KY:Historical Society - Historical Marker Database

KYHistorical Society

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Adair County Courthouse
(Marker Number: 1599)

County: Adair
Location: Columbia, Courthouse lawn, KY 55 & 80

Description: On June 28, 1802, court ordered permanent seat of justice on the public square. First courthouse built in 1806. Present structure was designed by McDonald Bros., Louisville, and built by William H. Hudson and Columbus Stone in 1887. A unique architectural feature is the carving of faces on the south columns. Listed on National Register of Historic Places, 1974.

(Subjects: Architects | Courthouses | National Register of Historic Places)

Col. Frank L. Wolford
(Marker Number: 604)

County: Adair
Location: Columbia, Courthouse lawn, KY 80

Description: A foremost champion of the Union, a staunch friend of the stricken South, defender of constitutional freedom. Born Columbia 1817, died 1895 and buried in city cemetery. Veteran Mexican War, leader famed First Kentucky Union Cavalry, hero of many battles, eight times wounded. Bold warrior, chivalrous foe. Renowned lawyer and orator. Member Legislature and Congress.

Columbia-Union Presbyterian Church
(Marker Number: 2243)

County: Adair
Location: 304 Burkesville St., Columbia

Description: Active Presbyterian congregations formed early in the county’s settlement:1803 on Col. Casey’s farm & 1827 in Columbia. Church was built in 1857 and has had continuous services ever since. County and city congregations merged in 1912. Columbia-Union Presbyterian Church became the official name in 1925. Over

(Reverse) The original sanctuary’s slave balcony was removed in 1885. Civil War involvement includes bullet molds found in the attic, a steeple/ lookout to watch for rebel raiders, and doors that were used as stretchers for the wounded in a skirmish with John Hunt Morgan’s troops in 1863. Limestone steps are original.

(Subjects: Civil War | Morgan, John Hunt | Presbyterian Church | Slavery)

Confederate Raids
(Marker Number: 707)

County: Adair
Location: Columbia, Courthouse lawn, KY 61, 80

Description: General John Hunt Morgan's cavalry, returning from second Kentucky raid, passed here on way back to Tennessee, Jan. 1, 1863. On raid, Union's rail supply line wrecked and $2,000,000 property destroyed. July 3, 1863, Morgan here again drove out small USA force. On July 8, at Brandenburg, crossed river into Indiana. Captured in NE Ohio, July 26. See map over.

(Subjects: Civil War | Morgan, John Hunt)

County Named, 1801
(Marker Number: 1139)

County: Adair
Location: Columbia, Courthouse lawn, KY 61, 80

Description: For Gen. John Adair, Governor of Kentucky 1820-24. Born, 1757, in South Carolina, came to Ky., 1788. Member of Kentucky Constitutional Convention, 1792. Served in Ky. House of Representatives, 1793-95, 1798, 1800-03, 1817. US Senator, 1805-06, Congressman, 1831-33. At Battle of Thames, 1813. Commanded Kentucky troops in Battle of New Orleans, 1815. Died, 1840.

(Subjects: Constitutional Convention (1792) | New Orleans, Battle of | Thames, Battle of)

Daniel Trabue (1760-1840)
(Marker Number: 1782)

County: Adair
Location: 299 Jamestown St., Columbia

Description: A founder of Columbia, Trabue built original house (SW corner of this structure) ca. 1823. He served as trustee, sheriff, and justice of peace; operated grist mill, inn and retail store. Here Trabue wrote memoirs, 1827, of pioneer era, which included events at Logan's Station, Boonesborough, and service under Anthony Wayne. These accounts part of famous Draper Manuscripts.

(Subjects: Boonesborough | Forts and Stations | Grist Mills)

Jane Lampton Home
(Marker Number: 128)

County: Adair
Location: Opposite Courthouse yard, Columbia, KY 55, 80

Description: Girlhood home of Jane Lampton (1803-1891). Wife of John Marshall Clemens. Mother of "Mark Twain." Granddaughter of Colonel William Casey, original Adair County settler.

(Subjects: Clemens, Samuel Langhorne (Mark Twain))

Janice Holt Giles (1905-1979)
(Marker Number: 1813)

County: Adair
Location: Near Janice H. Giles home, KY 76 and Spout Springs Rd.

Description: Historical novels by this talented author have sold more than three million copies. Most settings of her some twenty books reflect her adopted home, the Green River area where she lived with her husband Henry, and the Indian territory of Okla. and Ark. where Giles spent early years. Her works, noted for action and imagery, include The Enduring Hills and The Believers.

(Subjects: Authors | Books | Rivers)

Make and Female School Site
(Marker Number: 2242)

County: Adair
Location: 305 E. Guardian, Columbia

Description: The Columbia College Joint Stock Company formed in 1853 to build the M&F School. It was conveyed to trustees appointed by Transylvania Presbytery and opened in 1855. The building was a Union Camp during the Civil War. Classes resumed after the war. In 1908 a public grade and high school replaced the M&F School on the same site.

(Reverse) This horse-mounting block is a survivor from many that were along this road and in the field beyond. Houses built in the early 1900s now occupy former pastures where horses grazed while their riders attended the M&F School on the hill. This subscription school provided both boys and girls a quality high school education.

(Subjects: Civil War | Schools | Union Army)

Site of Casey Home
(Marker Number: 806)

County: Adair
Location: 3 mi. SW of Columbia, KY 80

Description: Home of Col. William Casey, early Ky. pioneer and great-grandfather of Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain). Born in Va., came to Ky. in 1779. Built Casey Station on Dix River. In 1791 moved to Russell Creek near here. Member second Kentucky Const. Conv., 1799. Trustee, town of Columbia, 1802. Presidential elector, 1813. Died here, 1816. Casey County named for him, 1806.

(Subjects: Clemens, Samuel Langhorne (Mark Twain) | Constitutional Convention (1799) | Forts and Stations)