Stories of Interest from the Hickman Courier from March 16, 1872
- A body of a man was found in the Mississippi River above the Hickman wharf on March 11th. No identification was found on the body but was believed to be a steamboat deckhand or laborer. An inquest found it to be an accidental drowning. The corpse was buried in the city cemetery.
- The rock for building the Hickman wharf began to arrive by rail on March 13th from Johnsonville, Tennessee. Contractors planned to fill in as much rock as possible before the spring floods.
- City leaders encouraged residents to plant shade trees and replace old or dead trees.
- The proprietors of Beech Wood Seminary in Hickman acquired a new “large size bell” for their institution.
- The Hickman Free School, under the charge of Professor Boyle, Thomas French and Emma Fuqua, ended its semester on March 15th.
- Fulton County Sheriff William H. Roper transferred six convicts to the State Penitentiary in Frankfort.
- A new ferry boat began transporting people and supplies across the mouth of the Little Obion River between Hickman and Columbus.
- William B. Benny, a Hickman merchant, received the first arrival of spring stock for the year. His motto was “quick sales and small profits.”
- N. White advertised he had a fine selection of leaf tobacco for sale and that Robert Farris, a saddler, now worked for his Variety Store.
- The editor of the Hickman Courier reported that farms adjacent to the city were undergoing substantial repairs and new dwellings “dot the whole face of the country.” He also noted that property owners in Hickman were charging high prices for lots which caused potential business owners from building in the city.
- C. Bailey, Jr., son of John R. and Katie H. Bailey, died of “congestion of the brain” on March 11th. He was 13 years of age.
- George W. Boudinot of Hickman and Josephene Pollock of Obion County, Tennessee were married on March 14th at the residence of the bride’s father.
- The Circuit Court continued in session but there was little business done in the Fulton County Court during the week.
- Religious services for Hickman Station were held on March 16th and 17th.
- The session terms of the Courts in Fulton County over the past year have been much shorter than years past. The Courts met for only one to two weeks, four times in the past year. Earlier terms were usually two or three weeks.
- State Representative S. Arnold’s bill to use tax increases to fund the Hickman to Tiptonville Levee, if constructed, for fifteen years was successfully passed in the Legislature.
- Congressman Ed Crossland introduced a bill in Congress to provide $36,000 in funds to repair a dam on the Ohio River near the mouth of the Cumberland River.
- A. Tyler, President of the Mississippi Levee Company, was scheduled to address the people of Lake County at Tiptonville, Tennessee on April 1st.
- The Paducah News reports there were three Congressional candidates for the First District of Kentucky. The candidates were Oscar Turner of Ballard County, William Clark of Paducah, and Ed Crossland of Graves County. The Princeton Banner declared that Crossland was their candidate.
- The Paducah News stated that the once flourishing steamboat building business in the city was almost non-existent in the past few years.
- A new newspaper called the Tobacco Leaf began publication in Paducah.
- A French dance teacher by the name of Begar embezzled over $100 from twenty or more students in Paducah before boarding a steamer and departing.
- William D. Lannom was shot and killed by Vac Cook in Paris, Tennessee on March 4th. Lannom’s death stemmed over a $100 debt that Cook’s mother owed Lannom. Lannom served as an officer in the 12th Kentucky Cavalry (Confederate) and was a prominent attorney in the city. Cook escaped and had yet to be captured at the time of the paper’s publication.
- Charles Wright, educator, opened an academy in Troy, Tennessee.