Knights of Phthyas Hall

In the year 1890, a young Marion Kentucky was growing and new organizations were being formed.  One of these was the Knight of Phthyas. 

When the membership started in 1887 there was a total of twelve, by 1890 there was a total of forty.  With this large a membership, a idea of a new building was being planned.  

The picture at the right is the new KP Hall built in 1890.  This is how it appeared in The Crittenden Press in 1894.  The new hall was built of substantial brick handsomely finished without and within and is a credit to the popular and rapidly growing order and also an honor to the town of Marion. 

Many years later the building was owned by Lottie Terry, a department store, that carried fashionable clothing and hats of the time, sewing materials, and exquisite crystal and china.  The Terry family lived in the upstairs section of the building.

After Mrs. Lottie died, her son, James Terry owned the store and ran it for many years.  The store was sold in 1981 and the Terry home and store were torn down.

Even today, many people, have memories of this unique and different store that set on the corner, where today the Gilbert Funeral Home parking lot is located.  Whether it be a child's new winter of spring coat to a lady's fine tailored made hat or garment designed and stitched by Mrs. Lottie, this store and the Terry family are a part o Marion's colorful history.

Marion Roller Mills

This is an interesting article that appeared in the Dec. 21, 1899 edition of our local paper, The Crittenden Press.  I love these old articles and hand sketched pictures.  I wish more of the old business had been able to do this.  We would have a lot more history of Marion in the early days if they did.

This is some of the article that went with the photo.  Very informative. 

This is a splendid picture of one of the county's leading industries - Marion Roller Mills.  In front on the left is the office, cozy and convenient without an within; the high builidng on the left is the elavator; the three story building on the right is the mill proper and its big smokestack looms up in the rear, and just behind all these is a side track of the I. C. railroad.

The capacity of the mill is seventy-five barrels of flour per day, and there are no idle days - a full complement of hands are all kept busy by the extensive merchant and custom business of Clark & Kevil. 

Two famous brands manufactured here are their patent flour, "Little Beauty," and the straight-grade "Dew Drop,".

Mr. D. B. Kevil, is the manager, and is an expert miller as well as a fine business man. 

This mill was located on East Bellville Street, where the popular Marion Feed Mill is located today.

October Beauty

Just some colorful pictures today to share the beauty of Crittenden County's countryside.  These pictures were made Oct. 8th, 2011 in the Amish Community on Mt. Zion Road in the middle area of our county.

The lines from the poem "When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock" fit these pictures perfectly.

The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn,

And the raspin' of the tangled leaves, as golden as the morn;

They's something kindo harty-like about the atmusfere

When the heat of summer's over and the coolin' fall in here

But the air's so appetizin; and the landscape through the haze

Of a crisp and sunny moring of the airly autumn days

Is a pictur' that no painter has the colorin' to mock

When the frost is on the punkin and fodder's in the shock.

Forgotton Churches

Crittenden County has always been plentiful in country churches.  Some have been able to carry on through many years and others have been disbanded.  Reasons not noted, but perhaps lack of membership and interest or members started to going to churches closer to where they lived.  Also fire was a common hazard for these early wooden buildings, once burnt, some were not rebuilt.

Although these churches are no longer active they played an important part in the growth and settlement of our county.  Their spiritual heritage and guidance has been passed on to present generations.  These churches were of the Methodist Faith.

• Meadow Creek: In 1869 there was a good congregation of Methodists at Meadow Creek which was located at the west-side of Highway 60 at the foot of Rosebud Hill.  A cyclone passed through that community March 27, 1890 and destroyed the log building, and it was never rebuilt.  Otho Nunn and W. R. Thurman served as stewards of this church at that time.
• Union:  There was a church known as Union Methodist Church, but it's location is not known.  The Quarterly Conference held in Marion April 9, 1870 reports the Pastor was R. C. Love, and presiding Elder was L. B. Davidson.
• Providence:  The Providence church was located about 1.5 miles West of Crayne on the, then, farm of Tilford Bigham.  There is a deed recorded in Deed Book B, page 193, dated June 11, 1848, for 1.5 acres where this church was built.
• Dry Fork:  This church was located off the road on the Irma-Salem Highway, on Dry Fork Creek.  It was called the Little Brown Church.
• Bethel: Bethel Methodist Church was located near the intersection of Mary Belle Mine Road and Crittenden Springs Road.  The Superintendent of the Sunday School at one time was James A. Moore
• Mount Pleasant:  At one time there was a good congregation of Methodists at Mount Pleasant which was located on the hill back of Crittenden Springs Hotel.  The year it was organized is unknown but it was a thriving church in the 1850's.  In June 19, 1875, John McKerley was elected Sunday School Superintendent of the church.  There is also a small cemetery located on the slope of the hill that was associated with the church, for it was known as Mount Pleasant Cemetery.   No evidence of the old church was found, but it is thought to have been not far from this cemetery.

Remains of Clementsburg on the Ohio River

The ruins of the John Rudd Clement home.  When I first visited this site several years ago, both chimney's were still standing all the huge sandstones till in-tack.  These pictures were made Sat. Oct. 8th, 2011 and you can see the ice storms of 2008 and 2009 have taken their toll on these majestic stone chimneys. Both show the damage done by ice and snow, and fallen limbs.

 *****
John R. Clement had a dream, a dream of a town names Clementsburg located on the banks of the Ohio River, near were the old Dam 50 site used to be.
Around 1834, John R. Clement built a home, a large home with beautiful stone chimney's on each end of the house.

On Dec. 4, 1850, Clement, a surveyor, submitted plans involving a 137 acre lot, which included the site of this home, to the Crittenden County Clerk, and five days later it was duly filed.  The Kentucky settler continued developing plans for the city that was to bear his name.  He established a ferry, helped survey roads for himself and others and ran a mill.

Then around June 4, 1858, John Rudd Clement died as a result of an accident at his mill, and with him died his dream.  He was laid to rest in a family cemetery, located not too farm from his home, where six others of his family were also buried.

The family stayed on for a while in the large, two -story home.  But the elements also took their toll of the city's dream.  The Clement house became weather-beaten and the family moved out.  In 1937, the history making flood, flooded the surrounding area and the final decay of the Clement homestead began.

All that remains of what once was to be a city are ruins of the Clement's arm, chimneys, and garden plots now overgrown with honeysuckle vines, and some remnants of fences.

 The remains of the chimney on the opposite end of the home.

The little family cemetery is located within site of the foundation of the old home.
Buried here are: John Rudd Clement,
Isham Clement, son of John and Sarah Hughes Clement,
Coseusco Clement, son of John R. and Sarah Clement,
Virginia Clement, daughter of John and Sarah Clement,
2 stones now missing were for Joe and Dickie Clement.

Tribute to Roger Morris

Roger Morris of Carrsville, Ky, in Livingston County, passed away recently.  Although a Livingston Co. native he was well known and liked here in Crittenden County.  He worked at the Peoples Bank in Marion for 33 years, making many friends and acquaintances.  Roger will be remembered in Marion by his many drawings of historical homes and buildings here and in the county.  I once told Roger that without him even knowing it he had played a large part in preserving Crittenden County History. 

In 1975 he did a series of drawings that included the County Court House that was built in 1871 and was torn down in 1961, the old Crittenden County Jail, the Flanary Home, that was located on Bellville Street, that has since been torn down, and the First U. S. Presbyterian Church located on East Bellville Street.  These are just a few of the historical drawings that Roger did.  

This is the drawing of the old Court House.  Roger was generous in letting this picture be used for several different book covers, stationary and other printed items for the genealogy and historical society.

The first U. S. Presbyterian Church that is located at 124 East Bellville Street, built in 1881.  It is now the location of the Crittenden County Historical Museum, operated by the Crittenden County Historical Society.

The Crittenden County Historical Society log cabin.  A picture of their log cabin located on College Street.

 

A few of the other historical buildings that Roger drew included Piney Fork School House, Piney Fork Meeting Shed, Marion Jr. High School, the Ollie M. James home on East Depot Street and many, many family homes all over the county.   

A thank you to this very talented person who shared that talent with us and through him many places of our past will always be remembered.

Unknown School Group

A good thing to remember, and I always encourage everyone, to date and identify all the pictures that you make today.  At the time it may not seem important, but years later it will be. 

The picture may travel down through time, well-kept and preserved, but the little faces of a different time will have no names, nor no history to go with them. 

Case in point, this wonderful school group of many years ago.  What school were they attending and who were all these students.?  We might even know their families if we only knew who they were.