OLDEN DAYS
Sunday, July 9, 2006, 11:44 AM - Muhlenberg County
XII, Life in the Olden Days
When the first settlers came to look for homes in that portion of the State which is now Muhlenberg County they found the hills and valleys covered with one continuous forest. Gigantic oak, poplar, hickory, walnut, beech and many other species of hardwood trees flourished in great numbers, especially in the bottoms and valleys and on the north hillsides; tall pines stood on the cliffs overlooking Clifty Creek, and large cypresses shaded the banks of Black Lake. Little or no underbrush grew in this virgin forest. Men and women experienced no trouble in riding or walking under the trees. Wagons encountered few obstacles other than deep streams or steep hills.
The pioneers believed that the best land on which to settle was where good springs and running streams existed and where good timber for houses, fences, and fuel was plentiful. Wood and water they found here to their satisfaction, and in a territory they judged sufficiently large to provide them and their successors with "new ground" for many centuries. The supply of standing timber then seemed as inexhaustible as the water in the everlasting springs and ever-running streams. They did not imagine that the conservation of forests and the redeeming of the so-called "worn-out land" would, in less than a century, be among the problems of the day. Nor did they realize that they were treading on ground under which lay great deposits of coal, and that this coal would some day be developed and rank as the county's greatest natural resource.
The Indians had, for more than a century, given up this section of the State as a place of residence, but had not abandoned it as a hunting-ground until a short time before the first white men began making their settlements. The few red men who were seen by Muhlenberg's pioneers were in all probability rovers, belonging to no tribe at all. In the olden days deer, bear, turkeys, and other game were plentiful; wolves were numerous, and panthers, although comparatively few, were likely to be encountered at any time.
Such, in brief, was the wilderness into which the first-comers penetrated to open up a new country and to establish homes and fortunes for themselves and for their children. In this vast forest the pioneers made their clearings, erected their houses, raised their crops, cut their roads, built their churches, put up their courthouse, reared their families, and blazed the way for posterity.
The providing of food and shelter occupied the greater part of the time of the first-comers. Self-reliance became of necessity a strong characteristic. Every family was thrown absolutely on its own resources, except in cases where two or more families came in a body and settled in the same place for mutual protection and assistance. Help of any and every kind was cheerfully given to neighbors; but neighbors were as a rule few, and in most cases the nearest lived several miles away. The men cultivated the crops, shot game for meat, and attended to what marketing there was of their scanty products. In the meantime the women not only performed the regular household duties, but also spun the yarn and flax and wove the cloth for most of the clothes then worn.White OakYellow Poplar
As the number of newcomers increased, the exchange of labor and products became more frequent and more practical, and pleasure as well as profit brought about a more frequent commingling of the people. Business and social, religious, and educational intercourse not only led to an exchange of views but also to the broadening of ideas. Nearly every farm became not only a place for work but also a social center. Those who lacked an interest in social, religious, or educational affairs and avoided these gatherings soon deteriorated, no matter how great their accomplishments or how high their social standing might have been.
Neighbors intermarried, and as every neighborhood was in social touch with those surrounding it, all neighborhoods, in time, were linked together. The German-Americans in the northern and eastern part of the county, the Virginians in the middle section, extending from Green River to Pond River, and the Carolinians in the southern part, soon became more or less united into one settlement, with Greenville as its center. More than half of the citizens now living in Muhlenberg, who trace their ancestry to the pioneers of the county, are related, although in many cases this kinship has been lost sight of or is expressed in the vague term, "some sort of a cousin from way back."
The early settlers in the county were of various extraction. Most of them were German, English, Scotch, or Irish descent. But since environment plays a more important part in the development of a people than the nationality of their ancestors, and since in the early days all were under the influence of the same surroundings, conditions, and laws, the pioneers soon drifted more or less into the same way of living and into the use of the same language and the same local forms of expression. A few of the pioneers were Germans, and a number were German-Pennsylvanians and German-Virginians; but all traces of the old Vaterland customs and speech disappeared from Muhlenberg three or four generations ago. This change extended even to the spelling of the German names, most of them having been long since Americanized.
The Virginians and Carolinians of English, Scotch, and Irish extraction were more numerous than any other class of settlers, and their life, language, and laws prevailed to such an extent that their characteristics soon influenced the manners and customs of the entire population of the county. As time rolled on and new conditions presented themselves new customs slowly developed, and as the customs of colonial Virginia and the Carolinas that had long prevailed in Muhlenberg passed into the days gone by, there gradually developed another American people--Muhlenbergers--who were not only among the earliest of typical Kentuckians, but whose descendants, changing with the times, are typical Kentuckians of to-day.
A large portion of Virginia's military grants lay in Kentucky south of Green River. A number of the first-comers and other pioneers, conse-quently, were people who came to take possession of the military lands granted to them or to their fathers. Others traveled into this wilderness to buy offered tracts or to claim tracts they had bought. Some wandered here to settle on unclaimed public lands, or to "squat" on wild lands with a view of later obtaining a patent for their newly acquired farms. Some, stirred by the "call of the wild," came to hunt and fish. Others, drifting on the tide of adventure, indifferent about land or game, had--as a local expression puts it--"come to be a-coming."
Many who had land warrants located them, irrespective of any other claim, on any ground that seemed desirable, for the country had not been surveyed and "sectioned" by the government. As early as 1775 Richard Henderson proposed that the lines run on the territory claimed by the Transylvania Company be made "by the four cardinal points, except where rivers or mountains so intervene as to render it too inconvenient." The neglect of Virginia to provide for the general survey of Kentucky, and the failure of the pioneers to adopt Henderson's idea, resulted in complications all over the State, many of which are still unsettled.
Many of the settlers employed professional surveyors, but more often had the tracts they intended to occupy laid out according to their own notions, independent of their neighbors' lines. However, most of the pioneers did their own surveying. Some, it is said, "ran their lines with grapevines, using a portable knot-hole for a transit, the sun for a compass, and a dogwood saplin' for a flag-pole." In modern parlance, it was "the Eye-See Way." They, like the professional surveyors, also established courses by planting stones and pegs or by marking "a hickory on a hill," "a beech near a branch," or by blazing any convenient trees along a line or near a corner, or by following the meanderings of a stream. The old maps represent most of the military lines (lines bounding military grants) "as straight as an arrow," but many of such old lines are in reality, as one man expressed it, "as crooked as a dog's hind leg." The fact that many of these old calls can not be traced as originally run out has given rise to the report that the description of a certain line in the county reads, "from a ben' in a creek, thence a kinder south-like forty poles, more or less, to a nigger in a fiel'."
Mr. R. T. Martin, speaking of the pioneers, said:
"The first settlers of Muhlenberg County were people of nerve, enterprise, and industry. They braved the hardships and obstacles of a wild and unbroken forest. They came, stayed, and conquered, and laid the foundation for future greatness. We have many advantages over our forefathers; they had only about two over us. They had a wonderful range for stock. Pea-vines were knee-high all over the county, fast canebrakes stood in many places, and there was always an abundance of mast. On all these the horses, cattle, and hogs fared exceedingly well. The other advantage was in the abundance of game, which supplied them with much of their meat and leather.
"Most of the pioneers had apple and peach orchards. Many of the apple trees planted by them produced fruit for thirty years, and some as long as fifty years. Dried apples and dried peaches were a commodity with the old settlers. Their cider and vinegar have never been equaled. Their whisky, apple jack, and peach brandy, made at the various still-houses in the county, were according to all reports very fine.
"Their method of preparing meals was very different from that of today. Cooking was done in pots, skillets, and ovens around a large open wood fireplace. They beat and chopped their meat into sausage with cleaver and hammer made in the blacksmith shop.
"One of their great burdens was in their disadvantage as to transportation facilities. Most of the traveling was done afoot, on horseback, or in a public stage-coach. There were no two-horse wagons in those days. Oxcarts and ground-sleds were used for farm purposes. In nearly every neighborhood there were one or two six-horse wagons run by regular wagoners, who in the earliest times hauled much of the produce to shipping points on the Ohio River, but about the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, when Kincheloe's Bluff was made a landing-place, all produce for the outside world was sent there, and later, after South Carrollton was settled, all the hauling was to and from that point."
In the early days, and even until comparatively recent times, some of the farmers used a ground-sled or a "landslide" for short hauls. It was built on the principle of a sled, and so used during all seasons. The so-called "truck wagon" was also frequently seen in the olden days. Its wheels were discs sawed from a solid black gum log, and were about two and a half feet high. It was usually drawn by a yoke of oxen. The owner lubricated the axles with homemade soap before starting from his farm, but after driving two or three miles and allowing the wagon to stand in the sun for a few hours the lubricant would waste away. On his return home the screeching of the old wagon could be heard for more than half a mile.
Many of the pioneer families not only "killed" or raised their own leather but also made their own shoes and harness. They went to the tanyards to have the hides tanned. The process of tanning required almost a year, and although the tanner often had hundreds of hides in his tan-pits at one time, he could "tell any man's hide" in his tanyard. No matter how much the "unhairing" and other processes may have changed the original skin, he would return to each customer the identical hide that had been brought months before. In payment for his work the tanner usually received one third of the leather.Ground Sled or "Landslide"
Practically all the pioneers wore clothes that were made from homespun cloth. Flax was more or less extensively cultivated in the county until about 1850, but since 1870 this crop has not been raised. Flaxseed was usually sown on Good Friday. The plant cultivated in Muhlenberg was from two to three feet high, branching only near the top, and stood about as thick as wheat stalks. The harvesting began by pulling the plant out by the roots. It went through a number of processes before the fibre was finally separated from the "bone." The women, after spinning this fibre into thread, wove it into linen. Their linsey or linsey-woolsey was a homespun cloth made of home-grown linen and home-grown wool.
A few of the pioneers, some of their children, and even some of their grandchildren, experimented with the raising of cotton in Muhlenberg. The local cotton crop was usually a very small one, although it is said that on one or two occasions it was greater than the local demand. 1
Speaking to me of the old days, Judge David J. Fleming said:
"I have often heard my father, Samuel C. Fleming, tell of an incident that took place about the year 1815, or shortly after my grandparents settled in the Mud River country. Ammunition was scarce in those days, but game was plentiful and easily caught. My grandfather, David L. Fleming, had cleared a small field, in which he built a turkey-pen for the purpose of trapping wild turkeys. One day at dinner my grandfather told my father, then a boy of about ten, to go over to the turkey-pen after dinner and see whether any turkeys were in it. Shortly before supper father walked over to the pen, but found no turkeys nor any signs. On his return he followed a path through a strip of dense woods. Soon after entering the woods he heard a noise like a crying child. He glanced around, and seeing nothing rushed home and told his father, who was then in the blacksmith's shop at work. The old gentleman remarked that he had often heard a 'child' crying in the woods at night, but never before so early in the evening. Grandfather picked up his gun and followed the path leading to the turkey-pen. He entered the woods, looked and listened, and after hearing the expected cry hid himself behind a tree and from there mimicked the slowly approaching beast. When it came within safe shooting distance he blazed away and killed one of the largest 'Tom' panthers ever seen in Muhlenberg County. The animal measured eleven feet from the end of his nose to the tip of his tail. Although I was not born until about eighteen years later, I remember using this old panther skin for a pallet."Reduced Facsimile of A "Wolf Sculp" Certificate
No panthers have been seen in Muhlenberg since about the close of the Civil War, notwithstanding that even to this day reports are occasionally circulated that one had been seen, or rather heard, in the Clifty Creek country. Wolves, too, have long ago disappeared. The desire to exterminate wolves, and incidentally to receive the bounty paid for their scalps, resulted in a war on wolves that lasted as long as there were any to be killed. Any one producing the head of a wolf before a justice of the peace, stating under oath when and where he killed the animal, was granted a certificate to that effect. These certificates, upon presentation to the sheriff, were paid for at the rate of two dollars and a half for wolves over six months of age and one dollar for those under that age. A reduced facsimile of one of these certificates is here reproduced. 2
Great flocks of wild pigeons or passenger pigeons frequented Muhlenberg in the olden days. Up to about 1850 they were, on occasions, seen in great numbers passing over the country while moving from place to place or at some of the pigeon-roosts in various parts of the county. Since about 1860 none have been seen at all. That "they came by the millions and were killed with clubs by the thousands," and that while flying over the country "they hid the sun even more than the blackest cloud" and "turned day into night" is verified by many local traditions. Amos M. Jenkins, now eighty years of age, declares that wild pigeon meat was better than the best quail. One tradition is to the effect that in the olden times some of the farmers near Paradise fattened their hogs on them. A few places in the Pond River country and along Green River are still pointed out as old pigeon-roosts. However, all evidences of the presence of pigeons have long ago disappeared. 3 Passenger or Wild Pigeons.
Probably the first store opened in the county was the one started by pioneers James Weir and James Craig in Greenville in 1799. After a time they dissolved partnership and James Weir and Oliver C. Vanlandingham conducted the store. In the course of a few years they dissolved partnership. Weir continued the business in Greenville, and Vanlandingham returned to his large farm near Paradise. Much of the merchandise brought from the East by old James Weir was exchanged for wild pork, rawhides, produce, and tobacco. These he shipped to New Orleans on flatboats, where he sold them for cash, with which he bought more goods in Philadelphia.
Harry Weir has in his possession an old ledger kept from 1813 to 1815 by. James Weir, his great-grandfather, whose store at that time had already been moved from the log house on the west side of Main Street to the brick building on the opposite side and a little farther north, on what is now and has been for a century known as the Weir corner. South of the brick store and facing Main Street he erected, about the year 1816, a brick residence. Both houses are still standing, and are among the county's most interesting landmarks.
This ledger of long ago gives us some facts and figures pertaining to the olden times. It is a book about sixteen inches long, six inches wide, and more than two inches thick. Although its leather covers and its five hundred pages show their age, both are remarkably well preserved. The penmanship is good, and evidently by one Jacob Zimmerman. It contains the accounts of three hundred and twenty people, all of whom probably lived in Muhlenberg at the time the transactions took place. The first entry is dated August 5, 1813, and the last was made in August, 1815. All prices and totals are in English pounds, shillings, and pence, except the few connected with Eastern houses, the post-office, and one pertaining to the sale of a slave, which are in dollars and cents. English money as a medium of valuation passed out of use in Muhlenberg shortly after 1815, and the dollar, which had been more or less extensively adopted as a standard since the days of the first settlers, became the sole standard in all financial transactions. The slave referred to was "one negro woman, Leah," bought on December 5, 1814, for $350, by Jesse Murphy, who paid about half in cash and the balance in "pork and lard." To-day the value of a pound sterling is a little less than five dollars, a shilling twenty-five cents, and an English penny two cents. However, the calculations in this ledger indicate that at the time of these accounts the value of a pound was about three dollars, which made the shilling fifteen cents and the penny a little more than one cent. The entries here given are copied verbatim and show the prices charged for goods. The first column represents the number of pounds, the second shillings, and the third pence. The items are taken at random and are confined to single purchases, for when more than one article was bought the entry was transferred from the day book and the total recorded in the ledger as either "merchentdise" or "sundries." Among the hundreds of single items are the following:"The Weir Corner," Greenville, Erected 1812, As it Appears To-day
Pounds Shillings Pence
4 lbs. sugar 0 6 0
1 lb. coffee 0 3 0
1/2 lb. Imperial tea 0 10 6
1 peck salt 0 4 1
7 bu. corn 0 10 6
1 qt. wine 0 9 0
1/2 gal. whisky 0 3 0
1 qt. rum 0 6 0
1/2 lb. alum 0 1 1
1 dose calomel 0 1 1
1 bx. Antibillious Pills 0 1 6
1 bx. Itch Ointment 0 2 0
4 lbs. logwood 0 6 0
1 fine shawl 1 4 0
5 yds. calico 1 13 9
5 yds. muslin 0 11 13
1 wool hat 0 7 6
1 fine hat 1 10 0
1 fine hat to S. W. 2 14 0
3 yds. country linen 0 9 0
1 yd. crape 0 18 0
2 yds. flannel 0 18 0
1 paper pins 0 3 0
1 fine pair socks 0 6 0
1 handkerchief 0 3 0
1 pr. cotton cards 0 15 0
1 pr. wool cards 0 7 6
1 ax 0 16 0
1 carving knife 0 6 0
1 pen knife 0 3 9
1 mill saw 2 14 0
1 cythe blade 0 15 0
2 hoes 0 15 0
1 door lock 1 1 0
1 lb. nails 0 1 6
1 bridle bit 0 3 9
1 pr. saddle bags 1 6 3
1 fine woman's saddle 5 8 0
1 fine man saddle 4 4 0
1 pr. shoes 0 9 0
1 pr. boots 3 12 0
1 thimble 0 0 9
1 pr. specks 0 6 0
1 gun lock 1 13 0
1 dozen flints 0 2 3
1 skillit 0 12 0
1 spelling book 0 1 6
1 hymn book 0 6 0
1 Esop's Fables 0 2 3
2 vols. British Poets 0 11 3
1 Bible 1 1 0
1 quire paper 0 2 3
Tobacco was the principal crop raised for the market, and was in many cases the source of most of the farmer's "cash." According to the Weir ledger the price paid for tobacco in 1813 and 1814 varied from twelve to fifteen shillings per hundred pounds. The account kept with George Davis shows that he bought merchandise and also received cash at various times, for all of which he received credit as follows:
"August 27, 1813. By 3687 lbs. tobacco at 12 s. £22 2 s. 6 d.
March 19, 1814. By 1949 lbs. tobacco at 12 s. £11 19 s. 10 d."
Benjamin Coffman is credited with "Four hogs, tobacco weighing 4954 at 15 s.=£37, 5 s. 1 1/2 d."
Samuel Dukes is credited with "3734 lbs. tobacco at 12 s.=£22, 8 s. 17 d."
Four others sold their tobacco to Weir--Thomas Hesper, Edmond Hopkins, Benjamin Johnson, and Christian Peters.
Comparatively few men settled their bills by paying the actual cash. A number of pioneers bought large quantities of goods and in many cases paid for them with some of their home products. From among the various credit items I gather the following:
David Campbell is credited with among other things: "By 121 1/2 gallons whisky, £22, 15 s. 7 d." and "By Four barrels to hold it, £1, 4 s."
James Corder: "By a spinning wheel, £1, 4 s."
Abraham Dennis: "By 550 lbs. pork, £4, 2 s. 6 d."
Leroy Jackson, on December 23, 1814: "By 6 1/4 lbs. butter, 4 s. 9 d."
John January is credited: "By one buro, £5, 8 s."; "By letter box, 6 s. 9 d."; "By hinges, 1 s. 6 d."; "By Framing two pictures, Perry and Lawrence, 9 s."; "By Mending wagon, 12 s."; "By one dressed deer skin, 6 s."
Alney McLean's account has among its credit items: "By cash and pork, £22, 2 s. 10 d."; "By Fees up to this date, £14, 5 s."; "By cash, £39, 5 s. 9 d."
Presley Pritchett is frequently credited, "By 12 wool hats, £4, 1 s."; "By working over my hat, 4 s. 6 d."
Thomas Pollard: "By one dose calomel, 1 s."
Ezekiel Rice: "By black smith bill, £2, 18 s. 9 d."
John E. H. Rogers: "By 1/2 doz. razor strops, 10 s. 6 d."
Mathias Zimmerman: "By one boat, £30"; and "By one 40 foot boat, £24."
Henry Phillips and Thomas Glenn are each credited: "By Orleans voyage, £3."
Jeremiah Langley is credited for trips to Lewisburg and Hopkinsville and trips from Shawneetown and Henderson. William McCommons evidently made a number of trips between Greenville and Shawneetown. David Robison made a number of trips to and from Lewisburg.
In the olden days many of the people exchanged their products for various things in the store, just as butter, eggs, poultry, etc., are now exchanged by some farmers for articles sold by the merchants.
Abraham Dennis exchanged "chickens" for "one oz. barks, 3 s."
Michael Lovell exchanged "11 yards linnen" for "one fine dressed bonnet, £1, 3 s."
James McCown exchanged "12 Ibs. sugar" for "one wool hat, 12 s."
George Miller exchanged "feathers" for "Ballance spoon, 4 s. 6 d."
Matthew Rice's account is debited: "Sundries, per his mother," and credited "By midwife fees, 13 s. 4 1/2 d."
Charles Vincent exchanged "Five yards linnen, full," for "Sundries, 10 s."Some Old Chimneys
These items give a wonderfully intimate glimpse into the everyday life of these people and let us see, as it were, in actuality how they lived.
A grist mill was regarded by some of the pioneers as a greater necessity than a store, a courthouse, or a professional physician. Corn was the first crop raised by the pioneers, and has been one of the principal products ever since. Cornmeal was the pioneer's most essential food. Going to mill to have the corn ground was always looked forward to with great expectancy, for the mill was, in olden days and even until recent times, the best place to hear the latest news. Every farmer had occasion to go or send to the mill many times during the course of a year, for he usually took no more than a bushel or two of corn or wheat at a time. As a rule the bag into which the grain had been placed was thrown across the horse's back and used by the rider as a saddle.
All the mills in the olden days were run by water-power or horse-power. When wheat was ground it was bolted by hand-power. Grinding was a slow process, and men were obliged to remain around the mill until their "turn" was ground. This time was usually spent in hearing and telling the news. Every man waited and got his cornmeal or flour from the grain he took to mill. Now he can get his "turn" without delay by taking some of the "grinding" that is carried in stock by the miller.
Reverend G. W. Ford, writing to me about the old Staples Mill in the Friendship neighborhood, says:
"My grandfather, J. B. Staples, ran a horse-power mill in which wheat and corn were ground. Across the road he ran his turning lathe and cotton gin. It would take from an hour to an hour and a half to grind a bushel of corn. I remember hearing him tell of a little incident that occurred at his mill one day. A tall, bony young man, always hungry, rode to the mill and being a little late quite a number of turns were ahead of him, so he had to wait until his time came. It was late in the afternoon when his corn was poured into the hopper. While it was being ground he stood at the meal spout and caught the fresh meal in his hand and ate it as it came slowly from the burrs. Grandfather watched the young fellow for quite a while and then asked him, 'How long could you eat that meal?' and he answered, 'Until I starved to death!'" 4
Preparing corn for the mill was a comparatively simple affair. After it had been gathered and sufficiently well dried it was shucked and then taken to the mill, either on the cob or off. Wheat, however, in the olden days required a more complicated process. The wheat was cut in the field with the old-fashioned scything cradle and then either bunched or swathed on the ground. This was done by one man. Another man followed, binding the wheat into bundles as fast as it was cut. Two good hands could cut and shock about seventy-five shocks a day. These shocks stood in the field until they were thoroughly dry. They were then hauled and stacked near a plot of level ground. When the time came to separate the wheat from the straw and chaff, the farmer would decide on one of two processes.
Following one method, he built a rail pen, some three feet high and near to his wheat stack. He covered the top of this enclosure with other rails laid side by side, and then placed some of the wheat from the stack on this platform of rails, laying the heads close together and all in one way or direction. Then he proceeded to flail out the grain on the pen with a hickory pole about eight feet long and the thickness of an average man's wrist. The farmer had previously prepared this pole by beating a wide band around it about two feet from the end, which was done with an ax or hammer, to make the stick bend easily without breaking. With this limber-ended pole he flailed out his wheat by striking heavily on the bundles. This knocked out the grain, which then fell to the ground through the cracks between the rails.A Hog Harvest on The Alvin L. Taylor Farm, 1910
In following the other method the farmer took a hoe and scraped off the top of a level piece of ground and formed a circular space some twenty or twenty-five feet in diameter. He made the ground inside the circle perfectly level and smooth and tamped it down as solidly as possible. The dirt scraped off was banked up in the shape of a circus ring around the prepared yard. Then the farmer took enough of the sheaves from the stack to make a batch. The bundles were laid down as closely as possible, with the heads pointing toward the center of the ring and the butt-ends against the ridge. When this outer row was laid, another was made by turning the butts toward the center of the circle and lapping the heads just over the heads of the first layer. This left a space of from eight to ten feet in the center of the yard, which was reserved for the purpose of piling the grain. The farmer now brought two horses into the ring, put a boy on one, and let him lead the other. The horses walked around and around until they had "tramped" out the grain. They were then led out, the straw was raked away and thrown on the outside of the circular ridge, and the grain and chaff were piled in the center of the yard. This process was repeated until all the wheat had been "tramped out."
After the farmer separated the grain by either of these two processes he ran it through a wheat fan. This fan was something like the one now used for cleaning wheat preparatory to sowing it, except that it was much larger and more heavily built. The wheat and chaff were thrown into the hopper of the machine, which was run by a crank turned by one man. This work was kept up until all the wheat was fanned out, sacked, and stored away. The grain was still mixed with more or less chaff, but this was then the only way they had to clean it.
Some of the old-style mills were run for many years; others were in operation only a short time. Some were well known, others were not. Among the comparatively few that are still occasionally recalled in local traditions are Tom Wagoner's Mill, at Findley's Ford on Long Creek; Hancock's Mill, on lower Long Creek; Thompson's or Green's Mill, near the mouth of Long Creek; McKinney's Mill and Reno's Mill, on upper Pond River, Clark's Mill, above Harpe's Hill; Morgan's Mill, near the mouth of Isaac's Creek; Tiding's Mill or Needham's Mill, on Pond River near Millport; Turner's Mill, on Log Creek; Calvert's Mill, near Black Lake; Morehead's Horse Mill, near what is now Central City; Weir's Mill, on Caney Creek; Leonard Stum's Mill, above Paradise; Henry Stum's Mill, in Paradise, later known as Kirtley's Mill; the Ely Smith Mill, on Pond Creek near Paradise, which was established in 1796 and a few years later became the Elias Smith Mill, and in 1850 the Smith Brothers Mill, by which name it was known until 1896, when it quit running; Haden's Mill, in Paradise; Brewer's Mill at the mouth of Mud River; Forgy's Mill and Barr's Mill, on Mud River; Taggart's Mill, near Hazel Creek Church; Staples Mill, near Friendship; Martin's Mill, on Jarrell's Creek, and Cooksey's Mill, on Clifty Creek.
Other water and horse mills were erected in various parts of the county, but all, with the exception of Cooksey's Mill, have either been abandoned or have been replaced by small steam saw mills, most of which are now prepared to grind corn on Saturdays. However, the greater part of the flour and cornmeal now consumed in the county is ground at the few steam mills, that run every day and confine their work to the grinding of wheat and corn.
In 1848 Edward R. Weir, sr., set up the first steam mill. It was a saw and grist mill, built on the banks of Caney Creek about a mile and a half north of Greenville, on what is now called the Central City Road. A number of other steam mills were established shortly after.
Cooksey's Mill, the only survivor of the old-time grist mills, was started about the year 1810 by Alexander McPherson and some of his neighbors, who built an overshot wheel and ran a mill on the site that has ever since been used for "grinding." They were succeeded by Henry Myers, who converted the wheel into an undershot. Shortly after the Civil War the original building was torn down and a new house erected with a turbine waterwheel. Cooksey's Mill still grinds at least once a week. Now, as in years gone by, "turns" are carried there and are paid for in "toll." Cooksey's Mill and other grist mills of old, like "the mills of God," though they grind slowly, "yet they grind exceeding small"--and exceeding well. The old-fashioned stone burrs still work in the old-fashioned way, grinding out the old-fashioned cornmeal by slowly crushing the grain, without heating and robbing the meal of its natural flavor.
In the olden days, as now, Greenville was the center of the county from a business and social standpoint as well as from a geographical standpoint. From its beginning it was the county seat. The courthouse and Russell's Tavern, both of which were of logs, formed the nucleus of the new town of Greenville. The town was slow of growth. It is probable that not only the small population of the county but the lack of good roads limited the early development of the county seat. Then, as now, all roads in the county led directly or indirectly to Greenville, but then, more than now, the roads were wellnigh impassable at some seasons of the year, and it was no easy matter to get into or out of the county seat. Except in the Long Creek country and south of it there is no stone suitable for road building, and the problem of good wagon-roads was therefore a serious one for the pioneers, and is still for the citizens of to-day. The streets of Greenville were unpaved mud roads.Cooksey's Mill, on Clifty Creek, Oldest in The County
In 1800, according to the census report, Greenville's population was 26; in 1810 it was 75, and in 1830 it had grown to 217. In 1830 there were probably fewer than forty residences, business houses, and mechanic's shops in the town. The location of some of these was, according to tradition, as follows:
The John January house was near the southwest corner of Main and Hopkinsville streets. The homes of Ezias Earl and John Walker were on the south side of Hopkinsville Street. Edward Rumsey then lived on the west side of Main Street near Hopkinsville Street. James Weir's store and his residence stood where they are still standing, on Main Street south of the courthouse. On the west side of Main Street, opposite Weir's store, stood his tobacco and storage house. On the northwest corner of the public square, not far from the log courthouse, stood the "old brick bank" building.
Among the houses on Main Street opposite the courthouse, facing its main entrance, were Russell's Tavern and a few stores. Isaac Bard lived on the northwest corner of Main and Main Cross streets. Doctor Robert D. McLean's office was on Main Street a little north of Bard's. Opposite Doctor McLean lived Doctor Thomas Pollard. North of Pollard's house was a wool-carding factory. On Main Cross Street, near where the Y. M. C. A. now stands, lived Alney McLean. A short distance north of McLean's house, near a good spring, was a tanyard. The Charles Fox Wing home was on the southeast corner of Main Cross and Cherry streets. Across the street and west of Captain Wing's home was the home of his brother, John Wing. On the east side of Cherry Street, a few hundred feet north of Main Cross Street, stood the Greenville Seminary, and near it a small graveyard. About two hundred yards east of Weir's store stood the Presbyterian Church. E. M. Brank lived about a half mile from town on the west side of the Rumsey road, and about a half mile farther down this road was Weir's Mill on Caney Creek.
Although the county's leading lawyers, physicians, and merchants lived in Greenville and were extensively identified with the growth of the county seat and the development of the county, they were by no means the only prominent men in Muhlenberg in the olden days. In the Pond River county, the "Dutch Settlement," the Green River and the Long Creek countries, as well as in and around Greenville, there lived many men who were in their day among the county's most intelligent and influential citizens.
Samuel Russell was Greenville's first postmaster. He was appointed April 1, 1801, and served until October 1, 1809, when he was succeeded by Parmenas Redman. Later James Weir became postmaster at Greenville. It was at Weir's store that for many years the pioneers received and sent their mail. Weir's store was for more than half a century the principal headquarters for Muhlenberg men and women who had things to buy, sell, or exchange. Among their many customers were old Revolutionary soldiers and men who had fought in the War of 1812.
Such business as must be transacted in the courthouse made it necessary for many people living in and out of the county to frequent the log "Temple of Justice." Of those who were compelled to remain in town many were the guests of friends; others stopped at the Russell Tavern. All, no matter whose guests they might be while in town, congregated during a few hours each day at the Russell Tavern or "The Hog Eye" tippling house. There they not only heard the news from other sections of the county and the outside world, but also had many opportunities to quench their thirst.
Practically every man and woman living "out in the county" had occasion, or at least a desire, "to go to town" one or more times during the year. Some went for business, some for pleasure, some for "business and pleasure combined." Many arranged to make their trips to town on county court days. In the olden times county court days were "big days" in Greenville, and are such even to this day. Then as now, of the number of people who went to Greenville on county court day only a few had court business to attend to. Some went to trade, some to meet friends and discuss business or social matters with them, some to "swap" horses, and some "to see what was going on."
Other meetings, besides those that took place in Greenville, around the mills and in the stores, offered the pioneers an opportunity to intermingle. Publie speakings, militia musters, picnies on the Fourth of July, and, after the battle of New Orleans (January 8, 1815), the celebrations on the eighth of January, brought together many people from all parts of the county. House-raisings, log-rollings, hog-killings, quiltings, wedding celebrations, harvesting, hunting, fishing, shooting-matches, frolics, dances, fiddlers' contests, and racing, also, served as a blender of the early settlers. However, churches and baptizings, camp-meetings and buryings, brought them in closer and more intimate touch with each other than any other form of gathering.
Many of the first-comers were more interested in religion than in any other one subject. Their fathers and many of the pioneers themselves were Revolutionary soldiers, and had fought for political and religious liberty. Liberty stood foremost among their thoughts and deeds. Thus the church established by the pioneers near Murphy's Lake was called by them New Liberty--now known as Old Liberty. They were willing to continue to devote their time and fortunes, and even to sacrifice life itself, for the liberty that had been won not many years before. A spirit of altruism prevailed in those days. The patriotic pioneer did not dream of the probability of an age of dollars--an age characterized by its selfish men who with little thought of honor or justice accumulate or try to accumulate a fortune, and look on the making of money as the only victory in life. When in 1812, and again fifty years later, volunteers were called for, men responded with a patriotic spirit and unselfish motive.
To the pioneer the Bible was as symbolic of political and religious-liberty as was the Flag. 5 Those who could read were sure to read the Bible often. In the beginning, when as a rule farms were far apart and church houses, in most locations, were impracticable, religious exercises were held in turn in the homes of the pioneers. These services were conducted in English. In some homes there were no Bibles other than German--copies that had been brought by the German-American pioneers--nevertheless the services were conducted in English. Henry Rhoads, it is said, frequently addressed audiences and read chapter after chapter from a German Bible, translating them into English with more grace and rapidity than some of his contemporaries who on other occasions read a Bible printed in English.
Hazel Creek Baptist Church was organized December 3, 1798, and was the first church organized in the county. This is not only the first but also the oldest church organization in Muhlenberg. Furthermore, it is the only church in the county of which a history has been published. In 1898 Professor William J. Johnson, who then lived near Wells, printed a seventypage pamphlet entitled "History of Hazel Creek Baptist Church." This church, like many of the other early churches, became the mother of other organizations. Relative to the twelve churches originating from Hazel Creek, Professor Johnson says:
"In 1799, twelve members were authorized 'to continue an arm at George Clark's, on the west side of Pond Creek.' which doubtless led to the formation of Nelson Creek church, June 10, 1803. June 1, 1805, eighteen members were dismissed from Hazel Creek church to form Midway church, now Monticello. August 2, 1806, eighteen members were dismissed to form what is now Cave Spring, near Pond river, on the road from Greenville to Hopkinsville. Cypress church, McLean county, was formed from this church in 1808. Antioch, Todd county, was formed from this church, and also Whippoorwill church in the year 1819. May 6, 1820, the arm known as Hebron (now Mt. Vernon) was made a constituted body. In 1840, thirteen member from this church formed new Hebron church (Muhlenberg). Ebenezer was organized with twenty-six members from this church, January 3, 1851. Macedonia was formed from this church on November 22, 1856. New Hope church (Muhlenberg) was formed of material mostly from this church, in 1858; but is now extinct. Sugar Grove was constituted with twenty-five members, mostly from this church, in January, 1873."
It may be well to add that the Hazel Creek congregation built its first house in 1800, its second in 1807, and its third in 1857, all of which were of logs. Its fourth (the present) building was erected in 1906.
Mount Olivet (three miles northeast of Central City) is probably the oldest Methodist church in Muhlenberg, Mount Zion (one mile east of Central City) is among the oldest Presbyterian organizations. Although Mount Zion was organized as early as about 1802, the congregation, it is said, did not erect its first house until about twenty years later. As a rule, the church houses built by the pioneers were union churches--that is, buildings erected jointly by two or more denominations, who conducted their services independently of one another. In Greenville, up to about 1825, the academy building served the purposes of a school and a union church. As far as I have been able to ascertain, the Presbyterians of Greenville were the first in that town to erect a building of their own. I tried to procure data relative to the early history of all the old churches in the county, but an investigation showed that in only a few cases had the old church records been preserved.
In religion, as well as in politics and business, the pioneers of Muhlenberg were always conservative. The "Great Revival" of the first part of the last century, that spasmodically stirred what was then called the West, did not throw many of the people of Muhlenberg into "jerks" and other mysterious "exercises." In Kentucky its effect was felt more in the southern and central sections of the State.Hazel Creek Baptist Church, Erected 1906
This "Great Revival" began in Logan County in 1799, under the ministry of John McGee, of the Methodist church, and his brother William McGee, of the Presbyterian, and soon spread over the State. Tradition says that the local men and women who had gone to Logan and Christian counties to attend these great camp-meetings were the only ones affected by the "exercises."
Reverend Barton W. Stone (who married Elizabeth Campbell, daughter of Colonel William Campbell) in his "Autobiography," published in 1844, says that while at Greenville in July, 1801, he heard of the wonderful things taking place at some of the revivals in other sections of Kentucky. He and his wife "hurried from Muhlenberg" immediately after they were married, and went to Cane Ridge, Bourbon County, to see and study the extraordinary phenomena. His description of the "bodily agitations" is the best that has been written. Had any of these "exercises" taken place in Muhlenberg he in all probability would have stated the fact in his book.
Peter Cartwright in his "Autobiography," published in 1856, also gives an interesting account of these revivals, but refers to Muhlenberg only once. Commenting on the widespread effect of one of his great camp-meetings held some time during the year 1812, while he was riding the "Christian circuit," so named after Christian County, he says (page 122): "From this meeting a revival spread almost through the entire country round, and great additions were made to the Methodist church. This circuit was large, embracing parts of Logan, Muhlenberg, Butler, Christian and Caldwell counties in Kentucky and parts of Montgomery, Dixon and Stewart counties in Tennessee."
It is more than probable that Peter Cartwright conducted a number of meetings in Muhlenberg. Tradition, however, tells of only one place where he did so--the Old Camp Ground, located north of Cleaton and near the Greenville and Seralvo Road. Tradition has it that he preached there not only once but often, and that all his meetings were well attended. One of Peter Cartwright's personal friends and disciples in Muhlenberg was Reverend Silas Drake, one of the best-known local Methodist preachers and circuit riders, and of whom the following characteristic incident is related:
Preacher Drake was opposed to the wearing of things that were more ornamental than useful, declaring that such apparel was indicative of pride, and that "ear bobs are the devil's stirrups." One day, while addressing a crowd at an arbor meeting, he observed a woman with large bows of ribbon on her bonnet. He called her by name, reproved her, and told her that such bows were of absolutely no use. She, without hesitating, retaliated by saying, "Neither are the buttons on your coat sleeves or on the back of your coat!" He immediately pulled off his coat, cut off the buttons referred to, and never afterward wore a coat with buttons sewed on the sleeves or back. 6
No matter whether affected permanently, temporarily, or not at all by the "Great Revival" or any other revivals, all of the early settlers exercised more or less influence over their contemporaries and descendants. However, it is an indisputable fact that many, if not most, of the good influences exerted by the early settlers were due directly or indirectly to the work of the women of the community. Written records as well as local traditions fail to give the women who lived in the olden days the credit they deserve for their moral and religious influence. They always showed courage on trying occasions. They were the doctors of the times, and in some instances the sole preservers of hard-earned homes or farms.
In the olden days, as now, the foundation of the career of every man and woman depended largely on the training received in youth from his or her mother. The control of many mothers was confined to their own family fireside, where while also attending to their domestic duties they were not only mothers to their children but often assumed the duties of schoolteacher. In many cases the mother, a grandmother, or an aunt was the only guide through the "three R's" the child of an early settler ever knew. The influence of some mothers was felt far beyond their own home and neighborhood. Local public schools were few and far between. Post-primary schools were not established until the middle of the last century.Section of the Newman Graveyard, Four Miles East of Greenville
Among the best known and one of the noblest of the pioneer women of Muhlenberg was Mrs. Tabitha A. R. Campbell, "the Mother of Greenville." Local tradition still tells many interesting things regarding Mrs. Campbell's great work in the moral and religious unbuilding of the new county and her deep interest in social and educational affairs. Her path through life was followed by her four daughters and her son. The same can be truly said of many others of the pioneer mothers of Muhlenberg, who although now perhaps forgotten, yet who in their day smoothed the rough paths over part of which many of their sons and daughters of the present generation are still treading. They were of that strong and generous type of pioneer women, great in virtue and sacrifice and deserving to have their names inscribed on a monument erected to the Mothers of Muhlenberg.
On most of the old farms in Muhlenberg one can find small groups of old-time graves, where rest those who lived during the days of the early settlers. Public cemeteries were rare and frequently inaccessible. Few congregations had established a common graveyard adjoining their church lot before 1870. Many of the old graves in these private burying-grounds are marked with crude and unlettered rocks. Most of them, however, are identified by slabs of lettered sandstone; a few are of white marble. In some sections, especially in the southern part of the county, a large number of the old graves are marked with stone box-covers placed over them many years ago. These covers were made of slabs of dressed sandstone erected either in the form of a long, narrow box, or in the shape of a stone coffin. They were placed over the graves as markers, and not--as is now sometimes stated--to prevent animals from digging down to the buried body. The custom of constructing these vault-like grave-covers was introduced by the pioneers and prevailed to a great extent during the first quarter of the Nineteenth Century. Very few graves were marked in this solemn and picturesque manner after the year 1850.
The olden days were the heroic age. What Judge Little has said in summing up the men of Kentucky and their life in the early days is particularly applicable to the men and women of Muhlenberg: "Existing conditions produced a type of men surpassed by no other time or country. ... Without contrasting them or measuring them by a common standard, it is conceded that the type of the pioneer differs from his descendant of the third and fourth and subsequent generations. The latter, with less daring, is more intelligent, with less vigor lives longer, with less fortitude is more patient, with less activity accomplishes more. To the pioneer belongs the warrior's laurel--to his descendant the moral and intellectual achievements of peace.
"'Peace hath her victories no less renowned than war.'"



1. Up to 1900 Mrs. Cynthia B. (J. K.) Gary raised all the cotton she used in her quilts, and ginned it with a device that resembled and worked on the principle of a clothes-wringer. In 1847 John Staples built a small public cotton gin near Friendship. A few years later he sold it to Thos. Terry, who moved it three miles west of Greenville; although a number of people tried to raise cotton during the Civil War, not enough was produced to justify the running of the gin. In 1870 W. H. James moved the gin to near Pleasant Hill Church (Russell Old Field), and after three years' trial sold it to E. V. Tate, who transferred the rollers, sweep, and other parts back to the Friendship neighborhood, where they were used for various purposes.

2. In a bundle of old documents marked "Medley of papers" in the courthouse I found many "wolf-sculp" certificates. Four, selected at random, read: "March 4th, 1800. This day came Jacob Wiley before me, one of the Justices of the Peace of Muhlenberg County and brought a wolf's head which appears over the age two years and took the oath prescribed by law. Given under my hand. Isaac Davis." "I hereby do Certify that Sharp Garness Brought before me a Justice of thee peace for Muhlenberg County four Groan Wolf Sculps and proved them as the Law directs. Given under My hand thee 27 day of August 1800. W. Bradford, J. P." "October the 7th 1805. Jacob Groves produced one grown woolfe skulp to me and proved it as the law directs. Charles Lewis, J. P." "Muhlenberge Countey. This day about 2 o'clock I killed a large wolf and Jacob Short witness. November 23, 1805. Joseph Arnold, Sener."

3. Audubon, in his work on "Birds of America," publishes a sketch on The Passenger Pigeon (Vol. V. pp. 25-36). In this he relates that on one occasion in the autumn of 1813 he saw "immense legious" of wild pigeons passing over the country near the mouth of Salt River, and that they continued "passing in undiminished numbers ... for three days in succession." "The air was literally filled with pigeons; the light of noonday was obscured as by an eclipse." In this same sketch he says that he repeatedly visited one of the roosting-places "on the banks of Green River in Kentucky." This particular roosting place was probably near the mouth of Green River, for there "two farmers from the vicinity of Russellville, distant more than a hundred miles, had driven upwards of three hundred hogs to be fattened on the pigeons, which were to be slaughtered ... The pigeons, arriving by the thousands [shortly after sunset], alighted everywhere, one above another until solid masses were formed on the branches all around. Here and there the perches gave way under the weight with a crash, and, falling on the ground, destroyed hundreds of the birds beneath, forcing down the dense groups with which every stick was loaded. ... Thousands were knocked down by the polemen. ... The pigeons were constantly coming, and it was past midnight before I perceived a decrease in the number of those that arrived. ... No one dared venture within the line of devastation. The hogs had been pent up in due time. ... The dead, the dying, and the mangled ... pigeons were picked up and piled in heaps [the next morning] until each had as many as he could possibly dispose of, when the hogs were let loose to feed on the remainder." In his minute description of the adult male, Audubon says: "Length 16 1/4 inches, extent of wings 25 inches. ... Bill black. Iris bright red. Feet carmine purple, claws blackish. Head above and on the sides light blue. Throat, fore-neck, breast, and sides, light brownish red, the rest of the under parts white. Lower part of the neck behind and along the sides, changing to gold, emeraldgreen, and rich crimson. The general color of the upper parts is grayish-blue, some of the wing-coverts marked with a black spot. Quills and larger wing-coverts blackish, the primary quills bluish on the outer web, the larger coverts whitish at the tip. The two middle feathers of the tail black, the rest pale blue at the base, becoming white towards the end." The adult female: "Length 15 inches; extent of wings 23 inches. ... The colors of the female are much duller than those of the male, although their distribution is the same. The breast is light greyish-brown, the upper parts pale reddish-brown, tinged with blue."

4. Laborn Ford, the father of Reverend G. W. Ford, was born in North Carolina in 1811, settled in Muhlenberg in 1839, and died near Friendship in 1897. In 1840 Laborn Ford married Lucy Ann Staples, daughter of John Burton Staples, who was born in Virginia in 1785, came to Muhlenberg in 1835, and died near Friendship in 1867. The Staples Mill, near Friendship, disappeared many years ago, but the farm on which it stood is still known as the Old Mill Place. Mr. and Mrs. Laborn Ford were the parents of Mrs. Virginia Ann (David M.) Durham, Mrs. Arritta (J. B.) Browning, John Laborn, Samuel Henry, Reverend George William, James Riley, Napoleon Monroe, and Laborn ("Sonny") Ford. Reverend G. W. Ford was born in 1853 and married Susan Eliza Allen, daughter of William Booker Allen, who came to Muhlenberg in 1845, raised eighteen children, and died near Friendship in 1900, aged eighty-six.

5. Mrs. James Duvall, of Greenville, a great-granddaughter of pioneer Samuel Allison, has in her possession a Bible published in 1815 by M. Carey, Philadelphia. It is a large, well-printed volume, bound in calf. It was published by subscription, and in it are given the names of the subscribers (about six hundred and fifty) then living in Kentucky, Ohio. Illinois, and other sections of the West. The fact that these men subscribed for a Bible of this character indicates that they were men who appreciated good books and could afford to buy expensive volumes. Eighteen Muhlenberg men appear among the names of the subscribers to this Bible: "Samuel Allison, John Bone, William Campbell, Hugh Carter, B. Coffman, W. Campbell, Abraham Dennis, Samuel Drake, John January, I. Langlis, Job Matthews, Solomon Rhodes, D. H. Stephens, Thomas Salisbury, James Wier, Charles F. Wing, Lewis Webb, J. Zimmerman."

6. Reverend Silas Drake was a son of pioneer Albritton Drake, a Revolutionary soldier who settled in southern Muhlenberg in 1806, where he died in 1834. Albritton Drake married Ruth Collins. They, as already stated, were the parents of Reverend Silas, Mosley Collins, Reverend Benjamin, J. Perry, Edmond, and William. Reverend Silas, Mosley Collins, and Edmund Drake married daughters of pioneer Micajah Wells. Reverend Silas Drake was born in 1790 and married Patsy Wells, he preached for a half century, and in the meantime farmed in the Long Creek country, where he died in 1858. J. Perry Drake married Priscilla Buell, who was a sister of General Don Carlos Buell's father. The parents of General Buell died while he was still a child, and the rearing and educating of young Buell was assumed by his uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. J. Perry Drake, who were then living in Indianapolis. J. Perry Drake was a Mexican War soldier and a well-known Indiana lawyer. One of his daughters, Elmira Drake, became the wife of General W. T. H. Brooks of the Federal army.

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