History Archives

Hopkinsville native Edmund W. Starling protected five presidents as a Secret Service agent

by Jennifer P. Brown
December 26, 2019

A memoir of Starling's 30 years in the White House relied, in part, on details he shared in some 11,000 daily letters written to his mother in Hopkinsville.

Alhambra’s classic movie offerings attract big audiences from schools

by Jennifer P. Brown
December 19, 2019

Films were not shown at the Alhambra from 1983 to 2013. Digital film equipment brought movies back with grants and local donations.

Hopkinsville sculptor created works for two memorials honoring soldiers who died in Gander crash

by Jennifer P. Brown
December 12, 2019

Steve Shields created dozens of works and became a highly regarded artist before his death in 1998.

Newspaper’s move back to downtown planned before end of year

by Jennifer P. Brown
December 9, 2019

Twenty employees of the Kentucky New Era will work from the former J.C. Penney building that has been under renovation for about six months.

Odd Fellows Building owes its survival to a major renovation completed nearly 20 years ago

by Jennifer P. Brown
December 5, 2019

The building constructed in 1902 has housed several businesses over its history, including four drug stores. The last one, Herb Brandt's Corner Drugs, closed in 1989

An early Christmas parade aimed to chase away some hard economic times

by Jennifer P. Brown
November 29, 2019

Prosperity had Depression on the run, at least in spirit, when the Chamber of Commerce organized Hopkinsville's first big Christmas parade.

Bethel closed more than 50 years ago but one of its buildings is still prominent on downtown landscape

by Jennifer P. Brown
November 21, 2019

Baptist churches in the region established an organization to create the private girls school in 1854. The main campus was on West 15th Street between Main and Canton streets.

Electrician, tinkerer created Hopkinsville’s first Christmas tree lights in color

by Jennifer P. Brown
November 14, 2019

Thomas Jefferson Baugh, who became an electrician after working for a phone company, put the colored lights on the city's tree at Peace Park.

Kentucky’s 51st governor was a young lawyer from Hopkinsville

by Jennifer P. Brown
November 7, 2019

In the 1963 Democratic primary, Edward Thompson "Ned" Breathitt Jr. defeated a former governor, A.B. “Happy” Chandler, for his party’s nomination. Then he beat the Republican nominee by approximately 13,000 votes.

Hopkinsville’s first public school opened in 1842

by Julia Hunter
October 31, 2019

The first public school in Hopkinsville operated from 1842 to 1844 out of a log cabin.

Mill Springs battlefield worthy of National Monument status

by Stuart Sanders
October 25, 2019

On Jan. 19, 1862, Confederate troops marched northward from the Cumberland River to attack advancing Union troops. Fought west of Somerset in the fog and rain, Mill Springs became a battle marked by confusion.

Hoptown nickname dates back to 1800s

by Julia Hunter
October 24, 2019

The use of "Hoptown" — Hopkinsville's longtime nickname — dates back to the late 19th Century.