Owen County, 1889
Red lines are proposed railroads
Maps of Owen County by B. Hardin, as a
part of
The WPA Writer's Project in the 1930's
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Owen County was the 63rd county formed in Kentucky. The law enacting Owen County was passed on February 6, 1819 and the county was formed on April 1, 1819 from a parts of Franklin, Gallatin, Scott and Pendleton Counties. Its boundaries are unchanged since February 9, 1876. It has an area of 352.1 square miles, making it the 44th largest of Kentucky's 120 counties. |
from The Warsaw
Independent, of 11-26-1898:
Aunt Polly Rogers,
who has reached the good old age of 97 years, was in
Owenton last Monday, the first time in thirty-five years, although
she has lived within five miles of the town for more than half
of a century. She had her picture taken for the first time in
her life and visited the Herald office to see how newspapers
are made. When asked if she had ever been to Louisville or
Cincinnati, she replied "Bless your life, no, and I
wouldn't ride on a steam car for anything."
You'll not want to miss
a 1923 Louisville Herald article
by Ralph Coghlan on the history of Owen County,
here.
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The little town of Owenton, Ky., boasts of 121 men born within its limits who have become cashiers of banks. They are scattered through the States of Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio.” The New York Times, September 20, 1903. |
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“The annual competition for three prizes for marksmanship was held at the Naval Academy rifle range this afternoon, May 25th. Midshipman W. A. Lee of Owenton, Ky., captured the gold medal.” New York Times, May 26, 1907. |
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"A band of Kuklux made an attack upon the farm of Mrs. Mason Brown, mother of Hon. B. Gratz Brown, in Owen County, Kentucky, on Friday night, killed Louis Wilson, colored, burned his house, and damaged other farm property. The farm contains large growing crops of tobacco and corn, which will be difficult to harvest in the absence of labor driven off by Kuklux. Other farms were also visited and warned not to employ negroes as workmen. It is said the Kuklux came from Henry County." New York Times, July 29, 1873. |
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The Kentucky Department of Agriculture's assessment of agriculture in Owen County, in 1898-1899 can be found here. (pdf) |
10,000 people attend Taft Highway opening. Story here.
A few words on Poplar Grove in 1880, here.
As a part of the WPA Writers Project, one John Forsee wrote
a history
of Owen County and Owenton in the 1930's. It's in six chapters, all pdf's.
PS: If you can tell me anything more about John Forsee, please drop me an email.
A former slave living in Owen County,
John Forsee, has
dictated a narrative, written during the Federal Writers'
Project from around 1936, which gives a glimpse of life
in Owen County during his life. To read it, you must search
for the keyword "Forsee" at the Library of Congress site,
here.
J. W. Waldrop's 1914 description of Owenton is here.
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In 1930, Kentucky Progress Magazine ran a feature letting each of Kentucky's counties list their accomplishments for 1929. What Owen County came up with is here. (pdf) |
An account of the Eagle Valley Hotel, near Sanders, is here.
This list of Owen County deaths from WWII
is from
the National Archives. There's a key to what
the
various abbreviations mean here, and the
actual list is here.
The World War I list is here.
You can find lots of nice Owen County pictures at the Vallandingham Family site, here.
A status report from the Superintendent of Schools in Owen County from 1900 is here.
A little gallows humor – no, really – from 1886 is here.
The account of the 1876 lynching of Henry Smith and Squire Hammond is here, and here.
The account of the 1892 lynching of Lego Gibson is here.
The Kentuckiana Digital Library has a
number of Owen
County images. Quality is erratic, but it's worth a look,
here.
The Kentucky Historical Society's Owen
County images can
be found here.
Click on the county search box when you get there.
Bio of Lawyer James A. Violett, here.
Bio of Physician Robert Hardin Gale is here. (pdf)
Civil War prisoners from Owen County, here.
An Overview of Kentucky River Locks and Dams, here.
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Information on the three covered bridges that used to serve in Owen County are listed in the data base at web site of Kentucky Covered Bridges, here. |
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A List of the Owen County Historical Markers is here. |
In 1879, New York Times calls Owen Countians “ignoramuses.” Here. |
Provost Marshall Killed, 1864, here. |
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The Owenton Chamber of Commerce is here. |
In 1919, there was a farm census, counting livestock, crops and farms. Owen County's is here. |
Racial insurrection in Owen County in 1861? Details, or maybe rumors, here. |
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Courier-Journal's 1896 report on Owen Co Toll Roads, here. |
Summary of Civil War Operations in Owen County in October, 1864, here. |
The 1925 bus schedule from Owenton to Covington is here. |
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There are two Owen Counties in the US - the other one is Owen County, Indiana. |
In 1969, Edna Talbott Whitley compiled a list of Cabinetmakers in Kentucky. The Owen County portion of that list is here. |
Leading Owen County Citizens of 1847, here. |
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A site dedicated to the bridges of Owen County is here. |
W. B. Long wrote the News-Herald in 1905 to recall his earlier days in Owen County. His letter is here. |
The editor of the News-Herald takes a field trip to New Liberty and Wheatley in 1905. What he wrote about his trip is here. |
Breckenridge Cites "Sweet Owen." The story's here.
A less flattering spin on the compliment is
here.
The New York Times printed the US
Marshal's account of the
Kentucky Kuklux, operating in Owen County, 1874. Read it
here.
On September 1, 1870, the Post
Office Department
listed these towns in Owen County as having Post Offices:
Eagle Hill, Gratz, Harmony Hills, Lusby's Mill, Monterey,
New Columbus, New Liberty, Owenton, Rock Dale,
Pleasant Home, Poplar Grove, and West Union.
Owenton, Sparta, and Warsaw Stage Line
Ticket
1877 on the left, and 1880's on the right
In 1876-1877 the R. L. Polk Co
published a directory of
businesses in Kentucky communities. The ad above is
from that gazetteer. Owen Counties listed are:
| Owenton | New Columbus | Monterey | New Liberty |
| Gratz | Poplar Grove | Lusby's Mill | Lone Oak |
| Rock Dale |
( I did NOT make up the name of the Lusby's Mill's wagon maker!! ) |
Pleasant Home | |
| Membership Rolls for the 1911 Masonic Lodges in Owen County: (all pdf's) | |
| Owenton | Monterey |
| Pleasant Home | New Columbus |
| Wheatley | Jonesville |
| Caney Fork Church | |
An earlier Gazetteer published in Louisville, was George W.
Hawes’ Kentucky
State Gazetteer and Business Directory, for 1859 and 1860. It's
pre-Civil
War, but is erratic in its coverage. In Owen Co., it had detail on:
Owen County related excerpts from Collins' History of Kentucky are here.
A List of men from Owen County who went
to the Kentucky
penitentiary, from 1798 through 1834, is
here.
You can get information on Owen County
ancestors by subscribing
to the mailing list created for that purpose. You'll get periodic
information, and can submit your own questions, all via email.
Sign up
here
for Owen County.
Here is a
list of all available lists on Kentucky.
There are some Owen County cemetery records are here, and here.
Owen County sites placed on the National Places of Historical Places are here.
A site that has post a lot of older high
school yearbooks
of Kentucky schools is
here.
They invite your scans.
One of Owen County's most famous sons is
Willis A. "Mose" Lee.
He was born in Natlee. Find out more
here.
The ship
the US Navy named after him - a destroyer - is
here.
The Owen County Gen Web Page is Here
The Owen County Historical Society, and Library, are here.
Geology Map of Owen County, 1949
Additional Links that apply to all of Northern
Kentucky Views, and may or may not
be related to Owen County, are on the main Links & Miscellany page,
here.
