On July 13, 1750, Dr. Thomas Walker left Kentucky for the last time. He returned to Virginia. His journal detailed his exploration of Eastern Kentucky, detailing the difficulties and hardship. Walker noted that during their journey, his party killed 13 buffaloes, eight elks, 53 bears, 20 deer, four wild geese, about 150 turkeys, besides the small game.
July 13, 1843, Kentucky’s 11th Class III, U.S. Senator John Rowan, passed over. Henry Clay took his seat nine months after it became vacant.
July 13, 1866, Richmond native Green Clay Smith became the 2nd Territorial Governor of Montana.
Localtonians wish a Happy Anniversary to William Bradley and Margaret Robertson Duncan, who wed in 1876. The couple had two children, George Robertson Bradley and Christine (Bradley) South. William became a U.S. Senator in 1909 and governor in 1895.
July 13, 1884, Jailer William J. Lucas, Daviess County Detention Center, died while protecting the jail from a mob of over 200 citizens trying to remove an inmate to hang him. As some of the residents began to assault Jailer Lucas, he opened fire with his revolver, killing two citizens. Other citizens in the mob opened fire on Jailer Lucas, killing him, before removing the prisoner and killing him as well.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Point Leavell native William Bradley Kincaid, born in 1895, in Garrard County.
July 13, 1921, Fayette County sentenced a male to hang for the 1st time under a 1920 state law that let counties dictate how they handle executions if the criminal attacked women. The state preferred “Old Sparkey.”
July 13, 1922, Patrolman Clifford Hall, Fayette County Police Department, succumbed to injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident the previous day stopping a speeding automobile on Paris Pike.
July 13, 1926, G.L. Wainscott launched the Ale-8-One soft drink in Winchester.
July 13, 1928, Kentucky executed the most prisoners in a single day in America. Seven men died, one right after another, by “Old Sparky,” the Kentucky State Penitentiary’s nickname for the electric chair in Eddyville. The three black men and four white men all committed murder and met their end at “Castle on the Cumberland.”
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Corydon native Frank Ramsey, born in 1931. Raised in Madisonville, he helped win the 1951 NCAA title under Coach Rupp. He then played his entire nine-year (1954–1964) NBA career with the Boston Celtics and played a major role in the early part of their dynasty, winning seven championships. He also coached the Kentucky Colonels of the ABA during the 1970–1971 season.
July 13, 1932, Deputy Sheriff Marion Stapleton Menifee County Sheriff’s Office, died from gunshots by a man wanted for the murder of a local farmer the previous day.
July 13, 1951, Army SGT Wilson Craddock from Pendleton County died in the Korean War.
July 13, 1953, Army CPL Waldo M. Dingus from Morgan County died in the Korean War.
On July 13, 1962, horse lovers dedicated the American Saddle Horse Museum in the Old Carriage House at Spindletop Estate. The museum opened with breeding, show records, photographs, and memorabilia of saddlebreds (show horses) and showcased the most extensive collection of carriages in the U.S.
July 13, 1968, favored Indian Emerald breezed to a 6-length Junior Derby victory in front of 6,851 at Miles Park. Leslie Combs consigned the horse for $49,000 to a Chicago political boss. Meanwhile, at Monmouth Park, Damascus finished 3rd in the Armory L. Haskell Handicap.
July 13, 1975, Louisville announced that representatives from every high school in Jefferson County would get together and think of everything that could possibly go wrong when desegregation starts.
July 13, 1985, the Berea Craft Festival celebrated their 36th annual show at Indian Fort Theater.
Effective July 13, 1990, Kentucky named Crider soil as its state soil.
July 13, 1997, Fort Knox native Larry Gilbert won the Ford Senior Players Championship in Akron, OH, on the Senior PGA Tour. His three-stroke victory earned him $270,000. The following year he died of lung cancer at 55.
July 13, 1999, the suspected railway serial killer surrendered in Texas at the urging of his family. Two Kentucky officials flew to Texas to question the suspect for the murder of Christopher Maier, 21, who died close to UK’s campus.
Effective July 13, 2004, Kentucky designated the blackberry as the official fruit.
July 13, 2003, Kenny Perry birdied the 72nd hole to win the Greater Milwaukee Open by one stroke over two others and won $630,000.
July 13, 2006, Jerry Ragland again posted a $1 million bond for his son to leave jail with an electronic-monitoring device pending a retrial.
July 13, 2010, Army Staff SGT Christopher T. Stout, 34, of Worthville, died in Afghanistan fighting in Operation Enduring Freedom.
July 13, 2019, the 9th green flag flew for the Quaker 400 at Kentucky Speedway. Three drivers had won all nine. Brad Keselowski won in 2012,2014,2016 – Kyle Bush won the inaugural cup race and again in 2015 – Martin Truex, Jr had won the previous two.
July 13, 2020, coronavirus still had society on edge. Las Vegas would soon shut down for the 2nd time in six months and Governor A. Beshear gave a strong push toward masks. The Kentucky Court of Appeals backed two lower judges that struck down the governor’s coronavirus restrictions. Andy called the Appellate Judge’s ruling “reckless.” Meanwhile, America debated on how to return the kids back to school.
By July 13, 2022, inflation reared its ugly head as many took on sticker shock walking down grocery store aisles; one of the consequences of circulating $3.8 trillion in 2020, President Trump’s last year.
July 13, 2023, the general public learned someone unearthed more than 800 gold Civil War-era coins, 700 of them gold, buried more than 150 years ago. A farmer found the Great Kentucky Hoard while plowing his cornfield. A conflict archaeologist opined that someone buried it before Morgan’s Raid, a major offensive through Kentucky into the Midwest in June–July 1863, concurrent to that of Gettysburg and Vicksburg.