History Archives

County historian joins church bell-ringing from his farm, recalls historic milestones marked by bells

by Jennifer P. Brown
March 22, 2020

The governor asked churches across the state to simultaneously ring their bells. This is the first Sunday churches are not able to have in-person worship because of the coronavirus.

Susan B. Anthony spoke in 1879 to a Hopkinsville audience that overwhelmingly did not support women’s suffrage

by Jennifer P. Brown
March 20, 2020

The South Kentuckian newspaper reported on Anthony's speech and stated local men "don't want the woman dabbling in politics ..."

Gant Gaither, an artist and Hollywood and Broadway producer, grew up in Hopkinsville

by Jennifer P. Brown
March 13, 2020

The son of a local surgeon, he graduated from Hopkinsville High School in 1935. Working in New York after World War II, he became friends with Grace Kelly.

Clairvoyant Edgar Cayce invented a game that has been sold for more than a century

by Jennifer P. Brown
March 5, 2020

In Cayce's game, the players act as traders battling for commodities such as sugar, wheat and coffee.

Civil rights attorney Louis McHenry’s teenage daughter Gail was a delegate to the 1968 Democratic National Convention

by Jennifer P. Brown
February 28, 2020

Gail McHenry was 19 years old when she served as the youngest delegate at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Ebony magazine carried a three-page story about her that fall.

Philip C. Brooks Sr. built Hopkinsville’s only hospital for Black patients during segregation

by Jennifer P. Brown
February 20, 2020

Dr. Phillip C. Brooks Sr. was a graduate of Attucks High School. He built the hospital in his hometown during World War II.

Local man’s UBS cemetery research is enhancing Hopkinsville’s Black history archive

by Jennifer P. Brown
February 14, 2020

The Union Benevolent Society established the cemetery for African Americans shortly after the Civil War.

There was more than one ambitious journalist in Hopkinsville’s Poston family

by Jennifer P. Brown
February 6, 2020

Robert Lincoln Poston started his newspaper work in Hopkinsville before moving to Detroit and then New York City. In 1934, he led a delegation to Liberia for black nationalist Marcus Garvey's organization.

Fountain honors Hopkinsville’s ‘fearless’ Confederate Col. Thomas Woodward

by Jennifer P. Brown
January 31, 2020

A Union colonel who was tricked into surrendering to the Confederates at Clarksville, Tennessee, called Woodward an "insignificant cuss."

Riverside Chapel saved by a Hopkinsville dress shop owner in 1959

by Jennifer P. Brown
January 24, 2020

One of Hopkinsville’s most striking historic landmarks was saved from bring razed in 1959 after the widow of a former city commissioner raised public awareness and money to save the chapel.

1915 post office building was constructed for $100,000, survives today as museum

by Jennifer P. Brown
January 17, 2020

The post office building's architectural style represented strength. It remains one of the most striking buildings in downtown Hopkinsville.

Jeffers’ Bend is named for the only woman ever elected Hopkinsville’s mayor

by Jennifer P. Brown
January 9, 2020

The environmental center is on the grounds of the city's old water treatment plant. The 40-acre site has a 2.7 mile walking trail.