This Week 150 Years Ago in Hickman – February 24, 1872

Stories of Interest from the Hickman Courier from February 24, 1872

• More freight was being received at Hickman than ever before recorded. So much so, that some boats had been unable to find room to dock at the wharf.
• Work continues to commence on the new wharf and freight house in Hickman.
• William McCutchen was building two large storehouses that extended from Clinton to Water Street in Hickman.
• A large number of wagons were being produced at the steam factory of Baltzer & Co. in Hickman and being shipped to customers in the South.
• Production at Charles Oswald & Co., Steam Furniture Factory, had increased so significantly in recent months that more employees were required to keep up with demand.
• The wheat crop throughout the Jackson Purchase was reported as “looking tolerably well.”
• A dance school was organized in Hickman and “absorbing the attention of our young people,” according the to the Hickman Courier.
• The City Council met on February 21st where the wharfmaster reported that he collected $40.00. The Council passed a motion that the Hickman Brass Band were allowed to erect a temporary stage at one end of City Hall for performances.
• A group of Hickman citizens complained that street conditions in the city made it hazardous for pedestrians walk, particularly children. It was suggested that gravel or plank sidewalks be constructed.
• John A. Lauderdale of Hickman died in New Orleans on February 17^th. Lauderdale was a leading member of the Hickman bar and prominent businessman. It was stated he had the largest personal library in the city.
• W. Hanberry, one of the first settlers in the county, died of pneumonia on February 8^th in Hickman. He was 71 years of age.
• The Good Templars of Fulton County held a convention on February 22^nd to address the advancement of the temperance in the county. 498 members attended the conference in Hickman.
• Judge A. D. Kingman planned to deliver a temperance lecture at Woodland Mills on February 28^th.
• The 1872 Fair of the Fulton County Agricultural and Mechanical Society was scheduled to begin on Tuesday, September 24^th and continue for five days.
• The State Legislature granted a charter to extend the Elizabethtown & Paducah Railroad from the Tennessee River by way of Mayfield to Columbus. Another charter was granted to build a railroad from Columbus to Hickman.
• The State Legislature discussed the establishment of a “Western Lunatic Asylum” and was considering a location in a county west of the Tennessee River. The editor of the Hickman Courier promoted Fulton County as an ideal place to build an asylum, since it was “furthest from the alleged corrupting influences if Central Kentucky.”
• The Columbus Dispatch reported that a bill was to be proposed in the State Legislature to build a new county courthouse in Clinton.
• Ed Warren, a publisher from Mayfield, declared that a printing press to be delivered to his press office was lost after the sinking of the steamer Nashville at Cincinnati a week ealier.
• The Illinois Central Railroad reported that it was considering the construction of a terminal at Mound City, as the point was ideal for a bridge over the Ohio River.
• The citizens of Dyer and Lauderdale counties of Tennessee held a public meeting on February 19^th at the courthouse in Dyersburg to seek Government aid to construct locks and dams on the Forked Deer River for better navigation.
• A tombstone was found on the Duck River in Hickman County, Tennessee which had Latin inscriptions, the initials “B.D.” and the date of “December 1540.” It was believed to be the grave of a Spaniard.