June 23, 1792, the young Commonwealth created Shelby County from Jefferson County. Shelby was named in honor of Isaac Shelby, 1st and 5th governor. Shelbyville is the county seat. Other localities include: Bagdad, Chestnut Grove, Christianburg, Clark, Clay Village, Cropper, Finchville, Harrisonville, Hemp Ridge, Hooper, Mt. Eden, Mulberry, Olive Branch, Peytona, Pleasureville, Scotts Station, Simpsonville, Southville, Todds Point and Waddy. The 12th county created covers 386 square miles.
June 23, 1866, H. Howard Gratz revived the Kentucky Gazette after the Civil War had ended, and the paper ran till 1910.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Paducah native Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb, born in 1876. At one point, he was the highest-paid staff reporter in the U.S.
Localtonians wish a Happy Anniversary to Alben W. Barkey and Dorothy Brower, who wed in 1903. Unfortunately, Dorothy died in 1947, and Barkley remarried while he was V.P.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Louisville native Helen Humes, born in 1913. Helen helped shape and define the sound of vocal swing music.
Localtonians wish a Happy Anniversary to Keen Johnson and Eunice Nichols, who wed in 1917. Keen became our 45th governor and the only journalist to hold the office.
June 23, 1919, Man o’ War traveled to Aqueduct and won the 29th running of the 5F Hudson Handicap for two-year-olds in 1:01.60. He carried 130 lbs. which is unheard of these days in the juvenile ranks. Conceding 21 lbs., he stretched out easily and won unchallenged by 1 1/2 lengths. The winner earned $2,825 in the $3,500 purse.
On June 23, 1923, James I. Hamilton, 62, one of the largest land owners in Garrard County, died instantly at 11:00 am in a pistol duel with Ciell Pointer, 35, a tenant on his farm. Ciell received one flesh wound walked to a neighbor and called the sheriff. The sheriff escorted him to jail and later to Lexington for fear of mob retribution and arrested him for murder.
June 23, 1928, as Central Kentucky leaders gathered in Lexington at Lake Ellerslie to show their disdain for commercializing the Cumberland Falls, a Louisville businessman donated a color motion picture film to the Kentucky Progress Commission in Frankfort. The film promoted the state’s natural beauty, industries, horses, and even a Cardinal in its natural habitat.
June 23, 1935, Deputy Sheriff Victor Green, Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, died from a gunshot by a suspect who was upset over a case he was working on.
On June 23, 1937, the special Court of Appeals held that Kentucky’s personal and corporate income tax law enacted in 1936 was constitutional. In the 1st year the tax raised $2 million. Meanwhile, locals found an ex-Harlan Deputy Sherriff dead on Pine Mountain a day after three deputies resigned in protest.
June 23, 1951, Army SGT Louis O. Chinn from Fayette County died in the Korean War.
On June 23, 1960, record downpours and violent thunderstorms hit Central Kentucky, causing severe damage and two deaths. The rain washed away two bridges in Casey County’s Green River Valley.
June 23, 1965, Daniel Carter Beard’s Boyhood Home became a National Historic Landmark. “Uncle Dan” founded the Boy Scouts of America and was the National Scout Commissioner from the 1910 founding to his death in 1941.
By C. Bedford CrenshawJune 23, 1966, Army PFC John E. Hampton from Whitesburg died in the Vietnam War.
June 23, 1968, Army CPL Gary Wilkinson from Murray in Calloway County died in the Vietnam War.
June 23, 1971, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) put Ashland Oil, Inc. on 180-day notice to stop polluting the Big Sandy River. The EPA had only served 12 of these notices in its history; Kentucky had its first.
June 23, 1972, U.S. lawmakers passed Title IX, a landmark measure that banned sexual discrimination in education and fostered unapparelled growth in women’s athletics nationwide for the following five decades.
On June 23, 1979, the nationwide strike by independent truckers continued to grow, causing severe disruptions to food and fuel deliveries amid signs that President Carter was preparing to give in to their demands for more fuel. Truckers who crossed the picket line were shot at or stoned while driving on highways in at least 20 states. The protest addressed higher fuel prices, fewer supplies, and government regulations that unfairly inhibited businesses.
June 23, 1986, Historic Locust Grove in Louisville became a U.S. National Historic Landmark.
June 23, 1992, while an ex-Kentucky lawmaker faced a judge for taking $63,000 in bribes from competing sides of horse racing legislation, Kentucky’s Chief Justice lost a minor battle in his very public divorce hearings. Meanwhile, on the national scene, Brooklyn erupted in riots after the government put John Gotti away for life and 3rd Party candidate Ross Perot called out President George H. W. Bush’s numerous dirty tricks to destroy the businessman’s reputation.
June 23, 1994, Anthony Lynch from Salyersville caught a state record Longear Sunfish weighing 13.28 ozs in a strip mine pond in Magoffin County.
On June 23, 2000, Toyota launched an internet-based system to streamline their North American parts purchasing. The initial plan was to eliminate errors, reduce paperwork, and speed decision-making to strengthen supplier relationships.
On June 23, 2009, the Grand Ole Opry inducted the Kentucky duo Montgomery Gentry, with Marty Stuart and Little Jimmy Dickens as presenters. Eddie Montgomery hails from Danville, and Troy Gentry, who died in a helicopter crash, is from Lexington.
June 23, 2010, Army SPC Russell E. Madden 29, of Dayton, died in Afghanistan, fighting in Operation Enduring Freedom.
June 23, 2015, Trooper Eric Keith Chrisman, Kentucky State Police, died in a vehicle crash on US Route 62 near the Tennessee River Bridge in Livingston County at 5:48 pm.
June 23, 2017, Kentucky politicians acted with disdain when California announced a travel restriction to Kentucky because of what they felt were discriminatory laws toward gay and transgender people.
On June 23, 2020, Fayette County voters stood in line for 90 minutes to vote at UK’s Football Stadium due to the pandemic. Louisville also had one location, the Kentucky Fair and Exhibition Center, which ran smoothly. Voter turnout was higher than expected, the mail-in ballots helped.
On June 23, 2021, UK went to court to try to get Wendell and Tayna Berry’s lawsuit thrown out. The Berrys fought the university when the school announced they would remove a mural depicting enslaved people. UK had no intentions of destroying the art; they just wanted to move it. Black students claimed it was hurtful and traumatic. Ann Rice O’Hanlon, Tayna’s aunt, painted the piece in the 1930s.
June 23, 2023, M. McConnell announced Kentucky’s handouts of the socialist government funds from the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure and Jobs Act (IJA). McConnell broke from Republican ranks and voted for Biden’s IJA 19 months earlier. Mitch and Hal are masters of directing the socialist money to their districts; they have made a career out of it. Lexington received $8.1 million to fix a railroad overpass, Jackson got $21.1 million for the Pan Bowl Lake Dam, and Bellevue received $3.7 million for a Riverfront trial.