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TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

March 11-15, 1775, settlers returned to James Harrod’s fort and occupied it continuously from that point on.  Many of the 50 men who came back were the same members of Harrod’s expedition the previous year.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Louisville native John Speed, born in 1812.  John grew up on Farmington, surrounded by enslaved people, who produced the labor-intensive cash crop of hemp.  He would acquire other businesses as well.  By his death in 1840, he had become one of Kentucky’s most prominent enslavers with 54.

March 11, 1829, while drilling for salt brine in Burkesville in Cumberland County, men hit a gusher that shot “to the top of the surrounding trees.”  The gusher became one of the earliest commercial oil wells in the U.S. after the owners bottled the petroleum and sold it as medicine.

March 11, 1862, the state legislatures declared that any person serving in the Confederate army or any service who gave aid against the Union should no longer be considered a citizen.  It Happened Today In Kentucky History by Robert A. Powell pg: 25

March 11, 1896, tensions in the Kentucky General Assembly reached a point where armed Democratic supporters stood outside the statehouse in an attempt to intimidate lawmakers and discourage them from entering.  The General Assembly was appointing the next U.S. Congressman, and tensions were high.  The state banned observers from the gallery, and searched everyone entering the statehouse for weapons.

March 11, 1910, in the season closer, Central University defeated State University, Lexington (UK) 51-9 in the “old” Boyle Humphrey Gymnasium.

March 11, 1914, Frankfort unveiled William Goebel’s statue, “Kentucky’s Martyred Governor.”  Ten years earlier, the General Assembly appropriated twenty thousand dollars for the monument.

March 11, 1920, Will Lockett died in the electric chair at the Frankfort State Penitentiary in Eddyville, known as “Castle on the Cumberland.”  Lockett confessed to killing Geneva Hardman, a ten-year-old white girl, in Lexington a month earlier.  His trial at the Fayette County courthouse, occurred five days after the crime, lasted barely thirty minutes, and the judge sentenced him to death.  The WWI veteran admitted to several more murders before he died.

On Tuesday, March 11, 1924, UK assured everyone that men were working hard to complete the University’s new basketball arena, Alumni Gymnasium, for the opening night of the 6th annual high school basketball tournament starting Thursday at 9:00 a.m.  The large silver trophies for the winners stayed on display at the Lafayette Drug Store.  The Y.M.C.A. would award a silver cup to the team displaying the best sportsmanship.  All the visiting high school teams stayed at different fraternity or sorority houses, determined by a drawing.

March 11, 1926, Deputy Jailer Joe West, Knox County Detention Center, died in the Knox County Jail as he locked prisoners in their cells for the night.  One of the inmates suddenly pulled a gun and shot Jailer West.

March 11, 1939, Bowling Green native Duncan Hines published a new edition of his guidebook, Adventures in Good Eating.  As a salesman traveling across America in the 1930s, Hines began keeping notes on good places to eat along the country’s highways.

March 11, 1944, Paducah native Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb died in New York City.

March 11, 1950, Deputy Sheriff Bill Baker, Perry County Sheriff’s Office, died while arresting a man for being drunk in public near Hazard.  Deputy Baker and his partner were checking roadhouses in the area when they encountered the man coming out of one of the establishments.

March 11, 1951, Army PFC Glenn H. Gipson from McCracken County died in the Korean War.

On March 11, 1951, from left, U.S. Sens. Dennis Chavez (D-N.M.), Ernest W. McFarland (D-Ariz., the Senate majority leader), and Lyndon B. Johnson (D-Texas, the Senate majority whip) talked during the funeral for Kentucky Senator Virgil Chapman at Lexington’s Lafayette Hotel.

Kentucky Trivia:  A 25-year veteran of Congress, Chapman died in an auto accident in Washington.  The UK law graduate rests in Paris Cemetery.  Twelve years later, Johnson would become president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

March 11, 1967, Army PFC Harvey R. Chambers from Leitchfield in Grayson County and Army SP4 Richard B. Sams from Southgate in Campbell County, both died in the Vietnam War.

March 11, 1969, Army SGT John R. Jackson from Paintsville in Johnson County died in the Vietnam War.

March 11, 1971, Nelson County’s My Old Kentucky Home is placed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

March 11, 1971, Madison County’s White Hall is placed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

On March 11, 1971, Bowing Green leaders gathered at the ruins of the historic Helm Hotel in the heart of downtown. The 110-room hotel had been a beacon for South-Central Kentucky travelers since 1924, when a newspaper heralded it as “Southern Kentucky’s newest and most complete hostelry.”  A bank bought the property and tore it down.

March 11, 1971, Lincoln Ridge native Whitney Young died in Lagos, Nigeria.

March 11, 1976, Patrolman Michael T. Smith, Jefferson County Police Department, died in a motorcycle accident at Minors Lane and Ireland Drive while attempting to catch up to a speeding motorist.  Another vehicle pulled out in front of his motorcycle.

On March 11, 1976, 13 men had gathered when the second explosion blew near the entrance of the Letcher County mine; 11 died, and two repairmen escaped without injury.   Three Federal Mine Inspectors also died, which gave birth to the Health and Safety Act of 1977, including new rules for mine rescue teams, stations, and training.  The first Oven Fork explosion occurred two days earlier and killed 15 miners.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Louisville native Dan Uggla, born in 1980.

On March 11, 1988, the House voted to propose a constitutional amendment allowing a state lottery.  They sold the 1st ticket 13 months later.  Also, on this day, Federal regulators closed First Federal Savings and Loan of Paducah.

On March 11, 1992, House Speaker Don Blandford said, “Bless Your Heart,” to lobbyist Bill McBee in a hotel room in Frankfort after McBee slid him a $500 bribe.  This is one of the humorous quotes caught on tape during BOPTROT.

Kentucky Trivia:  BOBTROT snarled 19 individuals in Frankfort.  The F.B.I.’s sting operation targeted Business, Organization, and Professions Committees (BOP).  They also focused on laws regulating horse racing (TROT).

March 11, 1996, Highlands guard Jared Lorenzen called a play during an opening round game in the Boys’ Sweet Sixteen.  Henderson County rallied to stun Highlands, 62-60, ending Lorenzen’s high school basketball career.

March 11, 2001, Tubby’s Cats crushed Ole Miss to win its 23rd SEC Tournament.  Meanwhile, the headlines addressed the OxyContin addiction that hit Eastern Kentucky hard and still does to this day.

March 11, 2004, Army Staff Sergeant Joe L. Dunigan, 37, of Benton in Marshall County, died fighting in Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

After weeks of waiting, on March 11, 2004, Governor E. Fletcher finally unveiled his new tax law, which included higher cigarette and whiskey taxes, relieving 125,000 poor Kentuckians from paying income taxes while cutting the rate for most others.

On March 11, 2008, the Federal Reserve announced that it would lend $200 billion in Treasury notes to bail out bond dealers stuck with mortgage-backed securities and other collateralized debt obligations that they couldn’t resell on the secondary market.  The subprime mortgage crisis had dried up the secondary market for these debt products.  Wall Street knew the government would bail them out, and they did. Nobody was ever held accountable.

On March 11, 2010, a Senate committee, for the 1st time, approved a proposal to expand gambling at racetracks.  The bill would allow all eight existing racetracks to add electronic gambling, called Instant Racing.

On March 11, 2011, an 8.9 earthquake and a tsunami hit Japan, the largest ever for the island nation.  As a result, the natural disaster disrupted supply chains for several weeks at the Toyota plant.

Kentucky Trivia: Nearly 150 businesses in the Commonwealth, primarily auto suppliers, were owned in whole or in part by Japanese companies and employed 31,868 full-time workers.

March 11, 2015, Police Officer Burke Jevon Rhoads, Nicholasville Police Department, died in a vehicle collision at the intersection of U.S. 27 and Rogers Road in Garrard County.

On March 11, 2017, V.P. Pence spoke in Louisville to kick off the Trump administration’s campaign to end the Affordable Care Act.  Rand Paul stayed away from the awkward rally.  Senator Paul especially balked at the GOP’s new healthcare plan and the secrecy surrounding the details.

March 11, 2017, Santa Anita ran the GI $751,035 Santa Anita Handicap for four-year-olds and upward.

On March 11, 2018, two booms, a cloud of dust, and the iconic Capital Plaza Tower collapsed.

March 11, 2020, as the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global health pandemic, the NCAA announced a spectator-free tournament to stop the spread of coronavirus.  The next day they canceled the tournament altogether.

On March 11, 2020, UK announced they would switch to online classes for two weeks after spring break; UofL and Western took similar actions.  Meanwhile, the state told Kentuckians to avoid large crowds and churches and canceled the St. Patrick’s Day parades.  There were eight positive coronavirus cases: five in Harrison, two in Fayette, and one in Jefferson.

On March 11, 2021, President J. Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act 2021, the 6th and last Coronavirus Relief Package (CRP).  The $1.9 trillion handout would be Biden’s only CRP; Trump oversaw the other five.  All six CRPs, totaling over $5 trillion, passed within a calendar year.

On March 11, 2022, Senator Rand Paul tweeted, “The 2741-page omnibus with a $1.5 trillion price tag that was released in the middle of the night is a perfect example of why Congress needs time to read the bills.”

March 11, 2023, Governor A. Beshear tweeted, A big week in Kentucky, with wins showing that our economic success is helping our families live better lives.
✅Announced lowest unemployment rate in our history.
✅Shared that February 2023 was best February in history for General Fund receipts, with collections > $1 billion.

On March 11, 2024, members from both sides of the aisle, one from the House and one from the Senate, would introduce bills to stop the No-Knock Warrant. (NNW)   Senator Paul and Rep. McGavey (Louisville) named the bill after Beronna Taylor, an innocent victim of such an invasion.  Police say NNW is a crucial tool for stopping criminals.