TIP #256 - ANOTHER LOOK AT CALDWELL, CALLOWAY, CAMPBELL, CARLISLE, AND CARROLL COUNTIES. Caldwell County, in Kentucky's western waterland, welcomes tourists to a country full of fresh waters and deep forests. It was the 51st country in the state, formed in 1809 from part of Livingston County, and ten years later it was enlarged by adding a piece out of Christian County. General John Caldwell, a Virginian who served under George Rogers Clark in the 1786 Indian expedition and was later Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, was the man for whom Caldwell County was named. In 1810, settlers built rustic log cabins at Big Springs Bottom where a subterranean stream emerges. Today the county seat, Princeton, owns Big Springs park, the site of the old settlement from which Princeton grew. A marker in the courthouse yard in Princeton, showing the location of the Cherokee in their forced exodus to western reservations. Princeton, which did not escape plundering in the Civil War, also has a historical marker that tells of the burning of the old courthouse by Confederate soldiers. On Seminary Street in Princeton, a marker notes the violent fighting of the Black Patch War between tobacco growers and buyers. (These tobacco wars are vividly recounted in the writings of the Kentucky author Robert Penn Warren). With the Caldwell Countians' pride of being located in the westrn waterland, they certainly would want you to visit and enjoy Lake Beshear, on the western edge of Pennyrile Forest. The lake is fast becoming one of our finest fishing spots, in a state that is noted for having more fishable water than any other state except Alaska. Calloway County became our 72nd Kentucky County in 1823. It was formed from a part of Hickman County. When Andrew Jackson and Isaac Shelby purchased the area that now includes Calloway County, as part of the Jackson Purchase, they acquired a section of land that the Chickasaw Indians had long enjoyed for its good hunting. Though a lot of things have changed, it's still true that tribes of vacationers come to Calloway County just for the fun of it. Calloway County is in mid-America's favorite vacation region - our western waterland. Kentucky Lake, largest of the Tennessee Valley Authority lakes and one of the ten largest man-made lakes in the world, brings thousands of people here every year. It forms the eastern boundary of Calloway County. All of these visitors - the naturalist, the photographer, and the just-pain-vacationer-find scenic, recreational, and historical variety. For example, Fort Heiman in Calloway County is still alive with stories of Confederate bastions battered by Union gunboats. The Kerby Jennings Scenic Trail circles in and around the bays and coves of Kentucky Lake, where natural splendors are still unspoiled. While exploring the county, visitors are provided with ultra-modern facilities and conveniences in Kenlake State Park. The county seat, Murray, is the home of Murray State University. Here, a marker indicates the site of the home of Nathan Stubblefield, pioneer experimentalist in the wireless telephone and credited by many authorities as the inventor of radio. One of the favorite sights for visitors is 11 miles southeast of Murray, a gigantic deposit of silica which is used in making glass and detergents. The sand pit sparkles with white and pastel shades so brilliantly that photographers use filters, even on cloudy days. Campbell County. One of the most historic regions of the Kentucky land is Campbell County. Formed as the 18th of the counties in 1795 from parts of Mason, Scott, and Harrison Counties, the region was the famous waterway trail for the Indian hunter, the Revolutionary soldier, and the pioneer settler. Campbell County is bordered on the north and the east by the Ohio River and on the west by the Licking River. When the land companies permeated the east with their real estate advertisements, the first advertisement of this region read "excellent land, in a square body, on Licking River, seven miles from the mouth, for which corn, whiskey, flour, neat cattle, horses, pork, beef, or cash, will be taken in payment." Those who had counted their resources and bough the "excellent land" named their county in honor of Colonel John Campbell, an Irishman who at one time held a Virginia land grant of 4,000 acres adjoining the city of Louisville and who had served in the First Constitutional Convention. Newport, the county seat and principal city of Campbell County, was established in 1795 and is today a thriving, progressive city. Its most famous pioneer house, the General James Taylor mansion, was built in 1837 on the site of a log cabin built in 1795. The handsome town of Fort Thomas was established originally as an army post, and in Alexandria there is a fine old courthouse where many notable southern statesmen delivered ringing orations. At the Grant's Lick Churchyard in Alexandria is the grave of a famous pioneer woman, Mary Boone Bryan, sister of Daniel Boone. Carlisle County, formed from part of Ballard County in 1886, was named after the prominent citizen, John Griffin Carlisle. It's located in southwestern Kentucky in the Jackson Purchase, with the Mississippi River on its western boundary. The county seat, Bardwell, supposedly was named for a "boarded well" which supplied water to trains. The original site of Carlisle's settlement was Puntney's Bend, once a fine river harbor. Today Bardwell is the center of rich farmland. A gravel road which follows close to the Mississippi River west of Bardwell is the line of the old George Rogers Clark Trace, used by pioneers en route to the Illinois-Missouri Territory. The same area later saw some spirited action during the Civil War. In January, 1862, General Ulysses S. Grant sent 5,000 troops from Cairo, Illinois, against the Confederate stronghold at neighboring Columbus, just below the Carlisle county line. They met General J. A. McClernand, with troops from Fort Jefferson, and they fought so stoutly in the ensuing battle that they boosted the morale of Federal troops all along the line. Sportsmen will enjoy fishing for native Kentucky fish -crappie, blugill, and bass, especially-which abound in Carlisle's five natural lakes. Carlisle County is the home of Lowell Allan Williams, who was made poet laureate of Kentucky by the General Assembly in 1956. Mr. Williams lives in the community of Cunningham, Carlisle County. Carroll County was formed as our 87th county in 1838 from parts of Gallatin, Henry, and Trimble Counties. It was named in honor of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. It is bounded on the north by the Ohio River and was an early site for settlers who came by the river route. The county seat, Carrollton, was settled in 1792 (the same year Kentucky became a state) and incorporated as Port Williams in 1794. Today, Carrollton is a large tobacco market with gracious old homes to remind it of its early days. It is also a thoroughly progressive community. William O. Butler, author of "The Boatman's Horn", moved to Port Williams before it became Carrollton and returned to live there after he finished his law studies. "The Boatman's Horn" was at one time quite a famous poem, first published in the Western Review in 1821, and it became the title poem of his volume of poetry. General William O. Butler's home is on Highland Avenue, in one of Carrollton's most pleasant residential districts (even though it overlooks a busy principal highway - US-42.) A Butler family home is high on a hill above Carrollton, in General Butler State Park. Built in 1825 from plans brought from Mexico, it is made from beautiful brick with a marble foundation and was originally constructed around a courtyard which has since been enclosed. The mansion has been restored and furnished, and is open to the public. General Butler, a hero of the Battle of New Orleans, later brought the Mexican War to a successful close as Commander-in-Chief of the United States forces. General Butler State Park, where there is tremendous variety in recreation, brings thousands of people annually to Carroll County. Visitors can participate in planned programs, or golf, swim, hike, picnic, camp, and go horseback riding. The lodge in the park is a fine example of good modern design, and many people have said its lobby is as splendid as a great church. Like others in our state parks, Butler Lodge is a structure that enhances the land is surveys - in this case, the rolling, fertile country of Carroll County. To be continued. (c) Copyright 12 August 1999, Sandra K. Gorin, All Rights Reserved. sgorin@glasgow-ky.com Colonel Sandi Gorin 205 Clements,Glasgow, KY 42141 (270) 651-9114 or E-fax (707)222-1210 Gorin Genealogical Publishing: http://members.delphi.com/gorin1/index.html TIPS: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/Ky/Tips KYBIOS: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/Ky/Bios ARCHIVES: http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl