Thank You For Visiting
September 19, 1816, Sinking Springs Farm sold for $87.74 on the Elizabethtown courthouse steps. This sale marked the end of Thomas Lincoln’s dream of owning the farm he used to live on and where his son was born. Moreover, this sale was one of the main catalysts that drove the Lincoln family out of Kentucky.
September 19, 1827, Logan County native Jim Bowie became famous as a result of a feud with Norris Wright, the sheriff of Rapides Parish, Louisiana. Bowie had supported Wright’s opponent in the election for sheriff and Wright, a bank director, had a role in turning down Bowie for a bank loan.
On September 19, 1830, Gabriel Slaughter died in Mercer County and was laid to rest in his family’s cemetery in Mercer County. The 7th governor was the 1st person to ascend to governorship upon the death of the sitting governor.
September 19, 1857, some say the 1st Kentucky State Fair occurred, however 1902 is considered the 1st “official” state fair.
On September 19, 1861, the Battle of Barbourville occurred in Knox County. This early engagement is considered the 1st Confederate victory in the Commonwealth and threw a scare into Federal commanders. They rushed troops to Central Kentucky to repel the invasion, which finally stopped at the Battle of Camp Wildcat in October.
On September 19, 1881, Chester A. Arthur became the 20th U.S. President when an assassin shot President Garfield two months earlier; he only served four months.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Hill Top native Franklin Runyon Sousley, born in 1925 in Fleming County. Franklin was one of the six Marines who raised the 2nd of two U.S. flags on top of Mount Suribachi in 1945.
September 19, 1946, the Federal Communications Commission authorized The Courier Journal and the Louisville Times to operate a commercial television station. They began broadcasting in 1950.
On September 19, 1950, John Walton Collier from Worthington died in South Korea during the Korean War. Congress posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions to his father at the Pentagon in 1951.
September 19, 1968, Clyde Julian “Red” Foley, from Blue Lick, passed away. Nicknamed for his red hair, Foley grew up around Berea. At his father’s general store, he learned to play harmonica and guitar while soaking in songs and styles from his father and other local musicians, black and white. Along with Hank Williams and other artists, Foley became a natural focus of Nashville’s nascent recording industry. His 1950 monster crossover hit, Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy, reached #1 on both country and pop charts.
On September 19, 1978, lobbyists for the horse industry, the off-track betting business, and the American Horse Council spoke in Washington, D.C. for an off-track betting bill; Congress called the Interstate Horseracing Act. The federal law passed and included a “consent to bet” clause that made certain U.S. sports league executives very envious.
September 19, 1981, Powderly native James Best also known as Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane, on The Dukes of Hazzard, shook hands with Travis Goff, 6, of Jackson, during Perry County’s Black Gold Festival in Hazard. Boss Hogg, Daisy Duke, and Cletus were also grand marshals. The celebrity gathering also dedicated Hazard’s new $1 million city hall. Organizers estimated the festival crowd between 30,000 to 40,000 people.
September 19, 1998, five went to post in the Woodward Stakes (GI) at Belmont Park. Watch one beast of horse take command and never let up to win nine in a row.
September 19, 2006, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jane E. Lanham, 43, of Owensboro died of natural causes in Manama, Bahrain during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
September 19, 2009, Rich Brooks beat Steve Kragthorpe’s Cardinals in the 22nd Governor’s Cup 31-27. This was the 3rd year in a row Brooks beat Kragthorpe. Kentucky’s special teams made the difference; 254 kickoff return yards (2nd most in school history), capped off by Derrick Locke’s 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. It would be the last year both men would coach their Kentucky teams.
September 19, 2016, UK announced that they would be redefining their culinary goals to serve locally produced food in their campus dining halls. The new format would also exclude all coke, pepsi, and other soda products for the 1st time.
September 19, 2018, the season finale of “MasterChef” aired. Gerron Hurt, a 25-year-old Louisville native won the national competition. Along with the coveted title, he took home $250,000. The final dish consisted of an appetizer with his spin on the hot chicken craze, hot quail with fingerling potato salad and poached quail eggs. Gerron graduated from Fern Creek and Western Kentucky.
September 19, 2019, Kentucky’s Supreme court heard arguments about capital punishment for individuals under 21. Three different Kentucky cases were affected. Meanwhile, the Kentucky teachers’ union gave $1.1 million to Andy Beasher’s campaign for governor.