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Kentucky Historical Society
KHS to Dedicate Historical Marker to Honor Col. Frederick Geiger and Early Butchertown
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Sept. 13, 2011) — The Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) will dedicate a historical marker to honor Col. Frederick Geiger and early Butchertown at noon Saturday, Sept. 17, at 1607 Frankfort Ave. in Louisville.
In 1796, Revolutionary War veteran Frederick Geiger came to Jefferson County from Maryland. He settled in Butchertown in 1807. He raised a company of Kentucky Mounted Riflemen for Gen. William Henry Harrison’s 1811 Indian Campaign. He was wounded at the Battle of Tippecanoe and was a colonel in the War of 1812. He is buried in Cave Hill Cemetery.
Butchertown was established on land that was part of the 1774 survey claimed by Hancock Taylor. By 1797, Henry Fait had a house and a saw and grist mill on Beargrass Creek. Frederick Geiger bought the mill in 1801 and ran a public ferry to Indiana after 1802. After 1815, the neighborhood was a pork packing site for steamboats engaged in the Ohio River trade.
The Kentucky Historical Marker Program, administered by KHS in cooperation with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, commemorates historical sites, events and personalities throughout the state. Through the program, the wealth of Kentucky history is made accessible to the public on markers along the state’s roadways. The markers are on-the-spot history lessons that add drama and interest to the countryside for Kentuckians as well as tourists.
For more information about the program, contact Becky Riddle, Kentucky Historical Marker program coordinator, at 502-564-1792, ext. 4474 or becky.riddle@ky.gov.
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An agency of the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, the Kentucky Historical Society, established in 1836, is committed to helping people understand, cherish and share Kentucky's history. The KHS history campus includes the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, the Old State Capitol and the Kentucky Military History Museum at the State Arsenal. For more information about the Kentucky Historical Society and its programs, visit the website at www.history.ky.gov.
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