On March 12, 1808, two locals established The Reporter , later named the Kentucky Reporter . The paper stressed local news and was less concerned with national or foreign affairs than the Kentucky Gazette . In 1832, the paper merged with the Lexington Observer . The Squire Sketches of Lexington , by J. Winston Coleman, Jr. pg 27
March 12, 1827, Gideon Shryock, a 25-year-old Lexington architect , received a $150 prize for the winning design of a new Capitol, and the legislators awarded him the contract. The Greek Revival became known as The Old Statehouse .
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Mays Lick native Charles Young , born in 1864. He was the 1st Black U.S. national park superintendent, 1st Black military attaché, 1st Black man to become a colonel in the U.S. Army, and the highest-ranking Black officer in the regular army until he died in 1922.
On March 12, 1865, the Union captured Jerome Clarke, a well-known Confederate guerrilla claimed by some as Sue Munday, near the Breckinridge–Meade County line. They hung him three days later in Louisville. Afterward, his trial drew heavy criticism.
March 12, 1869, Frankfort rejected the 15th Amendment one month after Washington D.C. approved it . Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware refused to ratify it due to opposition to “expanding the black vote.” The Commonwealth finally approved the Amendment in 1976.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Gradyville native Edgar Allen Diddle , born in 1895. The Western Kentucky basketball coach became the 1st individual to coach 1,000 games at one university. An early pioneer of the fast break, Diddle liked waving a red towel along the sidelines.
March 12, 1911, Deputy Sheriff H. M. Holloway and Deputy Sheriff J. T. Lovett Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department died in an ambush while guarding railroad coal chutes in Stearns. The shooting may have been the result of a strike by railroad firefighters.
March 12, 1912, Kentucky created its last county, McCreary County from parts of Wayne County, Pulaski County, and Whitley County and named it in honor of James McCreary, 37th Kentucky governor during his 2nd term. The county seat is Whitley City. Other localities include Pine Knot and Stearns. The 120th county created, is the only one formed in the 20th century. It covers 431 square miles.
By David Benbennick
March 12, 1917, Policeman Floyd Little, Weeksbury Police Department , died from a gunshot while arrestting several drunken miners firing guns in town.
March 12, 1940, Keeneland Race Course elected Louis Lee Haggin II as president , a position he held until 1956.
March 12, 1949, publishers released Harriette Simpson Arnow’s novel Hunter’s Horn . Born Harriette Louisa Simpson in Monticello, Wayne County, she grew up in neighboring Pulaski County. In 1954, Harriette released her most famous work, The Dollmaker.
March 12, 1951, Army SGT Wallace Alexander from Adair County and Marine Corps PFC James A. Gregory from Louisville , both died in the Korean War.
March 12, 1952, as a lingering indication of Kentucky’s post-Civil War sentiments , the General Assembly provided $50-a-month pensions for all Confederate veterans who had received an honorable discharge from the Confederate Army. The recipient also had to reside in Kentucky as a “bona fide resident” since January 1, 1915.
March 12, 1967, Lexington native Isaac Scott Hathaway passed away . The artist and educator created masks and busts of influential African American leaders. He also designed the 1st two U.S. coins to feature Black Americans.
March 12, 1968, Army SGT Charles W. Graham from Richardsville in Warren County and Army SSG George F. Hayes Busy in Perry County .
March 12, 1969, Army SP4 Gary L. Moore from Union in Boone County and Army SSG Kyle Waldrop from High Bridge in Jessamine County , both died in the Vietnam War.
On March 12, 1971, Kentucky’s AG, John B. Breckinridge, sued the nation’s four auto manufacturers, charging them with conspiracy to delay the development of devices to control air pollution. GM, Ford, Chrysler, and American Motors had no comment. The AG office wanted to “keep on top of every possible antitrust and trade regulation.”
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Fort Knox native Monique Jones , born in 1979. As a top ten Pro Women’s Bodybuilder; her accomplishments included 1st -place finishes at the North American Championships and the Wings of Strength Chicago Pro-Am Extravaganza.
On March 12, 1983, 20-year-old Tamara McKinney became the 1st American to win the Women’s World Cup Championship.
March 12, 1985, Union County native Earle Chester Clements died in his hometown of Morganfield . The U.S. senator and 47th governor led a faction of the state’s Democratic Party that stood in opposition to two-time governor and senator “Happy” Chandler.
March 12, 1991, the U.S. government released a report stating that Americans killed, raped, and robbed one another at a furious rate , surpassing every other country that kept crime statistics. In 1990, the nation recorded a record 23,300 killings, three an hour, and a record number of rapes, robberies, and assaults.
March 12, 2004, Rafael Bejarano won seven races on a single race card at Turfway Park, and not all were favorites . The next day, he came back and won five races. Rafael ended the meet with a track-record of 196 wins. Also, in 2004, Bejarano won the most races of any jockey with 455.
On March 12, 2007, America forced the Army’s top medical officer into retirement, another aftereffect of the shoddy conditions for veterans at Walter Reed Medical Center. He became the third high-ranking officer to quit/retire after trying to improve the hospital. President Bush stayed too busy cheerleading for Dick’s Middle East Wars to be concerned.
March 12, 2011, Augustus Owsley Stanley III, the grandson of the 38th Kentucky governor, passed over.
March 12, 2016, Tampa Bay Downs ran the GII $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby Stakes . A Keeneland graduate took home $210,000 and Kentucky Derby points. The winner placed 6th in May.
March 12, 2017, Coach Calipari’s Cats won the SEC Tournament by beating Arkansas 82-65 . Kentucky won its 3rd tournament in a row for a total of 30.
On Monday, March 12, 2018, while Central Kentucky received 8” of snow , several Kentucky High Schools prepared to participate in a national walkout to protest school violence. Meanwhile, the Estill County Engineers made their Sweet 16 debut.
March 12, 2019, Mill Springs Battlefield became a National Monument.
March 12, 2021, new coronavirus cases, deaths, and the positivity rate all continued to decline in the state . Kentucky also announced that indoor visitation could resume in nursing homes; however, facilities across the state were already allowing visitors.
March 12, 2022, a Kentucky bred won Oaklawn Park’s GII $350,000 Azeri Stakes for fillies and mares four-year olds and upward.
Kentucky Trivia: Andy was well known for fluffy tweets; now, they are called feel-good posts. The Golden Rule is as safe as it gets. Hopefully, he will take substantive stances as a presidential candidate.
On March 12, 2024, Kentucky’s new AG, Russell Coleman, urged a commission tasked with fighting drug abuse to “step back” from a proposal to invest in a psychedelic drug as a possible treatment for opioid addiction. AG Daniel Cameron, Coleman’s predecessor, considered dipping into the state’s massive opioid lawsuit settlement to study the use of ibogaine — a psychedelic.
