USA > Kentucky > The Commercial history of the Southern States covering the post-bellum period Kentucky > Part 13
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Situated in the Second Congressional, Second Appellate, Sixth Judicial, Eighth Senatorial, and Seventeenth Legislative Districts.
McLean County was organized in 1853- 54, and named in honor of Alney McLean, Circuit Judge, who resided in the adjacent county of Muhlenberg. It was formed out of parts of Daviess, Ohio, and Muhlenberg counties.
The surface is undulating for the most part, the remainder level, with large and occasionally overflowing bottoms along Green, Rough, and Pond rivers, all of which are rich and very productive. The soil is fine, deep, rich loam of grayish color, very fertile, which is well adapted to tobacco. as well as to all the cereals, grasses, and fruits. Perhaps all the grain, fruits, and grasses, as well as the products of good truck patches, grown in Kentucky are grown here in abundance. Large crops of the dark type of tobacco which is well known as the " Green River fillers and wrappers" are grown in the county. Below the surface in many places are richly imbedded, superior veins of coal and fire-clay.
There remain scattered over the county large bodies of choice timber. The white oak, poplar, and walnut are mostly cut, yet there remains an abundance of beech, hickory, sycamore, elm, maple, and black oak along the numerous streams, all of the finest quality. Saw mills are engaged in converting the timber into lumber for shipment or home use. Large rafts of saw-logs are run, and an immense number of railroad cross-ties are being put on the banks of Green and Rough rivers for shipment. Excellent transportation facili- ties are furnished by rail and river at all seasons of the year. A large amount of capital is invested in the lumber business. and it may be said to be a leading industry.
Excellent and well-equipped schools and good churches are located in all parts of the county.
Calhoun, the county seat, is located near the center of the county on the northern bank of Green River, a healthful location, and one of the largest shipping points on the river. The citizens are very anxious and willing to lend a helping hand to any good man or men who will start manufactories.
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MADISON COUNTY
POPULATION (CENSUS 1900), 25,607. COUNTY SEAT, RICHMOND.
Is situated in the Eighth Congressional, Fifth Appellate. Twenty-fifth Judicial, Twenty-ninth Senatorial, and Seventy- second Legislative Districts.
Madison County was organized in 1786, and taken wholly from Lincoln County, one of the three original counties, and only six years after the subdivision of Kentucky County into the three counties aforesaid. It lies on the South Fork of the Kentucky River, Browning Creek forming the line on the east and Paint Lick on the west. The other creeks of importance are Muddy, Otter, Tates, and Silver, all named by Daniel and Squire Boone.
Boonesborough, the first fort in the State, is in Madison County, and conse- quently the permanent settlement of the county dates back a century and a quarter.
Timber of good quality is scarce. Some walnut and poplar remain, and there is a limited quantity of oak in various sections of the county.
Its soil is a greater variety than any other county in the State. No finer blue-
grass pastures can anywhere be found. Considerable attention is given to rais- ing vegetables and small fruits in some parts of the county, but the greater effort is exerted in the direction of fine horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs, which are the principal products of the county.
There are about 200 miles of free turn- pike roads in the county. There are five railroads in the county, all of them enter. ing Richmond-one from Cincinnati, two from Louisville, one from Knoxville, and one from Eastern Kentucky.
The public schools in the county are in good condition. In many districts the public money is supplemented by subscrip- tious and local taxation. The Caldwell High School, which receives the public money of the Richmond District, is mainly supported by taxation.
Richmond, the county seat, has two good, modern flouring mills, two planing mills, ice factory, laundry, telephone, electricity, gas, and water.
Waco, Centerville, Berea, and Kirks- ville are all thriving towns.
MAGOFFIN COUNTY
POPULATION (CENSUS 1900), 12,006. COUNTY SEAT, SALYERSVILLE.
Is situated in the Tenth Congressional, Seventh Appellate, Twenty-third Judicial, Thirty-fourth Senatorial, and Ninety- second Legislative Districts.
Magoffin County, located in the south- eastern part of the State. was formed by an act of the legislature in 1859. and named in honor of the governor who was serving at that time.
The county is, for the most part, moun. tainous or hilly, but there are many wide
and fertile bottoms in the valley of the Licking River.
The principal water-courses of the coun- ty are the Licking River and its numerous tributaries.
The soil of the county is of a sandy loam, which is very fertile and productive. being adapted to the raising of corn, wheat, oats, and tobacco, which are the principal crops.
The timber of the county is very exten-
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sive and of many varieties, such as yellow poplar, black walnut, maple, oak, beech, pine, lynn, ash, and chestnut.
Anthracite and bituminous coal is found and mined in all parts of the county.
The best quality of sandstone is quar- ried for building purposes. The public roads are rapidly improving, and are maintained by the county.
Most of the labor in the county is agricultural, and the average price per month is $13, with board. There have been several important developments, among which is the construction of a beautiful court house, at a cost of $15, -
ooo, and one of the most magnificent school buildings in Eastern Kentucky. The leading source of education is the Salyersville Graded and Normal School, which is situated at the county seat.
Salyersville, the county seat, is situated on the bank of the Licking River, and is a beautiful little town of about 400 inhabitants. It has an elegant new court house, recently completed at a cost of $15,000, several thriving business houses, good schools and churches. It also has the Salyersville Normal School, which is one of the best educational institutions in the State.
MARION COUNTY
POPULATION (CENSUS 1900), 16, 290. COUNTY SEAT, LEBANON.
Is situated in the Fourth Congressional, Third Appellate, Eleventh Judicial. Fifteenth Senatorial, and Fortieth Leg- islative Districts.
Marion County was carved out of the territory of Washington County in the year 1834, and lies near the geographical center of the State.
The surface of the county is gently undulating, with the exception of a chain of " knobs," a part of the Muldraugh Hill system, which runs entirely through the county from east to west.
The principal water-courses are Rolling Fork, including the main stream, and North Fork and South Fork of same, Hardin's Creek. Cartwright's Creek, Pleas- ant Run and Little Beech Fork.
The soil is varied in character. The county is generally considered as lying on the line separating the Bluegrass from the " Pennerile." The valleys of all the water-courses are extremely fertile. The bottoms are broad, especially on the Rolling Fork.
The soils of the county produce fine
crops of tobacco, corn, wheat, oats, hay, vegetables. and small fruits. Consider- able attention is given to raising cattle, hogs, sheep, and mules for market. The finest sugar and cotton mules received in the New Orleans market are the product of Marion County.
Labor on the farm is performed by native whites and colored hands, and the average price, with board, is about twelve dollars per month.
The county was once heavily timbered with oak, poplar, beech. hickory, inter- spersed with walnut. Little of this now remains, although there is considerable timber in the knobs and in the south- western portion of the county.
The principal manufacturing establish- ments in the county are a number of distillerie's. These are among the best equipped in the country, and the reputa- tion of their brands is co-extensive with those portions of the world where Kentucky whisky is used. Next in importance are the flouring mills of the county, of which there are a considerable
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number conveniently located throughout the county.
There are two colleges in the county, St. Mary's for young gentlemen, and Loretto for the young ladies. Both of these institutions are old-established seats of learning.
The county has no bonded or floating debt of any kind, and the tax rate for county purposes is low.
Lebanon, the county seat, is a thriving city of about 4,000 inhabitants, situated on the Knoxville division of the L. & N. Railroad, and is an up-to-date city in every particular, being the only city of impor- tance in a wide surrounding area. It has two flouring mills, two planing mills, one wheel and spoke factory, two cigar factor- ies, one tobacco factory, besides numer- ous distilleries in and adjacent to the city.
MARSHALL COUNTY
POPULATION (CENSUS 1900), 13.692. COUNTY SEAT, BENTON.
Is situated in the First Congressional, First Appellate. Second Judicial. Second Senatorial, and Sixth Legislative Districts.
Marshall County was formed out of a part of Calloway County by an act of the legislature, June 1, 1842, and was named in honor of John Marshall, who was then Chief Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court.
The principal water-courses are Ten- nessee River, which flows along the north and east border, and Clark River. which passes through the county from southeast to northwest.
The soils of the county are very fertile, especially the bottom lands along the rivers, and produce fine crops of dark tobacco, and all grasses, cereals, fruits, and vegetables usually grown in this latitude.
The bulk of the white oak, poplar, and green timber has been manufactured. but there is yet an immense quantity of red oak and black oak of a fine quality in this county.
The Illinois Central Railroad runs through the northern part of the county for a distance of about twelve miles, while the Louisville & Nashville, operated by the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway, runs through the central part of the county for a distance of about seventeen miles.
There are sixty-five schools for white and two for colored pupils and over fifty churches in the county.
Benton, the county seat, is a prosperous little town with good schools, churches, and business houses.
MARTIN COUNTY
POPULATION (CENSUS 1900), 5,780. COUNTY SEAT, EDEN (P. O. INEZ).
Is situated in the Tenth Congressional, Seventh Appellate. Twenty-fourth Judi- cial, Thirty-third Senatorial, and Ninety- sixth Legislative Districts.
Martin County was created by an act of the General Assembly or Legislature of Kentucky at its session of 1869-70, and
was taken from the fractional parts of the counties of Lawrence, Pike, Floyd, and Johnson.
Martin County fronts on the Tug Fork of Big Sandy River, the boundary between Kentucky and West Virginia, for about forty miles. The main creeks running
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into Tug River are Rockcastle Creek, Calf Creek, Turkey Creek, Big Elk and Little Elk creeks, Buck Creek, Collin's Link, Wolle Creek, Long Branch, and Big Creek.
The soil is sandy and adapted to the growth of corn, sugar cane, grasses, melons, and several varieties of small fruits and vegetables. Coal. oil. and gas are found in abundance and of excellent quality. The county is in the center of the gas belt.
Good common schools and churches are located in all parts of the county.
There are no railroads or turnpikes in the county. Small steamboats ply the Tug River from six to eight months in the year.
Eden (post-office Inez), the county seat, is a thriving little city of the sixth class, located near the center of the county. It has a population of about five hundred.
An abundance of white, black, and chestnut oak, white and black walnut, white and yellow poplar. ash, elm, beech, sycamore, and lynn or basswood timber is found in the county.
MASON COUNTY
POPULATION (CENSUS 1900), 20, 446. COUNTY SEAT, MAYSVILLE.
Is situated in the Ninth Congressional, Sixth Appellate, Nineteenth Judicial, Thirty-first Senatorial, and Eighty-seventh Legislative Districts.
Mason County is situated in the north- ern part of the State on the Ohio River. It is one of the nine counties formed before the State was admitted into the Union, having been organized in 1788 by the legislature of Virginia.
The county is well watered and drained by the Ohio and Licking rivers and their numerous tributaries.
This county has an area of about 220 square miles. The surface of the county along its water-courses is hilly, and as you approach the Ohio River this feature of the topography of the county becomes very pronounced. Back from the streams, however, widen out wonderful tracts of level and very fertile lands. In the southern part of the county the most fertile land is found : none probably in the State better. Diversified farming is engaged in to a considerable extent. The Ohio River, bordering on this county for eighteen miles, gives it good water trans- portation.
The turnpikes in Mason County are
unexcelled by those anywhere, and there are about 300 miles of free pikes in this county, kept up and maintained by taxa- tion and the free turnpike law of the State. The Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad runs along the entire length of the northern boundary, and the Kentucky Central. now owned and controlled by the Louisville & Nashville system, runs through the central portion of the county from south to north, giving the county the very best of facilities for transportation.
The labor on the farin is mostly per- formed by native white and colored laborers, and they can be had for ten to fifteen dollars per month and board. The staples of the farm are corn, wheat, oats, hay, and tobacco. The very finest white Burley tobacco is grown in this county. All the products of the farm are largely raised.
The educational facilities of this county are not surpassed by those of any other county in the State. The common schools are very superior. New and good school houses, supplied with all modern appliances. have been provided within the past few years. The schools are supplied with an excellent corps of teachers.
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The county also abounds with churches, about all of the regular orthodox denomi- nations being represented.
Maysville is the county seat. It is situated on the Ohio River, sixty-four miles above Cincinnati. It is also on the Chesapeake & Ohio and the Kentucky Central railroads. Its population now is estimated to be about S,ooo. It has
many miles of nicely paved streets and elegant sidewalks. Has a line of electric street railway, fine system of water-works, gas and electric light plants. telephone exchange, and also connected by long- distance telephone with all parts of the country: large manufacturing establish- ments of various kinds, fine hotels, elegant churchlies, and magnificent schools.
MEADE COUNTY
POPULATION (CENSUS 1900), 10,533. COUNTY SEAT, BRANDENBURG.
Situated in the Fourth Congressional, Second Appellate, Ninth Judicial, Tenth Senatorial, and Thirtieth Legislative Dis- tricts.
Meade County is situated among the counties known as the central section of the State. It was formed in 1823 from the territory of Breckinridge and Hardin counties, and named after one of the old Revolutionary heroes, Captain Meade. The Ohio River on the northeast and southwest gives it a coast line of about seventy miles. The county is well drained and watered by numerous creeks which empty into the Ohio River.
The soil along the river and creeks is as rich and productive as any in the State, and embraces about one tenth of its area; but bordering on these streams for several miles the land is liilly and somewhat rough: the remainder is undula- ting only enough to drain it, making it a splendid farming land. The lilly portion of the county is well adapted to the rais- ing of all kinds of fruit, and abounds in the finest orchards of apples to be found anywhere. There are several large evap- orating establishments in the county, be- sides several apple distilleries. Diversified farming is generally carried on, as the soil responds generously to the various grain and tobacco crops. Stock raising and feeding is becoming a great industry. All kinds of grasses grow well on the rich
limestone. Several silos have been in use for years, both for fattening cattle as well as wintering stock cattle. The poultry business is looming up to be one of the factors in the general thrift of the wide- awake farmers. Churches of all denomi- nations abound, and good, commodious school houses are in easy reach of every family. About one fifth of the timber still remains, and it embraces the various oaks, walnut, hickory, and beech. There are two railroads running through the county, affording every facility, with the Ohio River, to an easy and quick market. Petroleum, natural gas, and salt were dis- covered years ago, but only the two latter have been utilized. Several salt manu- factories above Brandenburg were operated for years, but the gas being more profit- able for heating and manufacturing, a pipe line now carries it to Louisville.
The river and creek liills abound in immense ledges of fine stone for either building or artistic uses. Sand, oolite, granite, cement, and lithograph stones are found and easily quarried, The latter stone is now being quarried and dressed near Brandenburg by stean machinery, and shipped in large quantities. It is pro- nounced the finest in the world.
Telephone wires are now run along the public Inghways, connecting the many little towns with each other, and many farmers' homes as well.
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MENIFEE COUNTY,
POPULATION (CENSUS 1900), 6, 8IS. COUNTY SEAT, FRENCHBURG.
Situated in the Tenth Congressional, Seventh Appellate, Twenty-first Judicial, Thirty-fifth Senatorial. and Nineteenth Legislative Districts.
Menifee County, named in honor of Richard Menifee, a famous orator and statesman, was formed from the counties of Powell, Bath, and Montgomery in 1869.
There are several streams flowing in every direction through the county. the largest of which are Beaver, Slate, Glady, Indian, and Blackwater creeks.
Menifee County has all kinds of soil, rich cove land, limestone benches, river and creek bottoms. smooth uplands, all of which produce well most any kind of crop. The farmers raise corn, wheat, oats, cane, rye, timothy, red top, clover, orchard grass, millet, and fruit such as apples, peaches, pears, and grapes.
Beaver Creek is navigable from French- burg to Licking River, a distance of eighteen miles. The C. & O. Railroad runs to Rothwell, Ky., a distance through this county of about six miles. The Red River Valley Railroad (narrow gauge) has a line in this county of about twenty miles. The Scranton Railroad Co. has a line of about twenty miles (narrow gauge), and
Lembord & Clay have a line about ten miles in this county (narrow gauge), all of which are large shippers of lumber, ties, and staves.
The character of labor in this county is white, and the average price paid is about $ 15.00 per month.
Frenchburg is the county seat, and is located in about the center of the county. The town contains about 300 inhabitants, with three churches and one college build- ing, now owned by the Masonic Order (cost about $2,000); one brick Odd Fellows' Hall that cost to build about $3,000; four merchants, two blacksmithis, six school teachers, one doctor, four attorneys-at- law, and two hotels.
The public schools in the county are in splendid condition. There are in the county fifty teachers and thirty-seven school districts. Good churches are lo- cated in all parts of the county.
The county is rich in minerals, coal, iron, and some lead. Various coal banks are now opened throughout the county, running in thickness from twenty to thirty inches. The hills are full of iron ore. The famous old Beaver furnace, built back in the thirties, was located in what is now Menifee County.
MERCER COUNTY
POPULATION (CENSUS 1900), 14,426. COUNTY SEAT, HARRODSBURG.
Situated in the Eighth Congressional, Fifth Appellate, Thirteenth Judicial, Twentieth Senatorial, and Sixtieth Legis- lative Districts.
Mercer County was named in honor of General Hugh Mercer, a Revolutionary officer who fell at the head of his brigade at the Battle of Princeton, and is one of the nine counties created by an act of the
Virginia Legislature before Kentucky be- came a State. It was carved out of Lin- coln County in 1785, being the sixth county in order of creation. It is situa- ted in the central part of the State, and forms a portion of the famous bluegrass region. The exact geographical center of the State is within its borders, about six Iniles west of the county seat. Its eastern
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and northeastern boundary follows the center of Kentucky and Dix rivers. Along the banks of these rivers is to be found some of the grandest scenery on our continent.
Mercer presents a great variety in the character and productiveness of her soils. The best farming lands of the county are equal in productiveness and adaptability to a variety of crops to those of any county of this or any other State. While wheat, oats, corn, hemp, and tobacco, clover and timothy hay are the great staple products of the county, rye, broom corn, buckwheat, potatoes, orchard grass, millet, and Hungarian grass are also grown.
No county in the State is better watered. In addition to the streams mentioned, com- prising abont seventy-five miles in the county, it has numerous other smaller streams. It is also watered by innumera- ble springs. Nearly every farm has one or more sources of never-failing water. A number of the streamns of the county furnish excellent water-power, and some are made available for flour mills and other industries. A number of the farmers are interested in raising short-horn cattle. Some of its fine farms are devoted to raising thoroughbred, or trotting and sad- dle horses. A very prominent training- stable is located at the county seat.
Mercer has a variety of timbers-oak, ash, hickory, walnut, sugar-tree, cherry, beech, poplar, lynn, pine, etc. It has many varieties of oak, which is most abundant. Walnut, ash, hickory. and beech are common. The price of the land of Mercer varies from Sto to $85 per acre.
The manufacturing interest outside of Harrodsburg is represented by eight grist mills, two distilleries, and several saw mills.
The county enjoys excellent transporta- tion facilities for its agricultural and mechanical products. A complete net- work of macadamized roads, comprising two linndred miles in all, traverse every section. A dozen or more lead into Har- rodsburg, the county seat. Every mile of turnpike is free and maintained by the
county. The Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific Railroad (Cincinnati South- ern Railroad) runs through the eastern portion of the county for a distance of eight miles. and the Louisville Southern Railroad, entering it from the north, fol- lows the general course of Salt River to Harrodsburg, thence to Burgin, a distance of eighteen miles. Since the completion of the lock at High Bridge large steamers now navigate the Kentucky River, afford- ing cheap transportation.
Harrodsburg, the county seat, has the honor of being the oldest town in the State. . Here "the first house " was built in 1774 by a company of thirty-one men. for Captain James Harrod. for whom it was named. However, its business houses and most of its dwellings give no evidence of its age, being of modern construction and including many handsome buildings and beautiful homes. Fifty per cent of its dwellings and all of its business houses are brick, metal-roof buildings. It has a population of 4,000. It has six white and three colored churches. In addition to its public schools it has Beaumont College (formerly Daughters' College) for young ladies, the Harrodsburg Academy for young men and young ladies, and Wayman College, the latter being an institution of the colored Methodist Church. It has two telephone systems, electric light plant, and a fine system of water-works; a large grain elevator, two planing mills, an ice manufactory, two large flouring mills, a laundry, a carding factory, a large distill- ery, a turkey slaughter-peu, two coal and lumber yards, a brick yard, one whole- sale grocery, two banks with a capital of $100,000 each, four blacksmith shops, fifty business houses, two weekly newspapers- the Harrodsburg Democrat and the Har. rodsburg Sayings.
Burgin, Pleasant Hill, Salvisa, and McAfee are flourishing villages amidst a fine agricultural country.
There are thirty-five churches in the county. Thirty-three Sunday-schools have an enrollment of 2,000 pupils. The county has a good common school system.
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METCALFE COUNTY
POPULATION (CENSUS 1900), 9,988. COUNTY SEAT, EDMONTON.
Situated in the Third Congressional, Third Appellate, Twenty-ninth Judicial, Nineteenth Senatorial, and Thirty-fifth Legislative Districts.
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