USA > Kentucky > The Commercial history of the Southern States covering the post-bellum period Kentucky > Part 7
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In some parts of the county there are a few Indian mounds, in which are found a great many very rare and interesting relics.
The principal water courses are Little River, Pond River, Red River, West and Little West Forks of Red River, Trade- water, Sinking Fork of Little River, and a
few other minor streams. Excellent water power for mills or other manufacturing purposes is furnished by Little River. West Fork, Pond River, and Tradewater ; none, however, are navigable for steam- boats.
The county has seventy-two miles of railroad, operated by the Louisville & Nashville and Illinois Central companies. All turnpikes are owned and operated by the county free of toll.
Farm labor, principally colored, is plentiful and averages in price from SHI to $15 per month, with board.
Educational facilities are good. Com- mon schools for white and colored pupils are taught in every school district in the county. There are several high schools and colleges, prominent among thein being Major Ferrill's High School, South Ken- tucky College. and Bethel Female College. all located at Hopkinsville.
Hopkinsville, the county seat, is a handsonie, well-built city of over 8, 000 inhabitants, with the best-built streets and sidewalks of any city of its size in the State, with all modern improvements, such as electric lights, water-works, four banks with a capital of nearly $500.000, twelve large tobacco warehouses, an ex- cellent graded school system, supplement- ed with the high school and two colleges already mentioned. The Western Insane Asylum is located near Hopkinsville. There are a number of other more or less important towns, of which Pembroke, with about 1, 000 inhabitants, two good banks and other commercial and industrial institutions, is most prominent. Fairview. the birthplace of the Hon. Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States, LaFayette, Gracey, Julian, Newstead, Howel, Garretsburg, Bell, Oak Grove, Kennedy, Bellview, Crofton, and Kelly, are all thriving and prosperous towns.
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COMMERCIAL GROWTH
CLARK COUNTY
POPULATION (CENSUS 1900), 16,694.
COUNTY SEAT, WINCHESTER.
Situated in the Tenth Congressional, Seventh Appellate, Twenty-fifth Judicial, Twenty-eighth Senatorial and Seventy- fourthi Legislative Districts.
Clark County was organized by act of tlie legislature in December, 1792, out of parts of Fayette and Bourbon, and was the fourteenth in order of formation. It originally comprised most of the territory between the Kentucky River and the Middle Fork of the same, and Cumberland Gap on the east and south, Licking River and Pound Gap on the northeast, and extending from Boone's Creek to the Virginia line. Four years later much of its territory was taken off by the formation of Montgomery County. In 1806 it yielded part of its territory to the new county of Estill, and in 1852 it contrib- uted to the formation of Powell.
The county stands on the dividing ridge between the waters of Kentucky and Lick- ing rivers. The southern and eastern portions are drained by Lulbegrud, Upper and Lower Howards, Two Mile, Four Mile creeks, and Red River. all tributaries of Kentucky. The northern part is drain- ed by Stoner, Strode's, and Hancock creeks, which flow into the Licking. The Kentucky River borders the southern line of the county for about twenty-five miles, and the new lock at Valley View will bring slack-water navigation to the border of the county.
The soil varies much in quality. A large portion of it is composed of the best of the famous bluegrass lands of the State, and is worth as much as similar land anywhere. For many years the Bur- ley tobacco of this section of the county has broken the record price of the year in the Louisville and Cincinnati markets. Other portions of the county are hilly and broken, but produce well. In the extreme eastern portion of the county land is
quite thin. Fine building stone and stone for lime exists in various portions of the county, and evidence of oil and gas are strong in the eastern part of the county.
Very little timber is left in the county, although some walnut lumber is still shipped from here, most of it going to Europe.
The crops are those usually found in the bluegrass region: corn, wheat, rye, oats, hay, Burley tobacco, hemp, and bluegrass seed are grown, while of late years considerable quantities of small fruits, principally strawberries, are raised. More attention is also being given to fruit- growing. Owing to the natural fertility of the soil, not much attention has been given to the use of fertilizers in the past, but their use is increasing rapidly. The latest and most improved farming imple- ments are generally used.
Clark County has always stood high in stock-raising ranks, being especially noted for her short-horn cattle. More cattle are sold from this county than from any other in the State in proportion to its size. Of late years considerable attention has been given to the breeding of Jerseys and other breeds of dairy cattle. Horses, mules, sheep, and hogs receive close attention. and of late years Winchester has been the seat of a thriving trade in eggs and dressed poultry, including thousands of turkeys, which bring highest prices in the markets of Boston and other Eastern points.
The 255 square miles in the county are traversed by 175 miles of turnpikes and 200 miles of dirt roads, all of which are free and are kept up by taxation.
Three independent and competing lines of railroad run through the county. giving Clark County more miles of railroad in proportion to area than any county in the State except Jefferson.
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STATE OF KENTUCKY
Clark County's taxable wealtli is about $10,000,000, and the credit of the county is of the highest class. Her bonded debt is not burdensome and is being steadily reduced. Clark is one of the four richest counties in the State. outside of the five which contain large cities.
With the exception of a few planing mills and other manufactories, the labor of the county is mostly unskilled. Farm laborers receive from Sio to $15 per inontlı with board, but much of the land is tilled " on shares."
The public schools of Clark county are above the average and most of the dis-
tricts have good schoolhouses, which are well equipped.
Winchester, the county seat, has a popu- lation of about 7,000, with a fine sys- tem of water works, electric light, a splendid fire department, two telephone systems with lines running to other cities and to many parts of the country. Sev- enteen churches. a fine system of public schools, two colleges, fine public build- ings, and enterprising and successful busi- ness houses of many kinds. The city is very healthful, being one of the highest county seats in the State. The assessed valuation of the city is over $2.000,000.
CLAY COUNTY
POPULATION (CENSUS 1900), 15,364. COUNTY SEAT, MANCHESTER.
Situated in the Eleventh Congressional, Fifth Appellate, Twenty-seventh Judicial, Thirty-third Senatorial, and Seventy-first Legislative Districts.
Clay County was formed in the year 1806. Situated in the southeastern por- tion of the State, bounded by the counties of Laurel, Knox, and Bell on the south ; Leslie and Perry on the east; Owsley and Jackson on the north, and Laurel on the west. The county has over 200 miles of navigable water within its boundary, in the streams of Red Bird, Big Goose Creek, and Little Goose Creek. The two former unite in the county and form the south fork of the Kentucky River, at what is known as the Buckskin Salt Works.
The soil of the river bottoms, which are wide and extend the length of the rivers, is as productive as any soil in the State. The hills are productive of grass and fine crops of corn, oats, and wheat. The hills also contain a supply of coal, both soft and cannel, unexcelled in any other por- tion of Kentucky. So plentiful is the coal that it is dug and delivered at tlie county seat for four cents per bushel. The supply is inexhaustible.
The portion of the county lying on the Big Goose Creek contains fine salt water, and ever since the formation of the county the salt works have been operated by the Whites, Garrards, Combs. and Bates. All, however, except the works owned by General T. T. Garrard, have suspended. His works supply this and many of the surrounding counties with salt made from his works, two miles from the county seat.
No county in the State has such an inexhaustible supply of " natural gas " as has this county. On Sexton's Creek there are two wells, or natural gas springs, where the gas comes through the pores of the ground in quantities that will support great fires for whole seasons.
The scenery along the water courses is picturesque, and in grandeur has nothing in the State that can excel it.
The average price of land in the county is about Sio an acre.
The county seat, Manchester, is located in the central portion of the county on Goose Creek, and has about 800 popula- tion, made up of the very best citizenship of Eastern Kentucky.
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COMMERCIAL GROWTH
CLINTON COUNTY
POPULATION (CENSUS 1900), 7,871. COUNTY SEAT, ALBANY.
Situated in the Eleventh Congressional, Third Appellate, Twenty-eighth Judicial, Sixteenth Senatorial, and Thirty - sixth Legislative Districts.
Clinton County was created by an act of the legislature approved February 20, 1836, and the territory within its limits was taken from Wayne and Cumberland counties.
Spurs of the Cumberland Mountains enter the county on the east and extend to near its center. They contain veins of excellent bituminous coal about three feet tliick.
Between these spurs are fertile valleys which, under a proper state of cultivation, yield crops of corn, wheat, oats, clover, orchard grass, timothy, fruits, etc.
The western portion of the county is undulating, and is not so fertile as the valleys in the eastern part of the county, except on the rivers and creeks, but yield remunerative crops by the use of ferti- lizers. Potatoes and garden vegetables grow abundantly in all parts of the county, as the soil is generally well prepared by deep plowing, pulverizing the soil, and using stable manure.
The climate and soil are adapted to the growth of fruit trees, which yield abun- dantly of well-matured .and healthy fruit. The peach crop never fails on the hills, but does not do so well in the lowlands. There is an abundance of fine timber in the county, such as poplar, white oak, black oak, hickory, sugar tree. cedar, dogwood. chestunt, maple, chin, beech, etc. There is an abundance of blue, gray, and white limestone and other rocks suitable for building purposes.
The county is well watered : in addition to the rivers and creeks there are many bold springs of pure water in all parts of the county.
Salt has been manufactured on Willis's Creek, in the northwestern part of the county, and it is believed that the county is in the oil belt.
There is an abundance of marl, which. if utilized, would enrich the whole county. The climate is healthy, and the summers, instead of being oppressive, are delightful in the timbered valleys.
There are chalybeate springs on a high plateau northeast of Albany, the county seat, where a view of the surrounding country for many miles can be had, which gives great pleasure, as the scenery is so varied.
The Cumberland River on the north is navigable a part of the year from Nash- ville, Tenn., to Burnside, Ky., a station on the Cincinnati Southern Railway.
There are no railroads in the county; the nearest station is at Burnside, which is forty miles from the county seat.
Albany, the county seat, on the south side of the center of the county. has a new and commodious court house, is abundantly supplied with water by springs from thirty to sixty feet deep, has six gen- eral stores, two drug stores, one grocery, one saddlery, two blacksmith shops. two hotels, two water mills, one steam roller mill, saw mill, planing mill and carding factory, one high school, one bank, three churches, and no saloons.
The public schools of the county are in fair condition, but the State aid is not supplemented by local taxation.
Some of the most prominent men of the State and nation were natives of Clinton County.
During the civil war over one half of the male population enlisted in the Union army, and many of the others served in the Confederate army. On both sides they distinguished themselves for courage
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STATE OF KENTUCKY
and devotion to the banner under which they enlisted.
The price of farm labor will average about $12 per month.
There are no foreign colonies here, but the people of this county are hospitable,
and emigrants would be heartily received and furnished homes at cheap rates for lands.
The resources of the county are abun- dant, varied, and valuable, but except to a very limited extent remain undeveloped.
CRITTENDEN COUNTY
POPULATION (CENSUS 1900), 15, 191. COUNTY SEAT, MARION.
Situated in the First Congressional, First Appellate, Fourth Judicial, Fourth Senatorial and Seventh Legislative Dis- tricts.
Crittenden County was formed out of part of Livingston County in 1842. and made the number of counties then in the State ninety.one.
It is situated in the southwestern part of the State, on the Ohio River. The Olio River forms its northern boundary, while on the east it is bounded by the counties of Union and Webster, on the south by Caldwell and Lyon, Livingston forming its western boundary. The land is high and rolling, well watered and drained by the Ohio on its northern boundary and the Tradewater on the northeast, and the Cumberland for a con- siderable distance on its southern border. besides numerous streams flowing through the county, principal among which are Caney Fork and Crooked Creek. emptying into the Ohio on the north, and Pine Creek, Long Branch and others which flow into Tradewater on the northeast.
The soil of Crittenden County is good, but that attention to fertilizing which the subject demands has not been paid to it by our farmers, nor has the proper atten- tion to the rotation of crops been had; nevertheless, a large surplus of farin products are shipped out of the county to other markets each year. Corn, wheat, oats, rye, tobacco, and hay are the prin- cipal staples of the Crittenden County
farm, timothy being the most profitable of all grasses grown in the county. The high and rolling lands of the county make it a most excellent locality for fruit culture, and all fruits grown in Kentucky are grown in this county most abundantly. The timber supply of Crittenden is good and abundant: hickory and oak most abound, and great forests tracts of this valuable timber can be had at reason- able prices. The Ohio Valley Railroad runs through the county, the county seat being situated on the same; and this railroad and the water courses spoken of afford good local facilities for transportation. either by land or water. There are to turnpike roads in the county, the public roads being the common dirt roads of the county, which are maintained and kept in repair by the road overseers, appointed by the county court under the road laws of the State.
Diversified farming is only engaged in for domestic uses, saving fruit-growing. there being more fruit grown in the county than is sufficient for home consumption.
Tlie educational facilities of the county are mostly confined to the common schools, which are in good condition, well attended. and under good management.
Marion, the county seat, is situated a little southeast of the center of the coun- ty, on the Ohio Valley Railroad. It is a flourishing town with a population of nearly 1,000.
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COMMERCIAL GROWTH
CUMBERLAND COUNTY
POPULATION (CENSUS 1900) 8,962. COUNTY SEAT, BURKSVILLE.
Situated in the Eleventh Congressional, Second Appellate, Twenty-ninth Judicial, Sixteenth Senatorial, aud Thirty-seventh Legislative Districts.
This county was formed in 1798 from a part of Green, and named for the Cum- berland River, which flows diagonally through the county from northeast to southwest.
A small portion of this county lies on the subcarboniferous Lithostrotion lime- stone, but the greater part of the county is based upon the Waverly series, which are cut through by the rivers and creeks so as to expose the Devonian shales and the Upper Silurian in thin stratifications, and the Lower Silurian blue limestones in the beds of the rivers. There is no coal in the county, but oil in paying quantities has been found by wells sunk in the river and creek bottoms. The first noted " American oil" well ever bored in the United States is situated three miles from Burksville, on the banks of the Cumber- land River. The oil was struck while boring for salt water, in 1830, at a depth of 175 feet.
Salt water abounds in this section, and some iron ores, but not in such quantities as in several of the neighboring counties lying to the north and east. The general surface of the county is broken and hilly, and abounds in knobby formations of thin soil, but the bottoms are of great fertility.
Cumberland River, which is navigable by steamboats the greater part of the year, with its tributaries, drains the entire county. The United States government has begun a series of locks and dams on the river, which will soon be completed up to this point, and which will open up and give an impetus to many new industries. Its principal tributaries are Marrowbone, Crocus, Big Renox, Little Renox, Willis,
Bear, and Goose creeks. The county abounds in sulphur and chalybeate water. The most noted of these springs are on Renox and Sulphur creeks, and possess remarkable health-giving properties.
The greatest wealth of the county lies in its timber. It abounds in the best qualities of oak, poplar, and chestnut, besides walnut, cherry, ash, maple. hickory, and many others. The hard woods of the county are very valuable.
Many of the farmers have planted thousands of young walnut trees on their idle land. and at no distant date the trees will be worth far more than the land.
Corn, wheat, oats, rye, and tobacco are the staple crops, and the principal grazing and hay grasses are clover, redtop, timno- thy, orchard grass, bluegrass, and millet, all of which grow luxuriantly.
Stock peas for hay, and sorghum in large quantities for fattening cattle, are also grown.
The land is well adapted to the growth of dark tobacco, and when there was a demand for it this county produced more than any other county in the United States. The soil and climate are also adapted to small fruits, but their cultiva- tion is limited.
The farmers pay a good deal of atten- tion to the raising of thoroughbred stock. No prettier horses are to be found in the State. The fattening of cattle for market is a profitable industry; the abundant mast all over the county affords excellent facilities for fattening hogs, large numbers of which are shipped to Louisville, Cincin. nati, and other points. Poultry and eggs are shipped in immense quantities, and bring more money into the county than any two of the other products com- bined.
Many people, during the summer months, are engaged in pearl hunting, and
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STATE OF KENTUCKY
many pearls of great size and brilliancy have been found.
Burksville, the county seat, is situated on the north side of the Cumberland River, and is the largest shipping point above Nashville, Tenn. It has a good court house, several churches, an excellent public school building, a dozen stores and groceries, one bank, a large roller mill, and many handsome private residences. It is the seat of Alexander College,
founded in 1872, which has a beautiful building and an endowment of several thousand dollars.
Marrowbone is a flourishing town, with three churches, large roller mill, and several stores. Bakertown, Peytonsburg. Leslie, Cloyd's Landing, Amandaville, and Waterview are wide-awake villages.
There are many beautiful churches and public schools located throughout the county.
DAVIESS COUNTY
POPULATION (CENSUS 1900), 38,667. COUNTY SEAT, OWENSBORO.
Situated in the Second Congressional, Second Appellate, Sixth Judicial. Eighth Senatorial and Fifteenth and Sixteenth Legislative Districts.
In the year of 1815 a part of Ohio County was cut off and made into a new county, which was called Daviess, in honor of that brilliant lawyer and orator and gal- lant soldier, who gave up his life for his country on the bloody field of Tippeca- noe, Colonel Joseph Hamilton Daviess.
The county contains about 400 square miles. It is situated in the far-famed "Pennerile" section of the State. The county has about forty miles of frontage on the Ohio River and twenty-five miles of western boundary on Green River. The county is well watered and drained by Yellow, Pup. Blackford, Panther, Dela- ware and Rhodes creeks.
The county is about one half level, one fourth rolling, and one fourth hill land. Most of the land in the county is a rich. sandy alluvial, very deep and pro- ductive: land that it is impossible to wear ont. About one fifth of the land in the county is creek bottom, of which there is no richer land in the world. The soils of the county are well adapted to the growth of fruits and vegetables of all kinds, corn, wheat, tobacco, timothy, clover, and other cereals of this latitude.
In the last five years a great deal of attention has been paid to the cultivation of strawberries and raspberries. Many farmers have turned their attention to raising tomatoes. sweet corn, beans, and peas for the canning factory, with very profitable results. They get more money out of these crops than any other, and are able to get their money immediately. Daviess County is famous as a producer of corn, wheat, and tobacco. The soil is well suited to the finer grades of Burley, but it is for the heavier grades of dark tobacco that the county is best known.
This is undoubtedly the best county in the State for the tobacco raiser, for he is always sure of getting the highest inarket price for his tobacco.
The lands are worked both by tenants and hired labor, for the most part white: wages on farin Siz to $15 per month and board, or S16 to $20 per month when party boards himself. There is a great deal of coal in the county, worked in small, independent banks.
The county is in the Western Kentucky coal and Illinois coal fields. Mines are scattered all over the county, furnishing fuel to every one at an average of $1. 25 per ton. For manufacturing purposes fuel can be had in Owensboro for fifty cents per ton.
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COMMERCIAL GROWTH
There are three lines of railroad in the county, the L., H. & St. L. R. R., the Illinois Central R. R., and the L. & N. R. R. These railroads, in connection with the Ohio River and Green River, guarantee the cheapest of shipping rates to and from this county.
An electric railroad is now under con- struction between Owensboro and Cal- houn, and will greatly benefit the county, through which it will run.
Owensboro, the county seat, with a population of 16,500, is one of the most progressive towns in the State; it is situ- ated on the Ohio River, has gas, electric lights, electric street cars, eighteen churches, two daily newspapers, eight banks, and two trust companies: two tele- phone companies: two telegraph com- panies; three express companies: city graded schools: an excellent high school: Owensboro Female College; St. Francis Academy: Young Men's Christian Associ- ation building, costing $25,000: four large flouring mills and elevators, the Owensboro Wagon Co., makers of the celebrated .. Owensboro" wagon : the Owensboro Wheel Factory: three buggy
factories; two furniture factories; chair factory: two foundries, and machine works: five planing mills: two large saw mills: two cooperage. and several stave yards. The Cellulose Company, located in Owensboro, has the largest plant of its kind in the world. From the pithi of corn-stalks they manufacture cellulose for packing behind the armor of war. ships: they also intend making smokeless powder and many other articles out of the same material. The company buys corn-stalks from the farmers of the coun- ty, paying enough for them to net the farmers a handsome profit for this article. which used to be awaste.
Many distilleries are scattered over the county, and besides having made . Daviess County whisky" famous. they furnish a live market for all surplus corn.
The assessed valuation of property in the county is $11. 788.313. Total tax levy for all county purposes, including roads and bridges, twenty-five cents on the $100. County out of debt, with a considerable surplus. Population according to the last official census (1900), 33,667, which is constantly being increased by immigration.
EDMONSON COUNTY
POPULATION (CENSUS 1900), 10, 080. COUNTY SEAT, BROWNSVILLE.
Situated in the Third Congressional, Second Appellate, Eighth Judicial, Eleventh Senatorial, and Twenty-fifth Legislative Districts.
Edmonson County, the seventy-ninth in the order of formation, was formed in the year 1825 out of parts of Warren, Hart. and Grayson counties, and was named in honor of Captain John Edmonson, who was killed in the battle of River Raisin, on January 22, 1813.
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