Remembering Jim Roberts

Mr. Jim Robert, recently brutally murdered in his own home here in Marion, was a descent kind man, and did not deserve such a fate.  This post is in memory of him.

In Oct. of 2003, Mr. Roberts helped me with a history story about his beautiful family farm in the Cave Springs section of the county, located on the Cave Springs Road.  Jim said his family came to the area in the 1850's and settled this farm.  Jim was the 3rd generation to live on the farm and his grandfather, Thomas Roberts told him a lot of early history about the area.

One summer about 1873 a family of Negro's came through the area.  They were stonemasons and made their living by stoning up wells and also did other labor for people for them staying on the land for a while.

While staying with the Roberts family, they made a stone well.  The well in (2003) was in excellent condition as was the perfect fitting cover with two pieces that joined, as you can see in the picture. The stone inside of the well was still secure with the stones tightly fitted together.  ( I saw the inside, it was in perfect condition, being well over 130 years old.)
In the picture Jim is explaining the well construction to me. It was called walling up a well. "They walled up the well at the farm, it was 10 feet deep, and they walled it up in a shape of a jug."

In front of Jim's home were 5 maple trees. He told me his father had planted one for each of their children. 

A few years after this article was done, Jim had to sell his farm and move to Marion, as he wasn't able to take care of it anymore and there was no one else in the family, as his only son had died.

His wife, Mary, died in 2002 and he never got over losing her.

Dam 50 Sign - Home again

When visitors visit River Side Park in Crittenden County, to camp, fish on the Ohio, have picnics or just sight seeing, many do not realize that it once was a U. S. Army Corps of Engineers dam location.  

When the dam was destroyed in Oct. 1980, everything pertaining to it's location was also removed, including the signs.  

One of the original signs that was located on Ky. 91 marking the location of the dam was stolen but later turned up.  Evidently someone that stole the sign decided it wasn't a good thing to have it for the sign was found sometime later in a nearby creek.  

The sign was then donated to the  Crittenden County Historical Society.  The society wanting this important part of our past history to be preserved and remembered helped in having the sign reset at the dam site close to where the lock house use to set. 

The red arrow on the sign now points to the spot on the Ohio River where the dam used to be located.

We truly lost some of our old history when Lock and Dam 50 was destroyed to make way for the new more modern and functional dam located at Smithland, Ky. 

Although the now Riverside Park is a little out of the way to get to, it is really a beautiful and scenic place to spend a Sunday afternoon having a picnic with family or friends with the mighty Ohio River as a background.

Pictures made Sept. 16th, 2012

Rosedale School

One of our county schools that very little history has been written about is the Rosedale School. 

It must have been located in the Tolu-Irma area of the county, judging by the family names of students that attended there in the early 1900's.

The picture was made in the school year 1922-23.  It must have made by Miss Geneva Wilcox, who was the teacher during this time.  

Her students at this time were, Ruby Gilland, Dimple Watson, Reba Herrell, Syble Kimsey, Fort Watson.

The little school closed in the 1930's with the students being sent to the Tolu School.  It's a shame not more history about the school was recorded all those years ago.  For now it's almost faded from our history.

Esther Love's New Stone At PIney Fork

Esther Love, who's tombstone had been marking her grave site for 168 years, had gotten in a sad state.  It had been broken off at the base and lost part of it's inscription.  Such a remarkable stone and a fascinating history it has carried with it all these many years. 

 I can't help but wonder about the personality of Esther, for wanting this tragic event put on her tombstone.  A remarkable lady with a mind for the future and wanting this history to be remembered, I am thinking.  For when one reads the inscription, you can't help but want the "rest of the story."  Her old stone, though not fancy or intricately carved, is definitely one of a kind and deserves a special place in our history.

The picture above was made in 1991 and was still in good condition, although the bottom had been covered with dirt to try and help hold it up.  In the next few years the stone got knocked down and the bottom was broken off with the inscription about her husband.

Here is Esther's new stone.  I do think she would be very proud of this and that Crittenden County wanted to preserve her history.

The story behind the new stone is a kind generous person had offered to purchase her a new stone when he saw the condition that the old one was in.  When Henry and Henry Monuments, here in Marion, found out about the situation, they wanted to donate the new stone, with the installation  included.  

Henry and Henry Monuments is our locally family owned business here in Marion and they are so generous with helping the whole community with projects such as this one.  They have helped restore, reset, and design many stone historical monuments through out Marion and Crittenden County. 

Esther's old stone is still at the cemetery, but her new one marks her grave site, which is located close to her parents stones.  Piney Fork is such a historical cemetery and so important to our county.  It's care taker is the Piney Fork Cumberland Presbyterian Church located next to the Cemetery.

 

UPDATE March 2021 -

To preserve what is left of Esther Love's historical stone the Piney Fork Cemetery Committee has donated it to the Crittenden County Historical Museum.  It is encased in a frame and there is a little history booklet that you can read all about the stone, and why Esther had this engraved on her tombstone marker.

The Crittenden County Historical Museum is located at 124 East Bellville in Marion, KY.  The Museum will open for the season on April 7th, 2021, Wed-Sat, 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM.