KY:Historical Society - Historical Marker Database

KYHistorical Society

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"Horrible Massacre"
(Marker Number: 2283)

County: Shelby
Location: US 60, 1/2 mile west of Simpsonville

Description: On January 25, 1865, Co. E. 5th United States Colored Calvary (USCC) attacked by Confederate guerillas while driving herd of 900 cattle to Louisville. About 22 men killed and at least eight severely wounded. Based at Camp Nelson, nearly all of the recruits were former slaves. The 5th also fought in 1864 Saltville battles.

(Reverse) African American Cemetery- The 5th USCC troopers killed in 1865 Simpsonville slaughter were buried in a mass grave by local residents. Area used as African American cemetery. Members of the Trim #2 United Brothers of Friendship Lodge operated the cemetery until the last member died in 1965. Lodge hall located in Simpsonville.

(Subjects: African American | Cemeteries | Civil War)

Benj. Logan-Pioneer
(Marker Number: 709)

County: Shelby
Location: US 60, 4 mi. west of Shelbyville

Description: In French and Indian, Dunmore's, Revolutionary Wars. In 1775 came to Kentucky with Boone, Henderson. Separated at Hazel Patch. Built Logan's Fort (St. Asaph's), 1776. In Virginia Assembly, 1781-87; Ky. conventions to separate from Va. and to draft Ky. state constitution. Defeated twice for Governor. Born Va., 1743; died 1802. Buried 21/2 miles south. See other side.

(Reverse) James Knox-Pioneer: Led 40 "Long Hunters" to Kentucky in 1770. Knox, with nine, built camp in area now Green County. He returned to Virginia, 1771. Major in War of Revolution. Represented Kentucky in Virginia Assembly, 1788. State Senator from Lincoln County, 1795-1800. Born Ireland, came to Virginia at age 14 years. Died 1822. Buried in the Logan graveyard. See other side.

(Subjects: Boone, Daniel | Constitutional Convention (1792) | Dunmore, John Murray | Forts and Stations | Logan, Benjamin | Long Hunters | Revolutionary War)

Birthplace of Governor Augustus Owsley Stanley
(Marker Number: 2115)

County: Shelby
Location: 3rd & Washington Sts., Shelbyville

Description: A. O. Stanley, Governor of Ky. from 1915-19, was born May 21, 1867, in Shelbyville and lived in this house as a child. The son of Rev. Wm. and Amanda Owsley Stanley, he was school principal and lawyer. Served 6 terms in U. S. Congress, 1903-15, and as U. S. Senator, 1919-25. Died in 1958 and buried in Frankfort. Presented by Shelby County Historical Society.

(Reverse) Stanley-Casey House - Northeast wing of house built ca. 1814-18. Served as Professor Scearce's Academy, a school for boys and girls, 1885-1901. House was owned by John Casey, tinsmith, and heirs 1901-84. The unusual ceilings in house were made by the Casey family. House was purchased and restored in 1984 by Shelby Co. Historical Society to serve as society headquarters.

(Subjects: Governors | Schools)

Capt. John Simpson
(Marker Number: 1128)

County: Shelby
Location: US 60, Simpsonville

Description: Simpsonville and Simpson County, Kentucky, were named for the Captain who fought with Wayne at Fallen Timbers, practiced law in Shelbyville, and was elected to the State Legislature four times. Elected to Congress in 1812. He and another Shelby Countian, Colonel John Allen, raised a company of riflemen in the War of 1812. Both killed at Battle of River Raisin.

(Subjects: Fallen Timbers, Battle of | Raisin River, Battle of)

Gen. Joseph Winlock (1758-1831)
(Marker Number: 1409)

County: Shelby
Location: KY 55, 3 mi. south of Shelbyville

Description: Soldier and statesman. Served entire Revolutionary War, rising from private to captain. Came to Ky., 1787. Delegate to first Ky. Constitutional Convention, 1792. State senator from 1800 to 1810. Commissioned a Brig. Gen. in State Militia, 1812. Commanded regiments to aid Gen. William Henry Harrison in Northwest Territory. Buried in family cemetery. See other side.

(Reverse) Dr. John Knight (1748-1838) - Skilled surgeon and physician. First to practice in Shelby Co. Born in Scotland. Came to America, 1773. Served in Revolution under Col. William Crawford; with him when captured by Indians in Ohio, 1782. Crawford burned at stake. Knight escaped. Settled in Kentucky, 1789. Member of state legislature, 1796. Buried in Winlock family cemetery. See other side.

(Subjects: Constitutional Convention (1792) | Harrison, William Henry | Indians | Revolutionary War | War of 1812)

Jeptha's Knob
(Marker Number: 161)

County: Shelby
Location: Jeptha Knob Rd. & US 60, Clay Village

Description: A cryptovolcanic structure. Crustal forces which caused this feature failed to reach eruptive stage. Top elevation 1,163 feet above sea level.

Lewis and Clark in Kentucky- 1806 Return of Expedition & Death of Meriwaether Lewis
(Marker Number: 2214)

County: Shelby
Location: 5th & Main Streets, Shelbyville

Description: Meriwether Lewis & William Clark, leaders of the 1803-06 journety to the Pacific, visited Shelbyville several times. In Nov. 1806, on the Expedition's return, Lewis arrived with Expedition veterans, Mandan & Osage Indian delegations bound for Washington, DC. Over.

(Reverse) In Shelbyville on Oct. 28, 1809, Clark learned of the death of his Expedition partner, Meriwether Lewis. Clark stopped in town when traveling eastward and read a newspaper report that Lewis had killed himself in Tennessee.

(Subjects: Indians | Lewis and Clark Expedition | Lewis, Meriwether)

Lewis and Clark in Kentucky- Death of Meriwether Lewis
(Marker Number: 2213)

County: Shelby
Location: US 60 & KY 1472 near Graefenburg

Description: William Clark, coleader of the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition to the Pacific, spent the night of October 28, 1809, at John Shannon's Tavern near present Graefenburg. That day he read that Lewis, his expedition partner, had killed himself in Tenn. Over.

(Reverse) That night Clark wrote a famous letter expressing fear that Lewis had committed suicide. He wrote, "I fear O! I fear the weight of his mind has overcome him." Lewis died Oct. 11, 1809, 70 mi. sw of Nashville on the Natchez Trace.

(Subjects: Lewis and Clark Expedition | Lewis, Meriwether)

Lincoln Institute Campus
(Marker Number: 1930)

County: Shelby
Location: 8460 Shelbyville Rd., Simpsonville

Description: Founded by Berea College trustees with Pres. Frost main fundraiser. This occurred after Day Law (1904) stopped coeducation of whites and blacks. In 1909, Berea board bought three farms totaling 444 acres for a school. Lincoln Institute opened to 85 black students on October 1, 1912. It stressed teacher training and industrial education. See over. Presented by National Alumni Association.

(Reverse) Lincoln Institute Campus - Well known black leaders were financial agent James Bond and later Pres. Whitney M. Young, Sr. Institute designed by the New York firm of Tandy and Foster (black architects). In 1947, school became part of public education system. It opened as institute for gifted but disadvantaged youth, 1967. School officially closed in 1970. Over. Presented by National Alumni Association.

(Subjects: African American | Architects | Berea College | Schools)

Maj. Bland W. Ballard
(Marker Number: 1088)

County: Shelby
Location: US 60 at Cross Keys Rd., Shelbyville

Description: Hunter, Indian fighter and scout for George Rogers Clark in Wabash expeditions. Born in Va., 1761. With Wayne at Fallen Timbers. Wounded at River Raisin. Survived Long Run, Tick Creek Massacres, Floyd's Fork Ambush. State Legislator. Died in 1853 in Shelby County, buried in the State Cemetery at Frankfort.

(Reverse) Tick Creek Massacre - Near Tyler Station, three miles north, Bland Ballard, his wife, and three children were massacred at Ballard's cabin on Tick Creek in October 1788. His son, Major Bland W. Ballard, killed six Indians, and survived attack. Two other children survived. Tyler Station was established in 1781 by Ballard and Robert Tyler. It was abandoned shortly after the massacre.

(Subjects: Clark, George Rogers | Fallen Timbers, Battle of | Forts and Stations | Frankfort | Indians | Raisin River, Battle of | War of 1812)

Old Stone Inn
(Marker Number: 1889)

County: Shelby
Location: US 60, Simpsonville

Description: This structure on Midland Trail has been a tavern, stagecoach inn, and home since built in early 1800s. Erected from stone quarried nearby. Oldest stone residence in Shelby County still standing and occupied. Operated as early tavern; among its owners was Fleming P. Rogers, 1817-27. After serving as private home for many years, Old Stone Inn opened as a restaurant in 1922.

(Subjects: Inns)

Pioneer Station
(Marker Number: 848)

County: Shelby
Location: KY 55, 2 mi. N. of Shelbyville

Description: Squire Boone's Station or Painted Stone, half mile west on Clear Creek. Founded by Squire Boone and others, 1779. Born Penn., 1744, taken to N.C. as child. Came to Ky. with brother Daniel in 1769. In summer 1775 came here, returned spring 1776 painted name and date on creek stone which gave name of "Painted Stone." Aided in defense of Boonesborough in 1778. See over.

(Reverse) Squire Boone - Captain, border militia stationed at Painted Stone Fort, 1780. Ky. delegate, Va. House of Burgesses, 1782. Member of Ky. Convention, 1785. Delegate, Va. ratification, United States Constitution, 1788. Given standing as Revolutionary soldier and officer by Congress in 1813. Moved to Indiana in 1806; built new settlement there, where he died, was buried, 1815. See over.

(Subjects: Boone, Daniel | Boonesborough | Forts and Stations)

Science Hill School
(Marker Number: 971)

County: Shelby
Location: 525 Washington St., Shelbyville

Description: For 114 continuous years, an outstanding school for girls. Directed by the founder 54 years then by one family 60 years, it ranked among nation's foremost college preparatory schools.

Principals

Mrs. Julia A. Tevis - 1825-1879
W. T. Poynter, D.D. - 1879-1896
Mrs. W. T. Poynter, A.B. - 1896-1937
Juliet J. Poynter, A.B. - 1937-1939

(Subjects: Schools)

Shelby County Hemp
(Marker Number: 1320)

County: Shelby
Location: US 60 & KY 714, 31/2 mi. E. of Shelbyville

Description: One of chief producing counties. Crop income reached a yearly high of $150,000 in 1860. Nine hundred tons of hemp were consumed to produce 2,000 bales of twine and 5,000 coils of rope this same year. One of the ten Bluegrass counties which accounted for more than 90 percent of the yield of the whole country in the late 1800s.

(Reverse) Hemp in Kentucky - First crop grown, 1775. From 1840 to 1860, Ky.'s production largest in U.S. Peak in 1850 was 40,000 tons, with value of $5,000,000. Scores of factories made twine, rope, oakum to caulk sailing ships and cotton bagging. State's largest cash crop until 1915. Market lost to imported jute, freed of tariff. As war measure, hemp grown again during World War II. See over.

(Subjects: Hemp | World War II)

Shelby County, 1792
(Marker Number: 1238)

County: Shelby
Location: Courthouse lawn, 5th & Main Sts., Shelbyville

Description: Formed from a part of Jefferson County, it was the third created after Kentucky became a state. Named in honor of Isaac Shelby, 1750-1826, first Kentucky governor, 1792-96; elected again 1812-16. In the Revolutionary War, Indian campaigns, and War of 1812. He came to Kentucky in 1783. Member of the Kentucky Constitutional Conventions at Danville, 1784-92.

(Subjects: Constitutional Convention (1792) | Revolutionary War | Shelby, Isaac | War of 1812)

Shelbyville Fountain
(Marker Number: 1379)

County: Shelby
Location: 5th & Main Sts., Shelbyville

Description: This fountain was purchased jointly in 1895 by city and county from J. L. Mott Iron Works, New York. It was erected at intersection of Fifth and Main Sts. upon the completion of Shelbyville's first public water works. Moved in 1914 to public square to clear the street after construction of new courthouse. Figure chosen for top of fountain is "Atlantis" pattern.

(Subjects: Civil War)

Squire Boone's Station, 1779
(Marker Number: 28)

County: Shelby
Location: 5th & Main Sts., Shelbyville

Description: "Painted Stone" 21/2 miles north on Eminence Road, thence, 1/2 mile west to site on Clear Creek. For nearly 2 years only large station on the Wilderness Road between Harrodstown and the Falls of the Ohio River. Ground plan found among papers of Gen. George Rogers Clark. Disastrous attack by Indians 1781-re-occupied by the whites. First improved 1775-called "Painted Stone Tract" 1776.

(Subjects: Boone, Squire | Clark, George Rogers | Forts and Stations | Indians)

The Armstrong Hotel
(Marker Number: 1129)

County: Shelby
Location: 6th & Main Sts., Shelbyville

Description: Established in 1859 by George A. Armstrong and was known for its good food and lodgings. Guerrilla leader Ed Terrell stopped here briefly, May 26, 1866. Attempting to escape, he was mortally wounded nearby. Brig. Gen. Henry H. Denhardt was slain here, Sept. 20, 1937. When the hotel was destroyed by fire on February 7, 1944, the owners decided not to rebuild.

(Subjects: Hotels)

The Blockhouse
(Marker Number: 1089)

County: Shelby
Location: 5th and Main Sts., Shelbyville

Description: Built in 1858 by townspeople for civil defense against guerrillas. Located in middle of intersection. Measured 12 by 18 feet with loopholes on all sides. Manned by townsmen when alarm sounded. Several encounters with gangs attempting to raid town. Torn down in 1870 when civil law and order were assured, and marauders had been dispersed.

(Reverse) Martin's Raid - In August 1864 Captain David (Black Dave) Martin and gang attempted raid on courthouse to secure guns stored there. Thomas C. McGrath, merchant, J. H. Masonheimer, tailor, and others defended town against raiders. Three guerrillas were killed, and McGrath wounded. Mission failed. Martin died in 1896 and was buried in Grove Hill Cemetery.

(Subjects: Civil War)

Thelma Stovall (1919-1994)
(Marker Number: 2170)

County: Shelby
Location: I-64 Rest Area

Description: Entered political service in 1949 when she was elected to the Kentucky state legislature. For the next 34 years, Stovall served Kentucky in a variety of elected & appointed positions, including secretary of state, state treasurer, labor commissioner, & as the first woman elected lt. governor in Kentucky.

(Reverse) As lt. governor, she was elevated to acting governor several times & took advantage of the position. In 1978 she championed the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, which was not well received by the legislature. In 1979 she was more successful in securing passage of a bill for property tax reform.

(Subjects: Governors | Women)

Whitney M. Young, Jr. (1921-1971)
(Marker Number: 1419)

County: Shelby
Location: 8460 Shelbyville Rd., Simpsonville

Description: Civil rights leader born here. Son of distinguished educator, Dr. Whitney M. Young, Sr. Served in US Army, World War II. Graduated Ky. State College, 1941; Univ. of Minn., 1947. Director of Urban Leagues in Minn. and Neb., 1947-53. Dean of School of Social Work, Atlanta Univ., 1954-60. Director National Urban League, 1961 until death. Originally buried Lexington, Ky.

(Reverse) Whitney M. Young, Jr. (1921-1971) - Devoted his life to overcoming injustice to and furthering economic progress for blacks. As Director of National Urban League, helped thousands find employment. Declined cabinet post in 1968 to remain with League where he believed could accomplish more. Gravesite eulogy delivered by President Nixon; first civil rights leader so honored. Over.

(Subjects: African American | Civil Rights | Kentucky State College | World War II)