|
Brief
History
|
|
Owen
county is located in north-central Kentucky and its county seat and
largest
town is Owenton
which is an attractive residential and shopping center.
Owenton served by US highways 127 and 227, KY
highway 22 and smaller
rural roads, is
pinpointed about 70 miles equidistance from Louisville,
Lexington
and Cincinnati.
|
|
.....................
|
|
Named
For Hero
|
|
The
62nd county to be formed, Owen was established by an act of
the legislature
in 1819 from the counties
of Gallatin, Pendleton, Franklin
and Scott. The original boundaries have been changed. Owen
county and
Owenton were named for Col. Abraham Owen whose family
settled
in Shelby county. Col. Owen
served as representative in the legislature and
a delegate to the second state constitutional
convention in
1799. Better known for his military prowess, he became an
expert in Indian fighting
and it was in the battle against Indians at Tippecanoe (Indiana)
that he was killed on Nov. 7 1811.
|
|
..............
|
|
McAfees
Were First
|
|
Explorers,
hunters, surveyors, Indian captives and war parties were in what
is
now Owen county in the early
days but the first white men known to have set
foot
in the area was the McAfee party in 1773. Approximate
time of
its early
exploration or settlement is indicated by the establishment of communities
and
forts in nearby counties from 1776 to 1762. One of the earliest known
settlements
was near the present
site of Lusby's Mill on upper Eagle creek.
In
1795, Samuel Cobb and other settled there. The
first church organized in the county
was in
1801 near what is now New Liberty and was called the
"Church
of the Twins." In 1864, the county had fourteen Baptist, one
Presbyterian,
six
Methodist and
five Christian churches. The first county seat was established in
1819 at Hesslerville (now Hesler)
and the first
court was held in the home of Jacob
Hesler. The geographical center of the county where Owenton
is now, was made
the
county seat in 1822.
|
|
...............
|
|
Owenton
Businesses
|
|
Some
of the communities existing by 1819-20 were New Liberty, Monterey,
Hesler,
Long Ridge and Lusby's Mill. Most of the early settlements sprang
up at springs
or along side streams where mills were erected, a necessary part of
early pioneer
life. In 1870, Owenton had two churches, one bank, three hotels,
eight stores,
twelve mechanics shops, one large loose-leaf tobacco drying house,
eight lawyers
and three doctors.
|
|
...............
|
|
Favors
Confederacy
|
|
The
great Civil War in the 1860's left its mark on Owen county although there
were
no organized battles fought here. Owen county was strongly Confederate
in its leanings
and there were two Confederate recruiting
camps, one known as Gen.
Humphrey Marshall's camp located near Lusby's Mill and Vallandingham's
barn about
a mile east of Owenton. Armed guerillas roved the county and life and
property was
unsafe. The infamous "Mose Webster" is said to have operated
in
the county.
|
|
.................
|
|
Electricity
Arrives
|
|
The
first bank in the county was the Deposit Bank at New Liberty, chartered
in
1861. The first newspaper was
the Owen News, and was also founded
in New Liberty
seven years later. Owen county does not have a
single mile of railroad
track but
strenuous efforts were made on several occasions
in
the late 1800's to
establish
one. Owenton's first theater was opened in 1912
and
electricity arrived in 1913. New people, practices
and events are replacing the
old in Owen county but it continues to be know far and wide as
"Old
Sweet Owen."
|
|
..........
|