A grant for $14,672 has been awarded to Pennyrile Resource Conservation and Development to install vinyl siding and new windows at the Jeffers Bend Welcome Center — an 1890s house that was originally the residence for the superintendent at Hopkinsville’s water treatment plant.
The Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels recently presented the grant money to Pennyrile RC&D, the organization that oversees Jeffers Bend along with a steering committee of volunteers.
Charles Turner, who leads the nonprofit Pennyrile RC&D, told Hoptown Chronicle he hopes a contractor will have the siding and windows installed by late August. The siding will be yellow, to match the current color of the building. The first big event at Jeffers Bend after the work is completed will be Natuefest on Sept. 16.
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A story from the Tobacco Wars is linked to the old superintendent’s house, Christian County Historian William T. Turner told Hoptown Chronicle.
In the predawn of Dec. 7, 1907, when the Night Riders raided Hopkinsville with plans to torch tobacco warehouses, police sent word to water plant superintendent Fred Jake so he would increase the amount of water being pumped into downtown. The water plant, built around 1895, was equipped with a Corliss steam engine. It was powered with coal.
Jake was in the pump house next to his residence when some of the Night Riders headed to the water plant. Somehow, he managed to crawl from the pump house to his house without being seen and got to safety with his family, said Turner. Once inside, he refused the Night Riders when they called for him to come outside.
The Jeffers Bend Environmental Center — located along the North Fork of Little River, at Metcalfe Lane behind Riverside Cemetery — is comprised of 56 acres that has been leased from the Hopkinsville Water Environment Authority since 1997. It is named for the late Sherrill Jeffers, who was elected to one term as Hopkinsville mayor in the 1980s.
Pennyrile RC&D serves the nine-county region with activities such as Take Kids Fishing events in Hopkinsville, Dawson Springs, Cadiz and Greenville. It also hosts school field trips to Jeffers Bend and maintains the site’s botanical garden, butterfly garden and floral areas. Seasonal events at Jeffers Bend include Naturefest, the Hummingbird Festival, Christmas at the Bend, and the annual Torchlight Tours around Halloween, when Turner tells the Bell Witch story.
In a press release, Kentucky Colonels Commanding Gen. Gary Boschert said the organization awarded 343 grants totaling $3.1 million this year.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.
