An interview with Brown Tucker of Murray, Kentucky by Robert M. Rennick on August 4, 1977, on the origin and history of the community names of Calloway County, Kentucky.
Part 2 of 6
Tucker: I might shed some light on that, and I never do … I never did write any article or do any … write an article or do any research on New Providence.
Rennick: Did that ever have another name?
Tucker: I’m not sure. According to my record, officially, no. Before the post office is concerned or anything like that. Crossland, next one…
Rennick: What kind of a place is that?
Tucker: Crossland is a … at the crossroads up there on the state line. And it was an early flourishing town, laid out in a good farming community. The ground was level and in the early days they had a number of businesses there, including some pretty good-sized tobacco factories. Whether the town was named after Colonel [Edward] Crossland or not, I do not know.
Rennick: Colonel Crossland.
Tucker: I believe it was a [Colonel], by the name of Crossland. Some … I believe he was a Confederate boss there or something. The Crossland family might have had something to do with it.
Rennick: Did they live in that area?
Tucker: I don’t know. Crossland was established March 24th as a post office. In 1858, Boswell Harding as postmaster, succeeded by Reuben N. Asher. November 29th, 1872, and then Norley Harding took over. And it continues on as a post office. And I believe there’s something in the Calloway County history on that, and I probably have something on that, but I can’t have it here. -.
Rennick: And what’s there now? You said there’s a store.
Tucker: The sawmill is there and the fertilizer business was there and some of the old tobacco factories and old stores and old shops, which I think have all gone down with the possible exception of one still standing. It’s kind of a semi-ghost town right there.
Rennick: Next one?
Tucker: Kirksey. That’s the place where I was born in the county, I was born there by Kirksey in 1907.
Rennick: Where exactly is Kirksey?
Tucker: Kirksey is about two miles south … northeast of here. Northeast on Kentucky Highway 299 and 464, a big dump is there. Kirksey.
Rennick: Now when and by whom was that first settled?
Tucker: Well, I mean I’ve written a special feature on that thing and I don’t know where … if any, whether he was… in these books, but Kirksey was a little rural village before we officially named it Kirksey. Yes, there was two or three businesses there before they had a post office, there was a blacksmith shop and a small store. But it didn’t officially have a name as it has now until July 14th, 1871. And named after Stephen … should be S. F. Kirksey, I think, Stephen Franklin Kirksey being the first postmaster… July 14th, 1871, named after the Kirksey family. It was like Crossland and New Concord, it was a very active trading center, county trading center, right after it began to rise up right after the Civil War, you see. All the business in the county used to be carried on out of durability and the reason for that was they were closest to the source of the material in which they processed, and they had to take it all to the river to get it away from here. It had to go by ox wagon and mule team to either the Mississippi or the Tennessee River. And this, all this, manufacturing, boom factories, coffin shops, tobacco factories, carriage factories was out in the community where they served and what moved them out and killed them in the rural county was the coming of the railroad in 1895 … ‘98 somewhere in there. The railroad run through and of course they began to disappear out in the rural sections and go to Murray, you see, that’s what brought it in. That’s what brought it about. Kirksey, has a number of churches there. It’s a modern little town. It’s not dying, it’s just growing. And it’s another one of those stories, it didn’t do much until after you got rid of the school. Now they got some … they got buildings brick homes going in every direction. Somewhere on the ground for more than I want…
Rennick: And there’s a store there too.
Tucker: You see there’s two stores there now. There was a garage there and there was the ceramics … little ceramics work there. And that just about guess it post office to it still there.
Rennick: The post office is still there?
Tucker: Yes, and it had coffee shops and doctor’s offices, restaurants and saloons, schools, and lodge halls and woodman halls and so forth.
Rennick: Now, do I spell his name right?
Tucker: Stephen Franklin …
Rennick: With a P – H?
Tucker: Oh, right. You had S – F didn’t you? Yeah, his initial. That’s the next thing over here … Harrisburg. The book said it was established in 1872. Where did you get all that information?
Rennick: From the post office registries. I have a complete set for Kentucky.
Tucker: You don’t have all the post offices there, I don’t think.
Rennick: No, it’s just a sample.
Tucker: Just a random family out there. I see Harris Grove. James C. Harris, that’s right.
Rennick: Oh, is it named for him or his family?
Tucker: Well, I would say the family, because that’s the way it was, probably named after Mr. Harris. Also established as Harrisburg and previous to that was Cooks Valley, I believe. You see that’s one of the early post offices. Paradine … Van Buren … Cooks Valley, Cooks Valley Post Office … Henry W. Cook was succeeded by Alan A. Williams. A. A. Williams, he’s a member of my family, great, great, great, great grandfather. March 26th, 1857, by David C. Harris, you see. That’s why I say the Harris family.
Rennick: You don’t know whether it was David C.?
Tucker: What do you got?
Rennick: James C.?
Tucker: I’ve got David C., I could, of course, it could be another misprinting. July 1st, 1853… 1858. Office was discontinued November 23rd, 1858. The closing of Cook Valley Post Office caused much dissatisfaction to the patrons and attempts to have the office reopened failed. We have in our possession the heading of a petition dated December 26, 1860, as follows. Murray, Kentucky, Calloway County, the Honorable Postmaster General. We, the citizens of Calloway County, Kentucky, and near Cook Valley, Kentucky, pray for the reestablishment of Cook Valley Post Office. This was probably rewritten, but how many signers are not known. Now see, it was discontinued there at Cook’s Valley. Mr. Harris was post off postmaster there. Now that’s my information. Now then let’s come … in Harrisburg later Harris Grove, see, established November 6th, 1872, with James C. Harrison postmaster, see.
Rennick: Could he have been a son of David?
Tucker: Could have been, or a brother. Now you don’t know, there’s a question as to whether they named after the old postmaster that was originally at the site. I don’t say they were on the exact site, but they were right in that community. Because back in those days they either had a trading post at a little country store, a blacksmith shop, or they kept the post office in the in the family residence. See what I mean? So, Harrisburg was established November 6, 1872. You got that right. James C. Harris is postmaster.
Rennick: Now why did they change it to Harris Grove?
Tucker: Well, I have no information on that… Let’s see Harrisburg and what happened… Harrisburg … Name changed to Harris Grove, January 28th, 1875. Postmaster … post office discontinued July 21st, 1875, and reestablished July 21st, 1876, with Jacob W. Cole as postmaster. And then James W. Reasoner became postmaster in 1878. Now that just … they did that just like they did in a lot of other towns, they changed them around when they were discontinued or a family came in and took over the post office or the business in the little local county and they requested it, then of course the post office probably on it you see.
Rennick: Okay, what’s there now?
Tucker: I think Harris … Harris Grove is dead. Maybe an old …
Rennick: Well, now people who live in that vicinity, what would they call their home?
Tucker: They call the community – Harris Grove Community.
Rennick: They would still call it that?
Tucker: That’s right. It’s very close to Lynn Grove. Backusburg. You got any more questions on that?
Rennick: No, let’s move on to the next one.
Tucker: 1873 with William P. Bean.
Rennick: Now is he an ancestor of Judy Maupin?
Tucker: I don’t know. I know a lot of the Maupin family and it could be.
Rennick: I guess she married into the Maupin family. Her name was Bean.
Tucker: Could be. She looks like a Bean, I’ll tell you that a picture … I never met the lady. She may be kin to me. The Bean’s are kin to me. Backusburg. We gotta get back to the first establishment of Clark’s River Post Office That’s another name… Clarks River Post Office.
Rennick: Clarks River Post Office?
Tucker: It preceded Backusburg. We’re talking about the community now, not the exact location. Clarksville Post Office was established January 28th, 1851 with Charles MacDonald, postmaster. Then he was succeeded by William Phipp, February 23rd, 1859, and discontinued on July the 6th, 1860. Now when they apparently started it up again they named it Backusburg.
Rennick: At the same site?
Tucker: Same at the … in the in the same locality. I don’t know whether it’s exactly the same site. The town has been up and down the river down there in both directions, north and south, what we know as the Kirksey – Mayfield Road.
Rennick: And do we know when and by whom that was first settled? Clarks River and Backusburg.
Tucker: Well, of course, a number of early settlers around Backusburg [one] is Sam Watson when he come in there settled right south of the where we know as Backusburg today, the old school is still standing. In 1818, he come in there. And this … there was a number of other early settlers in there like the Smiths and Morgans… who have … Beans around there. One other family that I can’t recall, I’m sure was there. The Smith family’s been there a long time. In fact, he’s one of the Smith boys still living at 95 years old. He’s been around a long time. Backusburg was named after a man who run the store there then he started up that post office again. See when they start that … Backusburg … must be here somewhere … and that’s right before that. William P. Bean, Samuel A. Miller and Williams were also at Backusburg… Blackusburg, established November 17, 1873. William P. Bean was postmaster. That’s all the information that it states. This old man Smith who was ninety-five years old knows the story of why Backusburg became known as Backusburg instead of Morgantown or something else. He flipped twenty-five cent piece, these two families who were interested in naming Backusburg, called a coin and fell to Mr. Backus, who was a businessman there at Backusburg. B-A-C-K-U-S. He left Backusburg sometime later, earlier when it began to open up the West and went to some location out there … researched him out and went to Texas to become a well-known and wealthy businessman after leaving in Backusburg.
Rennick: What was his first name?
Tucker: Well, that I don’t … I’d have to go to that. As far as I know, Backusburg had never been postmaster, but he was a businessman. Mr. Bean run the sawmill and grist mill and a post office and the Williams’, and the MacDonald’s also run that old water mill down there … with a water mill in Backusburg. It had a schoolhouse, two or three churches, it had a lodge hall, I don’t know whether it was Masonic Hall, we called it green or something. And then it had water mill and doctor’s offices and at least one or two blacksmith shops, and maybe doctors … had a doctor’s office, and it had a well-known landmark there covered bridge, I right crossed it in 1912 myself. And then it’s … Backusburg is one of the sites of the Chickasaw Indians where they had a semi-permanent settlement. The old Indian graveyard and the remains and the designs of their camp is still discernable there on the bluff above Backusburg.
Rennick: What’s there now?
Tucker: There’s nothing there now except, well, that’s another case in which the schoolhouse is that building to be pulled down. And there’s one old store which is in bad repair, that’s not … to operate … not operating.
Rennick: And you don’t remember what Backus’ first name was?
Tucker: No, I don’t.
Rennick: Do you have that written down somewhere?
Tucker: Yeah, it is written down somewhere, but I don’t know where it is at … it’s in my writing. I did a study on that and of course I don’t know where that would be maybe in the department. It could be here … I don’t know. I don’t have nothing… a homestead on 168, right downtown where all things … did not. One of the letters said they stopped at a very small business, and they had to haul firewood about 50 miles, so he could turn his homestead in and moved up to Watsonville to the … to work with. Backusburg was again another one of the early trading centers over… I don’t know … It had a tobacco factory there. But it was a middle town – general stores, doctor’s office, and post office and more. Newburg, that’s a site over on the Tennessee River. That’s been named in various … I got to go fishing and I don’t… Let’s see it had another name…
Rennick: Stockton… with…
Tucker: Blood, formerly … I knew where … We gotta be back over here somewhere. Right, where we were looking for. Newburg… It was Warberg … and then Blood… it was Blood sometime there somewhere, if we can find it… Here at Warberg…
Rennick: Blood?
Tucker: Blood. James W. Craig … July 23rd, 1880. Changed to Newburgh, and Henry he witnessed it.
Rennick: Now why … or what was Blood?
Tucker: Well, I don’t know. Where? Blood River is over there and pretty close to where this town was. Whether it was named after the river or I don’t know. I just don’t know. It later become Newburg. Let’s see Newburg… When was that?
Rennick: I’ve got 1920.
Tucker: From Newburgh … Warburg, turned in 1866. There’s Warburg.
Rennick: Now is that the same place?
Tucker: Well, I understand it’s in the same vicinity. Now whether it’s … change or not, let’s see.
Rennick: Now how do you spell that Warburg? E R G or U R G.
Tucker: According to my official figures here we took it directly from that thing … there was a post office about 35 years ago for the W-A-R-B-U-R-G-H.
Rennick: U-R-G-H.
Tucker: I believe somebody else called it B-U-R-G. I don’t know where they got that. You got Newburg and there’s no telling why. Somebody just wrote an article on that. When, why, and when called Blood. I don’t have any information on that, but it was on Blood River, a stream, an early stream that was settled back in the early days of the county. Warburg, Judy Morgan had written a little sketch on that, and I think she done some research on that. May have some more information that I didn’t have. I never did find out and figure out why Mr. Bernard Rosenstein was … post office … establishing postmaster. That’s a name that’s foreign to most of the people that settled and come in there. It sounds like a Jewish background or German. Samuel Williams of course succeeded him and then George W. Watkins … Warberg was discontinued in ‘71. They did have over there near Warberg … they had an old Confederate fort over there and they captured it and … I don’t know … they also had over there, pretty close to that, an iron furnace. But it existed in there about 1858, that’s what I remember. That’s about all I had.
Rennick: Where exactly is … where was that?
Tucker: Newburgh it’s out there on the Tennessee River, about well it’s the Keane Blood River and Newburgh Road out there. Old Blood. It’s almost due east, not really due east of Murray, but it’s a little bit southeast of Murray. I don’t know, if any of it, that’s about all I can give you. You used to find a post office out there…
Rennick: What’s there now?
Tucker: Nothing. Just …
Rennick: The people that live there identify it as Newburg?
Tucker: I think these people believe that it goes by Newburg…
Rennick: Lynn Grove.
Tucker: Lynn Grove. Originally started as L-I double N apostrophe S Grove, Linn’s Grove.
Rennick: Linn’s Grove.
Tucker: Lynn … I really wanted to see … what I say. When is that ’88?
Rennick: It says Leonville…
Tucker: 1886… Lynn Grove come in before that. Lynn Grove was before Leonville.
Rennick: That’s right, there was a … now Lynn Grove, L-Y-N-N post Office established January ‘73.
Tucker: Here you are, Lilburn C. Lynn. Right, January 2nd, 1873. Discontinued through July 9th, 1874. Later on that became Leonville. Leonville, I’m pretty sure was in the family. That’s where they named it after a boy instead of girl. One of the rare exceptions. I believe Leon was the … a lad there in the community where it was Mr. Lynn’s boy, I don’t remember. But Leonville might have been the son of James W. Key, the W-A-K-E-Y, who became the postmaster there in June 8, 1886. And he was followed by some other people there and became Lynn Grove April 16th, 1892.
Rennick: I have James W. Key, is that W. Key…
Tucker: James W. Key became postmaster on January 11th, 1890… Luther Long.
Rennick: 1886, or what? I guess he was postmaster twice…
Tucker: Garland W. Key. September 9th, 1887. James W. Key then come here in ‘90, see.
Rennick: I mean, wasn’t James the first postmaster?
Tucker: No, James Wackey… Wackey, W-A-K-E-Y.
Rennick: James W. Key?
Tucker: That’s right. Yeah, that’s right. James W. Key, June 8th, 1886. I would have had to look that back up. I got it close there.
Rennick: So, you think Leon might have been his son?
Tucker: I wouldn’t be a bit surprised. They had a tragedy out there and the family … and one thing or another and the post office went down now. The reason it grew was Mr. Lynn established this store, or the post office, wherever he had his post office, or wherever the place of business was, his residence was in a big grove of trees. That’s why they call it Lynn Grove. And most of that holds true wherever you find that grove added to the man’s name.
Rennick: And why did they change it from Leonville to…
Tucker: Well, it went down and like I say there’s a tragedy occurred out there, maybe some people were murdered or somebody come up missing or something and family left or something and closed the post office. A long story on that. Persons … personalities and religion is something that I didn’t deal with too much an interruption…
Rennick: What kind of a place is that?
Tucker: Lynn Grove here has been a very flourishing town. Of course, they had a schoolhouse out there to about three years ago. The schoolhouse now is falling down and possibly they’ll grow … will go to growing as it follows the rest of them. But they have a store out there at gas station, possibly a garage and churches. The old school probably still standing and there’s a feed mill out there with an egg plant connected with the hatchery or a laying a hen laying operation egg … laying operation.
Rennick: Now you wrote a letter, didn’t you once, to the editor of the local paper about that and I see the reference to that… On Lynn Grove.
Tucker: I don’t know whether I covered Lynn Grove or not. Let’s see here. I may have written a historical sketch. I don’t recall it … I posted this report last Sunday and they said the area was making a return to Lynn Grove. This office was established as Lynn Grove, L-I-N-N not L-Y-N-N. As shown in this report, Mr. Lilburn C. Linn was the first postmaster and the office being discontinued in 1874. The local mail was sent onto Murray’s postal. The office was reestablished on June 8th, 1886, as Leonville in honor of Mr. Lynn’s son Leon. On April the 16th, 1892, the post office assumed the present name Lynn Grove. It is said that the first post office operated in Mr. Lynn’s [residence] surrounded by a grove of trees, hence the name Lynn’s Grove, that is today L-Y-N-N Grove.
Rennick: How did that get changed? I mean why did it become L-Y instead of L-I?
Tucker: I have no idea. Possibly – well, probably it’s an aberration of the original postal … postmaster’s name so they tied with Lynn. Then there’s another way that that might come about by pronunciation. What’d you mean with a word that sounds alike but they’re spell different.
Rennick: A homonym?
Tucker: No … like T-O, T-W-O and T-W… Three different words which sounds the same. Phonetic.
Rennick: Okay.
Tucker: Phonetic variation of Lynn. Probably. I’m not saying that’s true, but you know that happened a great deal in the official record. He went in, somebody went in, and told this clerk his name and he just wrote it down like it sounded, whether he put it in right or not.
Rennick: Okay. Pottertown.
Tucker: Pottertown is an old