, City Engineer ; R. Barrett, Street Commissioner ; Jonathan Horsfall, City Jailor ; John Link, Capt. Fire Department ; Clement Olhaber, President of School Board.
The original proprietor of the town of Newport was never here, being an old man, and having filled a life of long public service under the king in the colony, and in the State Legislature of Virginia, he was unwilling to come to a new country.
His descendants have always had an influence in the affairs of this county. Judge Washington J. Berry, and his honor Mayor Albert S. Berry, are both great grandsons of Col. James Taylor of Virginia.
At the last census, Campbell ranked in point of population the third County in the State. Campbell County, and the City of New- port, are still improving, notwithstanding the general financial de- pression throughout the land.
Our hearts were saddened during the winter, by a temporary abandonment of the military post, and the transfer of the troops to Columbus, Ohio, but the Secretary of War has restored a command to Newport barracks. A portion of the 16th Infantry has arriv- ed, the flag is again unfurled to the breeze, the drum beats, and the bugle sounds, and with the sunrise and sunset gun a feeling of satisfaction has returned.
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HISTORY OF CAMPBELL COUNTY.
Such, as brief as possible, is a sketch of Campbell County, to-day; when Liberty Bell sings forth notes of joy for a century accom- plished, and a new cycle begun. Our County will not be unrepre- sented at the great Centennial ; she will be there in the speci- mens of minerals, metals, bones and fossils, which for centuries have been hidden in the bosom of her soil; she will be there in the person of her distinguished son, the State Geologist, Mr. N. S. Shaler ; and she will be there represented by her many educated and refined citizens, who in going will attest what a hundred years may achieve in a land where freedom of conscience is the corner- stone of her political temple .- Esto perpetua.
MARY K. JONES.
NEWPORT, KY., July 4, 1876.
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 0 017 136 351 2
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