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Clothing Prices in Richmond in 1875
When folks get ready to buy their new spring clothes, they usually do some "shopping around" at several stores, getting a notion of the quality and prices before they buy.
Residents of Richmond back in 1875 apparently were no different, judging…
Residents of Richmond back in 1875 apparently were no different, judging…
Richmond Post Office and Its Postmasters
After it was first established in July 1802, the U.S. Post Office in Richmond moved around frequently before it finally got a permanent home. According to the Kentucky Register, of August 6, 1897, the Richmond Post Office had been located in leased…
Azbill's Livery Stable
"Horse Men's Headquarters" in large letters across the top of a two-story red brick building at 123 East Main Street in Richmond back in the early 1900's served notice on persons passing by that they were in front of one of the biggest livery stables…
Village of Valley View
About fourteen miles northwest of Richmond on Ky. 169 is a quiet little village at the mouth of Tates Creek where it enters the Kentucky River. As a person drives through the village he goes down to the river where one of the last ferryboats in the…
Some Madison Firsts
The first house in Madison County was undoubtedly built as a part of the Boonesborough settlement. John Lyle built the first individual home outside of the Fort area. Andrew Bogie built a stone residence near Silver Creek in 1796. There seems to be…
Richmond Electric Co.
In November, 1898, after the local gasworks blew up and was partly destroyed, the City Council of Richmond considered the lighting of the streets by electricity because many of the citizens had been complaining about the weak and uncertain gas…
Municipal Services in '90s
In looking at the history of local government and public services, the mid-1890's were interesting years. Richmond, at that time, was governed by a mayor and six councilmen. As mayor, T.T. Covington received a salary of $450 a year, and each…
Richmond's First Merchant
In the year 1798, a young man arrived in this community to become an almost forgotten pioneer in Madison's heritage: the first permanent merchant and storekeeper in Richmond. Thomas Howard was born in what is now Woodford County about the time of the…
History of the Kentucky Register
A vital part of the history of Madison County during the latter half of the 19th Century and also a great source of detailed local history data is the Kentucky Register, a newspaper published on Friday of each week at Richmond from 1866 until…
Fire! Fire! Fire
The large fires which in recent years have destroyed buildings in the downtown business section of Richmond have caused some interest in major fires in the history of this city. During most of the 19th Century the ringing of the courthouse bell to…
Famous Eating Places of Yesteryear
Many places in Richmond and Madison County have been famous for their food. And eating has always been a favorite hobby of Madison Countians. I remember some of them, and am indebted to longtime residents of Richmond for information about other…
Night Gas Works Blew Up
At 2 a.m. on the morning of Saturday November 12, 1898, most of the residents of Richmond were awaken by a tremendously loud and frightening noise which, as one newspaper editor exclaimed, "Sounded as if ... a load of coal had been dumped down the…
Berea and Berea College
Berea traces its beginnings back to the old Glade Church House where John G. Fee, under the sponsorship of Cassius M. Clay, organized an anti-slavery church out of which grew the village and college named Berea, because the people "received the word…
Ferries Around Madison
About a dozen ferries operated on the Kentucky River and the creeks which constitute the county line for most of Madison. These ferries span the time from 1775 when the Boonesborough ferry was established on the Richmond-Winchester Road to the…
Hello, Central
Its equipment was somewhat crude and unreliable, but when the first telephone company in Richmond began its operations in 1884, the local folks thought it was great to be able to stand in one's own home and talk in a normal voice to another person on…
Some Old Richmond Buildings
It is not my purpose to name every old building in downtown Richmond. On the other hand several of the buildings have dates carved on them, if you will only lift up your eyes and read.
The oldest labeled building is the one now housing…
The oldest labeled building is the one now housing…
First Surgical Operation in Madison
Many of our students of Kentucky history could tell us that the first successful abdominal ovariotomy surgery in the world was performed by Dr. Ephraim McDowell in 1809, in his Danville, Ky. office. However; we suspect that few, if any, know of the…