TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

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October 6, 1780, Edward “Neddie” Boone, Daniel’s brother, was shot and scalped by Native Americans near what is today Flat Rock in Bourbon County.  They buried him beneath an old Buckeye Tree where he died.  The address of the grave is 870 See Road, ½ mile north of the junction of KY 537.  The nearby creek after that was named Boone Creek in honor of Edward’s death.  He left his widow, Martha Bryan Boone and six children: Charity, Jane, Mary, George, Joseph, and Sarah.

Localtonians wishes a Happy Birthday to Kentucky’s 19th Governor, Lazarus Whitehead Powell, born in Henderson County in 1812.  The reforms enacted during Powell’s term gave Kentucky one of the top educational systems in the antebellum South.  He also improved Kentucky’s transportation system and vetoed legislation that he felt would have created an overabundance of banks.  Powell’s election as governor marked the end of Whig dominance in Kentucky.  Powell’s predecessor, John J. Crittenden, was the last governor elected from the party of the Commonwealth’s favorite son, Henry Clay.

Localtonians wishes a Happy Birthday to Louisville native and artist Enid Yandell, born in 1869.  Yandell specialized in portrait busts and monuments.  She created numerous portraits, garden pieces and small works as well as public monuments.  Enid also contributed to the Woman’s Building at the Chicago World’s Fair.

October 6, 1873, Deputy Marshal William A. Burton, Paris Police Department, was shot and killed while attempting to arrest two brothers who were causing a disturbance in a local saloon.  The saloon’s owner had called for Deputy Burton after the two men became boisterous and refused to leave.  Deputy Burton had placed one of the brothers under arrest when the other interfered and shot him twice, killing him.

Localtonians wishes a Happy Birthday to Todd County native Caroline Ferguson Gordon, born in 1895.  Caroline was a novelist and literary critic who was the recipient of two prestigious literary awards, a 1932 Guggenheim Fellowship and a 1934 O. Henry Award.  The O. Henry was a unique second-place prize awarded for her 1934 short story “Old Red.”  There were seventeen third-place recipients that year, including William Saroyan, Pearl Buck, Erskine Caldwell, William Faulkner, John Steinbeck and Thomas Wolfe.

October 6, 1900, Kentucky State College got their first win of the season against the YMCA, 12-6.

October 6, 1917, the Kentucky football team beat the Maryville, TN team 19-0.  Kentucky would then go on to be shutout the next six games.  In the nine-game season, Kentucky outscored their opponents 104-56.

October 6, 1928, the Cardinals beat the Eastern Kentucky Colonels 72-0 in Louisville’s Parkway Field.  The interstate rivalry stood at 2-0.

On October 6, 1949, Matt Winn passed away in his hometown of Louisville.  In 1902, Churchill Downs was in danger of closing, Winn formed a syndicate of local investors to take over the operation.  His renovations to the clubhouse and many promotions saw the business make its first-ever annual profit.   Winn changed the wagering from bookmaker betting to a Pari-mutuel betting system and, in 1911, increased business substantially when he reduced the wager ticket from $5 to $2.  In 1915, he convinced Harry Payne Whitney to ship his highly-rated filly Regret from New Jersey to Louisville to compete in the Derby.  Whitney agreed, and Winn’s effort paid off with nationwide publicity surrounding the first filly ever to win the Derby.  In 1943, the U.S. Government asked Winn to suspend the Derby because of WWII and he declined.  That year Count Fleet won the Roses and the Triple Crown.  Arthur Daley, columnist of The New York Times, said in 1949, “the Kentucky Derby is a monument to Winn, it is his baby and his alone.”

October 6, 1951, Army CPL James C. Oliver from Lincoln County died fighting in the Korean War.

October 6, 1952, Army PFC Joseph E. Clark from Daviess County, Marine Corps Kenneth D. Hartley from Versailles, Navy PO3 Thomas L. Horton from Daviess County, Army PFC Thomas M. Jordan from Kenton County and Marine Corps PFC Jasper L. Wright from Morgan County, all died fighting in the Korean War.

October 6, 1952, Army PFC Joseph E. Clark from Daviess County, Marine Corps Kenneth D. Hartley from Versailles, Navy PO3 Thomas L. Horton from Daviess County, Army PFC Thomas M. Jordan from Kenton County and Marine Corps PFC Jasper L. Wright from Morgan County, all died fighting in the Korean War.

October 6, 1962, Keeneland opens up their Fall meet with Blue Croon scoring an upset victory in the $15,000 Fayette Handicap.  He paid $23.60 to win.

October 6, 1967, Army SP4 Danny D. Burkhead from Taylorsville, Spencer County died fighting in the Vietnam War.

October 6, 1979, the last passenger train left the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Station.  The station was replaced by the Historic Railpark and Train Museum and is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

October 6, 1983, the San Diego Chicken with wrestler Jerry “The King” Lawler before the A.W.A Southern Heavyweight Championship match at Rupp Arena.  Tickets were $7 for ringside seats and$6 for general admission to see the famous mascot as Lawler’s manager.

October 6, 1979, it was Affirmed versus Spectacular Bid in the GI $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup.

October 6, 1996, Eddyville native Forrest Carlisle Pogue Jr. passed away in Murray.  Mr. Pogue was an official U.S. Army historian during WW II.  He was a proponent of oral history techniques and collected many oral histories from the war under the direction of Chief Army historian S. L. A. Marshall.  Mr. Pogue was the Executive Director of the George C. Marshall Foundation and Director of the Marshall Library located on the campus of Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia.

October 6, 2001, Tracy Cerise made Kentucky hunting history when he downed a 700-pound, 6-by-6 (12-point) bull on a reclaimed mine site, near where the Breathitt, Perry and Knott county lines converge.  It was the first elk taken in Kentucky in 150 years.

October 6, 2011, city officials announced that the Louisville Clock would move to its 6th site when it returned close to its original location in downtown Louisville, after decades away.  The 45-foot (14 m) clock, which features colorful characters racing on its face, is now located at Theatre Square, near the Brown Hotel.