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History in
a Pecan Shell
First settlers
appeared in 1837 although nothing resembling a community started until
the late 1840s when a wagon train arrived from Kentucky.
The community began 1851 with not one but two stores and a mill. A
town was platted by Dr. Josiah L. Heiston in late 1852 and although
he attempted to name the town after his daughter (Ann Eliza), the
matter was settled by the public who insisted on calling the place
Kentuckians' Town or Kentucky Town. The name was popular in
1854 when the post office was granted. After approval by the post
office the name became official.
The town had all the pre-railroad advantages of being on stage and
freight routes coming from the ports of Shreveport and Jefferson,
but that wasn’t to last. From a population only in double digits,
Kentucky grew rapidly, in 1855 reporting thriving businesses numbering
as high as twenty, three physicians and a church and two schools.
The guerilla William
(Bloody Bill) Quantrill and his men used the region around Kentucky
Town as a hideout during the Civil War. In the 1870s, the town was
dealt the death-blow of being bypassed by the (Texas and Pacific)
railroad. Later, when the Katy (Missouri, Kansas and Texas) railroad
entered Texas from the north, the town missed its second chance at
a railroad.
By 1883 all that was left of the town was the store / post office.
The post office managed to stay open until the mid 1920s. Today the
church, cemetery and a few scattered houses are all that is left. |
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Kentuckytown Baptist
Church
Photo courtesy Mike
Price, September 2009 |
Historical Marker:
Kentucky Town
When first settled
in 1830s was known as Annaliza. Renamed by Kentucky emigrants
in 1858. Unique layout gave town protection against Indian attacks.
On freight and stage routes. "Sacred Harp," a robust frontier gospel
style of singing and composition, began here. During Civil War was
Quantrill gang
rendezvous. |
Kentucky Town Historical
Marker
Photo courtesy Mike
Price, September 2009 |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
us. |
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