On August 5, 1977, Robert Rennick interviewed historian Lon Carter Barton at his home in Mayfield for over four hours discussing the history of community names in Graves County and the Jackson Purchase. Rennick was touring Kentucky researching the place names of villages, towns, and cities throughout the Commonwealth for a forthcoming publication. Below is the transcription of the fourth of six audio cassettes recorded that day.
Barton: …there’s a grocery I think and maybe a service station, but that’s about all there is at Kaler. It’s rather … it never was very large but it’s more or less a suburb of Symsonia. Now what have we? Golo? Well, I know where that is, but I have no idea about the origin. It’s east of Mayfield, right on out here on Highway 80 and you go the Marshall County line and turn right and it’s just a little distance down that way. The Youngblood family is the most prominent group around there and the Newsomes, but whether any one of these had anything to do with the originating of Golo, or when Golo… I have an idea that Golo is a relatively recent town. I have old newspapers here dating back to 1875 running pretty continuously down to 1900 and I have not yet ever found Golo mentioned, and they mention everywhere else on the face of the earth that existed at that time. So that makes me think that it must have been of 20th century origin. Weymouth is the other one that I don’t know a thing about. Fairbanks, locally referred to as Podunk. Fairbanks and Podunk are the same. I guess every county, or every area, had its own Podunk, but this place is about two miles south of Lynnville in the so-called hills. Graves County has a magnificent ridge right along the state line in the south down here … very sparsely settled really and called “The Hills” and Fairbanks is on the north entrance to the hills. I don’t know anything further about how it was named.
Rennick: Why is it that name …
Barton: Unless that can be kind of a landscape derivation … fair – banks … beautiful banks. There are banks down there because, like I say, this is on the edge of this embankment ridge, so this might really in a sense relate to our topographical structure rather than anything else. I would just assume or guess that than anything, but now who it was that gave it the name I don’t know.
Rennick: There weren’t any families called …
Barton: No, I don’t think that was a family name here. I’m sure it was in some places. Now are these in Graves County?
Rennick: Yes, these are just other names that I thought if you knew something about some of the … some of them are unusual … Anytime … you know that one?
Barton: No.
Rennick: Or Toy?
Barton: No.
Rennick: Now, Toy in eastern Kentucky would be a family name.
Barton: Yes, there’s a family in Paducah named Toy, but I never heard any … most of these I see here would have something to do with families, not most of them but a lot of them. Austin does, Ragsdale does, Story was a big landowner – Samuel Story was a Confederate captain during the Civil War but before that he was man of great wealth, I take it. He lived in the area of Fairbanks in sort of a remote section down there. Apparently, he had a big farm, a great big farm and here again he was a very wealth man and had a number of slaves and all this type thing. So, this I’m sure stems from his connection. Swan is a family name, that’s a voting precinct which was still a voting precinct not too long ago – been consolidated now. Wilson Creek that’s out and around Lowes area. Aker’s Mill that’s … now Aker … A-K-E-R was one of our original county commissioners. He lived out northeast of here and was one of I guess three or four of the very earliest settlers of the county. Ezekiel Aker … and he ran this place called Aker’s Mill. Pleasant Hill, that’s a church somewhere, I don’t know exactly where it is. I don’t know about that one. Boyd’s Store …
Rennick: B-R-E-M-O … that may be in Marshall?
Barton: That doesn’t ring a bell to me. Boyd’s Store is the same thing as Boydsville. Double Springs, I’m not familiar with that. Leander, Oak Ridge, Sage Hill, Old Whitey … Clear Springs is just out off Highway 80 – it’s still a little community there. Clear Springs has a store and an [spangler] shop or something. It’s an old established place. And of course, I think that name derives from the spring water, like health springs over in the next county over here. Stubblefield is south of here, that’s a family connection.
Rennick: Is that Nathan’s family?
Barton: No, I don’t think it is. I’m not sure which family of Stubblefield … it may have been some relationship to, but he was over in Calloway and …
Rennick: Where are the representatives …
Barton: He’s in Calaway too. He’s in Murray, right? Twin Oaks, it almost sounds like a plantation name, or maybe I’m think of … It was here somewhere, I’ve seen references in the Mayfield Monitor, this old newspaper I mentioned, of a Twin Oaks. West Plains, really, I think that this is west … now with a capital “P” – two words – it was out here close to Dogwood. Vulton Creek, not familiar with that one. Austin, that was a family connection in the south part of the county, not very far from Stubblefield. Anytime, I don’t know, that’s an interesting one. Spray, I think Spray … What is that? Minta? It doesn’t ring a bell. Tice, that’s a family connection. We have a Tice Road in Mayfield named after old Judge Tice. He was a judge here at one time.
Rennick: Could that have been named for him?
Barton: Yeah, his family, I’m sure. Bloom, I don’t know. Rock, or Ballance, or Vera. Vealsburg, is just on the other side of Sedalia. It’s named after the Veal family. Freda, I really don’t know, or Spray, or Leader. Now, Palmore is a voting precinct of about twenty-five years ago and on back from that. It’s in the south part of the county. I don’t think that was named after a family, although Judge Palmore on the Court of Appeals, or Supreme Court rather, is from western Kentucky but he’s not from this far down. Rosco, I don’t know. Now, Clay in Graves County … I am in a mind to say is related to the clay industry, because we do have a big clay industry here and it could have been either one of our major clay pits – as the other two could have but I’m not sure.
Rennick: Clayburn …
Barton: Clay’s Lick and Clayburn. Graves, is that Graves County?
Rennick: Graves? No, is there a community called …
Barton: A community called Graves and a county.
Rennick: At least on some list, I once saw, I don’t know its …
Barton: Ah, that I don’t know. There’s a Graves in Calloway.
Rennick: Yeah, it’s in Calloway.
Barton: Although it’s on the county line. It’s a county line town. I don’t know about Shaw, or Hicksville. Baltimore, is a ghost town. It’s closer to being in Hickman County than it is in Graves. They call it Old Baltimore, and all is there now is a church – a Baptist Church. It’s right here.
Rennick: Southwest of number eight there.
Barton: Yeah, number eight is Window. Southwest of Window almost on the Hickman County line. Happy Hollow is south of Mayfield about four miles. I got this explanation on Happy Hollow the other day from a fellow who belonged to the church, there’s a church not that far from there. And he told me that they had services where apparently people, as they say, got happy and this became the name of the community that was developed around the church. Happy Hollow was were the folks that went to the church and in the process of their exuberance and their religious fervor were said to have got happy. Now whether that’s true or not, I don’t know, but this guy that told me this is a member of that, not of that particular congregation, but a member of that church and that’s what he said it was responsible for, but I don’t know. Scroggins Ditch, I have an idea that it’s Scoggans rather than Scroggans, but I don’t know where the ditch was.
Rennick: Now should this be Poynters?
Barton: No, that’s right Poyners.
Rennick: No “T”?
Barton: No. Poyners is … now there’s two places that it could have been. Poyners could have been around Lynnville where there are a large number, if you look in the phone directory for Graves County, you’ll probably even today find a dozen Poyners listed. But there’s a Poyners Chapel Church that is only a couple of miles from this place called Stubblefield and Palmore, it’s all in a little sort of neck in the woods down in all together. And I don’t know … anyway the name stems from a family by that name – Poyner. And in Poyners it makes me think that it refers to the church, Poyners Chapel with the “S” attached to the word. Roper, I’m not sure that Roper is not in Hickman County, but I don’t know. There is a Roper family over there that I know, rather well, and at one time the place where the Roper family was located could have been called Roper. Or, that there are places in Graves County where the same family has been too. Now, Cookville is named after the Cook family. That’s on the State line, that’s just between Bell City here and Boyd’s Crossing here. Cookville is right in between, and that was named after the Cook family.
Rennick: Is that Cooksville, or Cookville?
Barton: Cookville.
Rennick: With no “S.”
Barton: Right. And there’s a girl here named Barber that could tell you everything is to know about Cookville. Diana Barber …
Rennick: Diana?
Barton: Diana Barber, B-A-R-B-E-R, she’s a real authority on Cookville.
Rennick: She lives in Mayfield?
Barton: Yes, sure. You already got all down there and then some. Yes, sir.
Rennick: Actually, what will probably appear in the book will be those top twenty. These are the reserves in case we couldn’t get enough information on these. And these, more or less, I was just curious about.
Barton: Well, I don’t blame you.
Rennick: Now, the reason I chose these names, out of the most populous communities, and of course, the county seat and those with historic significance, like Wheel and those with unusual names that the people are asking for explanations of, like Sedalia and Feliciana. And those places, and again like Sedalia, that names are found in other states and people maybe interested to know how many states these are found in and what the different explanations are since Sedalia, Cuba, and so on.
Barton: Well, now there is one down here that I don’t see that I am relatively sure was also a national sort of derivation is Buena Vista. Buena Vista was a fairly good sized little community at one time just east of Dukedom and it was, I’m positive, named after the battle in the Mexican War where so many Kentucky soldiers were killed and wounded there in the Mexican War at the Battle of Buena Vista. Buena Vista, Feliciana, Bayou de Chein, and those are the three that come to mind right off the bat, are so unlike our culture stock of 99 percent Anglo-Saxon, and or Scotch-Irish, that these have always interested me. But I’m almost certain Buena Vista is today a ghost town and there’s not even a house there today. There’s a church not that far from where Buena Vista used to be, but apparently at one time Buena Vista had some population because in one of the early maps I’ve seen of Graves County, it was printed in about 1850 … during the 1850s I’d say … Buena Vista was on it and it’s on highway maps now. The State Highway Department still puts it on there. Like I said, these highway maps, the secondary roads which have had the same name for a hundred years are frequently related by nomenclature to some of these towns that have long since disappeared or actively disappeared. So, that’s just not surprising to find these towns on a map because they do have some back on the highway … names … or the roadways – not usually the highways. But, you got a real list there. I tell you what. Did you get the McCracken County listing or did I …
Rennick: Yes, here it is.
Barton: Okay. Now, here’s the Hickman and Carlisle, if you want to take that or do you want me to keep it?
Rennick: I tell you what, I can write it down …
Barton: Okay. Alright. Big and Barlow is one …
Rennick: Of course, if you see them, you know …
Barton: Well yeah, if I see them I’ll be glad to pass it on …
Rennick: I’ll tell you what, I have …
Barton: And here’s the Graves County thing in here with this … I’ll just put it all in the envelope.
Rennick: I did for Graves County as I’ve done with all the other counties. I just jotted down particular questions. You might share that with them …
Barton: I believe I have this. Does this date back as early as our last meeting here, down here before?
Rennick: No.
Barton: Or did you send these, some of these things?
Rennick: No, I just made these particular set of questions up, just a couple of days ago.
Barton: Oh, you did. Well, I don’t have them then. Here it is, just ignore that … Oh, what’s his name – Wilcox scribbled down as an introductory explaining for the man …
Rennick: For instance, with McCracken County, like Lone Oak … still trying to find out whether it was one word or two.
Barton: I’ve always seen it as two.
Rennick: And my question about this, people have always wondered how that is pronounced. Now did that have anything to do with the old fort in Illinois?
Barton: I’m sure it does. Massac.
Rennick: Yeah, an outsider would never be sure whether that was pronounced … Ma–Sack or Ma-Sick or what.
Barton: Ma-Sack is the local pronunciation and it’s spelt exactly like the fort and pronounced exactly like the fort.
Rennick: In other words no “K.”
Barton: No. And it’s another example of a French place name in a non-French community.
Rennick: And there’s another thing, there’s a St. Johns you mentioned before. Now some of these places you say no longer exist, but they have historic reference in [Magnuson].
Barton: Right.
Rennick: Communities and like the other questions before getting the most we can on these where we have nothing at all. There’s that Melber again on both lists. I put it on both lists.
Barton: Well, it really belongs on the McCracken side as it does on Graves, as a matter of fact.
Rennick: Now, actually McCracken is one of the counties that I really know virtually nothing about. Because, although, most of the other counties and I’ve had some historical dates and some people have done some things with place names, I never came across anything in McCracken other than Paducah city itself. So, here is where I sort of really … well other than … even Wilmington we don’t know where it’s got its name.
Barton: But now Linnville is along here, I’m satisfied that’s Lynn Boyd but spelt with an “I.”
Rennick: Then Carlisle, of course the Graves’ and the people there have done a lot with the place names. Bardwell, of course, we’re still not sure whether it was named for boarded well. Or actually, there was a Mr. Bardwell who was connected with the railroad at that time and place. At least, I think Mrs. Lovey [Raburn] … what’s her name … that I indicated then.
Barton: What’s her name. She’s a schoolteacher, isn’t she?
Rennick: I think so.
Barton: Or was, then she retired.
Rennick: There aren’t that many in my sample. In Carlisle, there are not many to begin with.
Barton: It’s a small county.
Rennick: And most of the stuff … and all we need in Carlisle is confirmation of Bardwell and the pronunciation. Ballard is pretty much the same thing. Except, well, Bandana they talk about the two accounts …
Barton: In Ballard, do you know where Monkeys Eyebrow is?
Rennick: Yes. There’s been quite a lot of history and most of the communities had a history written on it. New York is on along that line, I just read an article in the Courier-Journal. And Oscar and …
Barton: Fillmore, that’s undoubtedly presidential in origin.
Rennick: My main question is why it’s spelled with two “L’s.” Wherever I see it written it’s spelled with two “L’s” and whether that’s a mistake or not.
Barton: Yeah, that’s probably an original error and it had been handed on down.
Rennick: Then Hickman, of course, we still don’t know, or doubt anybody knows, how Clinton got its name. I read something this morning in the library at Murray State that Clinton may have been named for a soldier at the fort that was established back then.
Barton: You never have got any clue that it could have been named after Robert Clinton or DeWitt Clinton governor of New York in the 1820s. I don’t know. Well, the date would give some idea about it because in 1822 or 1821 whenever he was governor there was when the county was being pretty well settled and all but … I don’t know if that would make sense or not. I have an idea that not many people down here would name a town after a governor in New York. And I don’t know, but of course, Clinton was a great follower of Thomas Jefferson, and this country if nothing else was Jeffersonian to the core. And if they could have located a good Democrat-Republican, later Republican, and later Democrat as a memorial, they could possibly have gotten DeWitt, but a lot of it is speculation.
Rennick: You don’t know how Moscow got its name?
Barton: No. 1829.
Rennick: Did we rule out John Muscovalley? He was in … by that name.
Barton: Probably not, that could be it.
Rennick: He didn’t settle right there, he settled along the river.
Barton: And he stayed there. And he’s still there, that is his family, and his descendants are still there.
Rennick: Then the great-great-great whatever name John just wrote a book.
Barton: Yeah, I think one of the Muscovalley’s recently done some writing. I think Bulah has an “E” in it.
Rennick: The guys at the post office made a lot of spelling mistakes back in those day.
Barton: They spelt it phonetically.
Rennick: Right. I’m curious because of the name Buelah and its biblical significance always has the “E.” Well no, come to think of it, it didn’t sometimes. Though I’ve seen old hymnals where the “E” was omitted. In any rate, there are whole number of these names here which I don’t know anything about. E-N-O-N, Mt. Joy …
Barton: We have an Enon Church here in Graves County but I don’t know whether if there’s any particular significance, biblical significance, or not.
Rennick: It is a biblical word.
Barton: I think it is.
Rennick: And of course, Fulton and Bondurant. And of course …
Barton: Now right here, people in local … I mean people in Mayfield … a lot of people pronounce that Jurdan instead of Jordan. Whether they do in Fulton, I don’t know.
Rennick: I read somewhere they do that too.
Barton: They pronounce it Jurdon?
Rennick: Yeah, Jurdon.
Barton: Jurdon Store and Jurdon … I think.
Rennick: Now, this Pontotoc at Fulton. There’s a Pontotoc in Mississippi, or was, a post office there and one theory is, I think it’s Ouida Jewell’s, is that Pontotoc had to be changed because there were too many objections from the Mississippi people.
Barton: Well, I guess Fulton is named pretty definitely after the steamboat man. Wasn’t it?
Rennick: Yes, or it could have been named after the county.
Barton: [Siren sound] There he goes. I was checking out the officers of the law. Yes, it could have.
Rennick: And then there’s Buda, and I have never seen that anywhere other than this list of communities from somewhere. I’ve never seen it any of the histories or in the Purchase …
Barton: No, never did either. Some of these towns must have been born and flourished briefly and soon died.
Rennick: Or they were renamed something. I wish we knew more. And the Calloway names, and the Marshall County names. Now Brown Tucker was able to give me most of these, but not all of them. Of course, he knew the places, but he didn’t know anything about the names. Now for instance Hico he wasn’t sure of, but he thought it might have been derived from high country. But now if that’s a speculation he didn’t say …
Barton: Well, I tell you some of these things, I guess really … I’m getting hot again, aren’t you? Some of these names just simply defy very much a self-speculation as a means of explaining their origins. Do you have Backusburg down there from Calloway?
Rennick: Yes.
Barton: I guess that’s supposed to be an Indian name, but on the other hand Backus is not very unfamiliar family name. B-A-C-K-U-S. We have a Backusburg Road and it starts right on here on Sixth Street and runs clear to the hill. And the B-A-C-K-U-S family.
Rennick: He was pretty sure it was named for the family.
Barton: Yeah, I think it probably would have been.
Rennick: And then the Marshall names. I talked with Ray Mofield yesterday and …
Barton: Ray ought to be a pretty good source for you.
Rennick: He knew where all these places were and what they were and what’s there now, but most of them he couldn’t get into the naming origins. You know, other than, well like in Briensville, or Briensburg, he knew that one …
Barton: Draffenville …
Rennick: Yeah. Now he wasn’t sure whether that was Luther or some other Draffen.
Barton: Probably Luther, I would say. Birmingham was probably named after the town in Alabama.
Rennick: Now, he didn’t know about Aurora, I mean the origin of the name.
Barton: Well, Aurora is an old town. I ran across Aurora not a long while ago. This … all the paved roads ran across the south part of Graves County that join the Tennessee River and Hickman to the Mississippi, that road was built under the authority, or authorization, of the State Legislature. Back then the State Legislature apparently had to get in on the act of authorizing some company to build the roadway, or the turnpike. And I’ve read part of that road ran from Aurora, on the Tennessee, to Hickman and Columbus and that goes back to the 1840s, or maybe 50s. And let’s see, I think about 1850 when that first road was built and Aurora was where it began. Aurora goes back and forth during the Civil War.
Rennick: Well, the post office was established in 1841.
Barton: Was it?
Rennick: J. T. Elliott.
Barton: I’ll tell you, there’s somebody else in Marshall County that might help you would be Miss Margaret Key.
Rennick: Yeah, they mentioned her.
Barton: She’s not only a … born in the Glade but she’s lived there all her life and taught school there. Have you ever used school kids as a means of bringing in what they can find about place names?
Rennick: Some, I’d like to try more of this. Some of the young historians …
Barton: Yeah, seems like that would be an ideal project for a bunch of kids. Maybe middle school age would be better than high school because by the time they get to high school, or the time I get them at least, by the time their juniors and seniors, and there are too many things that are …