This Week 150 Years Ago in Hickman – April 20, 1872

Stories of Interest from the Hickman Courier from April 20, 1872

• The Mississippi River was reported as “stationary” and that water levels were expected to fall soon.
• The spring planting season was still on hold as very wet weather and colder than normal temperatures caused delays to initiate plowing.
• Grasshoppers were becoming a nuisance in the region. Some were measured at two inches in length.
• The Hickman City Council met on April 17^th and inaugurated a “movement” to secure the construction of a railroad southward through Tennessee. The Street Committee paid several contractors for road repairs. The city tax collector was directed to collect all personal and property taxes of $1.50 on every $100 worth of property, a 5 percent tax on income on U. S. Bonds, $1.50 on every mule over 21 years, and $1.50 on every dog. The Hickman String Band was permitted to give concerts at the City Hall without paying for a license. John C. Heinz was granted a license to operate a coffee house in the city. The Council also ordered a survey and a cost estimate for a levee to be constructed through a section of West Hickman.
• Musician Karl Wittig and his daughters Emma and Deiga were scheduled to perform at the Hickman City Hall on April 22nd. The price for admission was 50 cents for adults and 25 cents for children.
• The American Bible Society of Western Kentucky planned to meet in Hickman on May 5th.
• James Ashworth and Mary E. Monroe were married in Hickman on April 18^th.
• Several reports of mule thefts led to the capture and arrest of Louis Siminaur in Memphis. Siminaur was charged with stealing the mule of Sam Noonan of Fulton County on night of April 12^th.
• The wholesale liquor and cigar establishment of S. Levi in Hickman declared it had the largest stock of cigars and tobacco since its establishment. The store had received over 31,000 orders of cigars and tobacco on April 17^th.
• The Holly Springs & Brownsville Railroad Company discussed plans to build a track to Hickman and secure a terminal in the city. The rail line would travel southward through the counties of Obion and Dyer in Tennessee.
• B. Lickert, proprietor of a large sawmill along the Mississippi River north of Columbus, drowned on April 15^th after the canoe he was paddling overturned near the mill.
• The trial of Jackson and Coe, charged with the rape of the wife and daughter of Mr. Shelton of Hickman County, was concluded on April 16^th. The jury found the men guilty, and the judge sentenced the men to twenty years in the Kentucky State Penitentiary. The public that gathered outside the courthouse desired the more severe penalty of death.
• James Cunningham was found guilty of the murder of Joseph Pendergrass in Hickman County and given the death sentence by Judge A. R. Boon. Cunningham was scheduled to be executed on June 7^th.
• The Mayfield lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows proposed to give a “grand procession, ball and supper” to celebrate the anniversary of their order on April 26^th.
• The Kentucky State Teachers Association planned to hold a conference in Frankfort from August 12^th to the 16^th.
• The Trigg County Democrat indorsed Ed Crossland for re-election to the U. S. Congress. At the time of the endorsement, he was unopposed.
• A Baptist Church was organized in McKenzie, Tennessee on March 30^th.
• The Tennessee and Kentucky Agricultural and Mechanical Association will hold its Spring Fair at Humboldt, Tennessee on May 17^th.