History

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

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.

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

The collection features fictionalized accounts of Poston's childhood, growing up in the 1910s in segregated Hopkinsville. The author and his buddies play the heroes, often outwitting the white community, but also their black elders.

The three streets that comprise most of the Anvirdale Historic District — Mooreland Drive, Latham Avenue and Alumni Avenue — are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

An oral history tells the story of Hal and Bettye Thurmond and how the Catholic faith led them to be civil rights leaders in Hopkinsville.

Douglas Charles will present the third annual Sid Easley Lecture in the Curris Center Ballroom on the Murray State University campus at 7 p.m. The presentation, entitled “The FBI in Time and Place, Then & Now,” is free and open to the public.

History teacher Brett Pritchett will relate the story of the feud between the Dukes and the Bones.

Thomas Glover's talk is titled "The Constitution, the Census and Gerrymandering."

The Pioneers will begin selling barbecue sandwiches at 4 p.m. Thursday. Their History on Tap presentation will follow at 6:30 p.m.

Pioneers Inc., established in 1952, is a civic organization of African-American men. Their catering and barbecue business supports their charity work in the community.

Steve Luxenberg's talk will focus on Kentuckian John Marshall Harlan, the lone dissenter in the U.S. Supreme Court case that justified racial segregation.