Kentucky Trivia
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Dolly Wood, the 1st white female born in Mason County, in 1786.
December 14, 1796, Kentucky created two counties.
Kentucky 1796December 14, 1796, Kentucky created Montgomery County from Clark County in honor of Richard Montgomery, a military general killed at the Battle of Quebec. Mount Sterling is the county seat. Other cities and towns include Camargo, Jeffersonville, Judy, and Levee. Montgomery County, the 22nd county created, covers 199 square miles.
By David BenbennickDecember 14, 1796, Kentucky created Bracken County from Campbell and Mason Counties and locals named it in honor of William Bracken, trapper and frontiersman. Brooksville is the county seat. Other localities are Augusta, Foster, and Germantown. Bracken County, the 24th county created, covers 209 square miles.
By David BenbennickDecember 14, 1798, Kentucky created three counties.
Kentucky 1798December 14, 1798, Kentucky created Gallatin County from Franklin County and Shelby County in honor of Albert Gallatin, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. Warsaw is the county seat. Other cities and towns located in the county include Glencoe and Sparta. Gallatin, the 30th county created, and the 2nd smallest, covers 105 square miles.
By David BenbennickDecember 14, 1798, Kentucky created Henry County from Shelby County and was named in honor of Patrick Henry, Revolutionary War-era legislator and U.S. founding father. New Castle is the county seat. Other cities and towns include Bethlehem, Campbellsburg, Defoe, Eminence, Franklinton, Lockport, Pendleton, Pleasureville, Port Royal, Smithfield, Sulphur, and Turners Station. Henry, the 36th county created, covers 291 square miles.
By David BenbennickDecember 14, 1798, Kentucky created Cumberland County from Green County for the Cumberland River, which flows through the county. Burkesville is the county seat. Other cities and towns include Marrowbone, Amandaville, Bakerton, Bow, Dubre, Green Grove, Grider, Judio, Kettle, Modoc, Peytonsburg, and Waterview. Cumberland County, the 37th county created, covers 305 square miles.
By David BenbennickDecember 14, 1821, Kentucky created Lawrence County from Floyd County and Greenup County in honor of James Lawrence, a naval commander during the War of 1812. Louisa is the county seat. Other cities and towns include Blaine, Cherryville, Fallsburg, Kise, Ulysses, Lowmansville, and Webbville. Lawrence County, the 70th county created, covers 420 square miles.
Kentucky 1821
By David BenbennickDecember 14, 1825, Kentucky created Russell County from Cumberland County, Adair County and Wayne County in honor of William Russell (1758–1825), pioneer and state legislator. Jamestown is the county seat. Other localities are Russell Springs and Creelsboro. Russell County, the 81st county created, covers 250 square miles.
Kentucky 1825
By David BenbennickLocaltonians wish a Happy Birthday to Miss Kathleen Mulligan, born in 1889, the 1st woman to sit as a judge in Kentucky when appointed a Lexington municipal judge in 1928. She was also the 1st woman vice president of the Kentucky Bar Association, the 1st woman on the Kentucky membership committee of the ABA, and 1st woman secretary of the Fayette County Democratic Committee.
December 14, 1899, a meeting took place in the Capital Hotel, providing the 1st hint of dissent from Democrats to contest the November election in which a Republican won the governor’s mansion. Goebel, who traveled out of town on inauguration day, returned to Frankfort, having stated he was not eager to contest the election and would leave that up to his party.
December 14, 1907, Town Marshal Albert Clutterbuck, Florence Police Department, died when the town’s former marshal shot him. The former marshal blamed Marshal Clutterbuck for being fired from the position earlier in the year.
December 14, 1923, Deputy Sheriff James Farris Ball, McCreary County Sheriff’s Office, died from a gunshot by an unknown person as he was attempting to arrest two suspects. They also wounded his partner.
December 14, 1938, Judy Garland sang My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!” on a live radio show called America Calling. She later covered it again on The All Time Flop Parade with Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters.
December 14, 1966, Navy PO3 James H. Daulton from Sloans Valley in Pulaski County died in the Vietnam War.
December 14, 1967, Army SFC Louis W. Wadlington from Salem in Livingston County died in the Vietnam War.
December 14, 1970, the survey below ran in the Lexington paper.
UK Basketball SurveyDecember 14, 1972, City Judge Henderlight announced that the Corbin Police Department would start shooting female dogs running loose in the streets. Police Chief Phil Henderlight claimed Corbin’s dog situation had gotten out of control.
On December 14, 1981, approximately 4,200 gallons of oil spilled into the Cumberland River from a corroded pipe in an oil storage tank near the Williamsburg water treatment plant, which had to close for 48 hours. A Kansas firm owned the oil and did not know of the leak for days.
December 14, 2000, the EPA called out Kentucky power plants for large amounts of mercury spewing from their wastewater, claiming a significant hazard to public health. The EPA mandated the pollution be reduced, with the new requirements taking effect in 2004.
December 14, 2005, President George W. Bush and the U.S. Congress renewed and modified the Patriot Act, further eroding civil liberties in the name of protecting citizens against terrorists.
December 14, 2008, Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi threw both of his shoes at international war criminal President George W. Bush during an Iraqi press conference. The journalist served nine months of a three-year sentence because he had no prior record.
December 14, 2015, Jordan Smith won season nine of the singing competition The Voice.
On December 14, 2020, after 12,500 experimental vaccine doses reached Kentucky hospitals via special delivery by trucks, healthcare workers received the 1st shots. Dr. Jason Smith of UofL’s hospital received the 1st dose in the Commonwealth. Meanwhile, the Electoral College announced Joe Biden reached 270 votes to win the presidential race officially.
December 14, 2021, Governor A. Beshear announced an investigation into the collapse of the Mayfield candle factory during the tornado that occurred days earlier, while Breman started to rebuild from Ground Zero, the fire station. Meanwhile, UK agreed to pay their president over $1 million per year, and the CDC kept the alarm going with news on the new “aggressive” omicron variant while Pfizer touted their new pill, Paxlovid.
December 14, 2022, U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, 75, who represented Louisville on Capitol Hill for 16 years, bid farewell with a final House floor speech. He gave a mediocre speech that reflected his career of towing the line for corporations and the MIC. The speech’s highlight, “I won’t miss the constant emphasis on raising money and the apparent conviction of some that only gobs of money can persuade enough voters to win elections.”