TRIGG COUNTY SMALL TOWNS AND VILLAGES
CERULEAN SPRINGS
Cerulean Springs--the land of the sky blue water.
The earliest settler in Cerulean Springs was Robert Goodwin who came in 1792. Jesse Goodwin built the first water mill and also gave land in 1806 for the Muddy Fork Primitive Baptist Church.
There was a spring of black sulphur water on Muddy Fork Creek which sunk in the New Madrid Earthquake of 181 1. A spring of blue sulphur water broke through on the creek bank. On August 9, 1817 Kincheon Killebrew brought the spring and opened a health resort which was sold and added onto many times before it burned in 1925. People from all over came to this resort to take of the water, When it burned, it was a fine white two story building with porches on both stories.
The post office dropped "Springs" from the town name on 27 October, 1894 in order to save ink, it was said. William B. Dozier was the first postmaster.
Cerulean in its time was home to two practicing physicians, merchants, inn keepers, and had its own high school for many years.
Today, there are only a few hundred people living in the conununity with
ROARING SPRINGSThis area was being settled in the late 1700's and early 1800's by fanfilies and individuals from Virginia and North Carolina.
This area soon became a thriving community and a village was established. There were 5 mercantile businesses, a hotel, livery bam, and a saloon.
The village was named Roaring Springs because of a very large and beautiful cave out of which flowed a large strewn of pure water. This stream was enough to operate a small mill used to grind grain.
LINTON
Before it was Linton, it was Olive's Landing. Olive's Landing was a stopping place for stewnboats on the Cumberland River as early as 1820.
In 1830, the nwne was changed to Shipsport. The first store was started by a Mr. Good in 1830 and carried general merchandise,
In 1845 the Stacker Iron Furnace was built and was in operation producing, at intervals, pig iron, until it was abandoned in 1856.
Linton, it is believed was nwned for a surveyor, named Linton, who laid out the roads for that section of Trigg County around the 1850's.
The first settlement in what would become Trigg County was originally constructed by Abraham Boyd in 1799. It was known as Boyd's Landing and was a well known shipping point on the Cumberland River.
Boyd laid out the town in 1823 and officially named it Canton. The hotel which still stands and is owned by Mildred Jones was built before 1820 and was known as the Brick Inn. Among the famous and some maybe no so famous people who stayed there were President James Polk in 1851. A reception was given for General Marquis deLaFayette in 1825 and Jenny Lind sang on the balcony in 1851.
Canton moved a significant amount of tobacco and freight ftom its river shipping point.
Canton was one of the main stops for coach lines that traveled to Nashville, Tennessee or north to Evansville, Indiana. Following the Civil War, there were 5 hotels in Canton. Canton had many warehouses, a large @ll, 3 schools, and a weekly newspaper.
Before the Louisville and Nashville, Cadiz, and Illinois Central railroads joined, Canton was one of the oldest and most important trading ports on the Cumberland River.
CALEDONIA
Thomas Wadlington Sr came to Caledonia in 1792 and was probably the first settler in this connnunity. He was also one of the earliest settlers in Trigg County and came from Rutherford Co. North Carolina.
His son, Thomas Jr, came with him, but after his father was killed by Indians, he returned to North Carolina. In 1803, Thomas Jr came back and bought land. He loved horses and built a race track at his home.
The village was first known as Cherry Hill and got the name of Caledonia from the Wadlington's home. Caledonia means "haven of rest"..
J.B. Carloss and J.H. Hammonds built the first store in the 1870's. This was a two story building with a lodge hall on the second floor where dances were held.
Today not much is left of the little village of Caledonia, just a small empt
y store budding.FUTRELL
There was a post office located on the Old Dover and Eddyville Roads which was established in 1898. Henry Futrell was the only postmaster. He also owned a general store. A rural route mail delivery was started in the area and the post office closed November 5, 1908,
Wallonia was named for Major Braxton Wall who owned the first @ll, the first distillery, and the first store in the village.
There have been many businesses here including blacksmiths, shoemakers, coffin making, distilleries, and dancing schools among others.
W. S. Coy owned a grocery and also taught dancing in his home. He was the first Master of the Mark Tyler Masonic Lodge in 1855.
In the 1880's or early 1900's Gardner's, Wilson's, Hopson's, and Curling's ran business in Wallonia.
Because Wallonia was on a stagecoach route, there was a need for several hotels and boarding houses.
In the early 1840's a post office was established which operated until 1952.
Wallonia has been home of some of the earliest settlers coming from Virginia and North Carolina and some of their descendants are still in the area today.
DONALDSON CREEK
The first pioneers to make a permanent settlement came in the early 1800's. James Thomas, Sr, Shadrock Futrell, John Craig, Basil Holland, and Joel Calhoun were the first families who acquired land on Donaldson Creek through KY Land Grants. Descendants of these families can still be found here.
Up to the 1820's settlers continued to come to the Donaldson Creek Valley. By the 1840's, Donaldson Creek and its tributary areas were well populated. These residents were busy building roads and establishing mills to grind grain and saw lumber. They set up tanneries for tanning leather, Blacksmith shops to take care of their vehicles and to shoe their horses were started.
The Donaldson Creek Baptist Church was organized in 1814 and a few years later a school was opened.
MONROE
Monroe was the first town to be officially established and incorporated in Trigg County. It was named after President Monroe.
Monroe was the second town after Hopkinsville to be established in Western Kentucky. It was built on both sides of Little River at the mouth of same.
On November 28, 1803, the order was entered into record at "Elizabeth" later named Hopkinsville to establish a town at the mouth of Little River and that the town be called Monroe. Streets were laid out and named and several roads were ordered established leading from the town.
CADIZ
In William Henry Perrin's 1884 History of Trigg County, he does not say why or how Cadiz got its name. He does say that in May of 1820 when Trigg became a county, a commission was established to choose a county seat. This comniission selected Robert Baker's land on the "A4ain Little River on top of an eminence above the spring" as the Seat of Justice. Robert Baker relinquished his stable yard and 50 acres surrounding it.
In meeting during the months of August and October, the town was platted out in blocks and the name "Cadiz" was given to the new town.
W.P.M. Scott and Robert Baker were among the first merchants. James Thompson owned the first hotel which was a two story log building.
Mr. Baker owned a tobacco warehouse and shipped this on flatboats to New Orleans to market.
The first mill was started in Cadiz in 1869. It was later sold unfurnished in 1870 to Robert Wilford. By 1889, the mill was owned by W.C. White and his son, A.P.
Cadiz was the home of the Cadiz Railroad which only ran from Cadiz to Gracey in Christian County. It was affectionately called the Cadiz Teakettle. The railroad was started when the Articles of Incorporation were adopted on March 6 1901.
W. C. White, founder and first president of the railroad used to say "My line may not be as long as yours, but it isjust as wide. In fact the line was only 10.33 miles long, although it is only 8 miles from Cadiz to Gracey. It has been said that there were a long of crooks and turns in the line to make it at least 10 miles long.
Today, Cadiz is known for the Trigg County Ham Festival which is held the second weekend of October each year.
ROCKCASTLEUp to 1842, Old Ferry Comer, opposite Empire Iron Works, was the shipping point for all the northern part of Trigg and the Southwestern portion of Caldwell Counties. As a business point it was discontinued after the erection of the furnace on the opposite bank, the property having been purchased by Messrs. Watson and Mllman, the owners of the iron works. The first store in Rock Castle was kept by Mr. Marshall and Mr. Bradley, who engaged in business as early as 1835-36. J. H. ANtney started a store in 1869 and kept a fine stock of goods. The first physician was Dr. A. Calloway, who located in the village soon after its settlement. Later four other physicians settled in Rockcastle.
Hurricane Baptist Church was established in 1845 by Rev. J.F. V;Wte. The first meetings were held in an old log schoolhouse on Hurricane Creek, which was also used for a preaching place by the Methodists at the same time.
GOLDENPOND
Born 1882 --- Died 1969 Buried in Land Between the Lakes.
The town of Golden Pond was started in 1882 and named for a nearby pond which gives off a golden reflection from the rays of the sun. Originally it was 2 settlements--Fungo and Golden Pond but later joined and became the one town.
Golden Pond has been destroyed by fire twice, once in 1898 and again in 1936. Both times it survived and was built back but it could not survive President John F. Kennedy and the national recreation area the Tennessee Valley Authority would develop in the land between the rivers. TVA took 140,000 acres and moved the people off their land. Golden Pond is probably best known for the moonshining that was carried out in the area. By the late 1950's the moonshine industry was almost wiped out and the final era of moonshine began in 1960. In 1969 it was stopped completely as TVA moved the last of the people from the area.
Today only a plaque marks the place where for years families lived, worked, and worshipped.
SALINEBURG
The village was located where Dry Fork runs into Saline Creek about I mile from the Tennessee line.
Brothers James and John Francis ran a flour niill. James Cobb had a blacksmith shop and made coffins. Salineburg boasted a general merchandise store and a school
CHEWNING
The village of Chewning was located 5-6 miles northwest of Salineburg. It is southwest of Red Diamond and Perimeter Road on Ft. Campbell. The village was named for John E. Chewning who owned a general merchandise store and ran the postoffice.
MONTGOMERY
In 1816 Thomas Montgomery settled near the village which bears his name. Very little is known of Mr. Montgomery except he was a very estimable citizen and did much to shape his community.
Montgomery claims to have the oldest house in existence in Trigg Co. The Rock House was built sometime before 1796 and has a basement, 2 full stories and an attic. The solid stone wafls are 2 feet thick. Legend says the carpenter was paid with a double britch or muzzle loading gun. The Rock House served as headquarters for a post office known as Rocky Ridge. At that time the house served as a stagecoach stop on a stage route.,
John McCaugh, builder of the house was bom in Ireland in 1773 and came to America in 1792. He settled in Trigg Co. and called his property. "Rocky Ridge." He manied Hannah Johnston and lived in the Rock House with their 7 children until 183 1. His conscience hurting him over owning slaves, he freed them, gave some land to each of them and he and his family moved to Ohio.
Gen. John W. Gaines was quite important in the history of Montgomery also, He came from Virginia and purchased land on which the town was located and built a merchandising business. He also laid the village off in lots on which he built a number of residences, shops, and other buildings. Some of the business included a woodworking establishment, a brick foundry, blacksmith shop and several mercantile shops. At one time there were five practicing physicians in the village of Montgomery.
Today in Montgomery, there are 3 restaurants, 2 motels with another one in the construction stage, two gas stations, and a tourists information house, along with other businesses which have moved into the area. The Historical Society has moved an old school, log house and the engineer from the Cadiz Railroad there and these are open at certain times.
A special thanks to Yvonne Cameron of Hopkinsville, Kentucky for compiling this information for the Trigg Co KyGenWeb Home Page... Thank you Yvonne.. Source material: Perrin's History of Trigg County and Trigg County History Book, The Past 100 Years 1885 - 1985, Volume I.
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