Cross Keys Inn

CROSS KEYS INN MONUMENT

This monument marks the site of the first court meeting held for the newly formed Crittenden County in 1842. This site had long been chronicled, from the Crittenden County History books to old volumes of The Crittenden Press. Now there is a monument denoting the location of that first court meeting.

This monument made by Henry and Henry Monument Company of Marion, Ky. was placed on this historical site in Nov. 2002. The monument was erected on the farm of Barry and Patty Gilbert on the Crooked Creek Road.

According to our early history the first court meeting was held at the home of Samuel Ashley, which was at or near Barry Gilbert's grandfather's farm located on Crooked Creek Church Road.

State law in the 1840s called for court meetings to be held in the geographical center of each county - which in 1842 was Ashely's home and business, the Cross Keys Inn.

Cross Keys Inn was a popular resting place for people traveling westward via Fords Ferry Road. The Cross Keys Inn is long gone and Fords Ferry Road since has been moved from its original location. But the monument stands as a reminder of these early days in our history.