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 3 of 6
Tucker:
The only person I ever heard make a comment about Hico was George Hart and Lockie Hart. And she said something about the kids, they used to go to, they used to have big political rallies at Hico. And she’d go and collect those cards, the little girls, you know, 18 years old, I’d collect those little cards everybody’s handing out. And she had her talking about Hico. This Cherry [Corner] thing here, there’s some more information here, I found. Cherry [Corner] was founded by John C. Hicks, the postmaster, on February 14th, 1889. Then Howard P. Hicks served … become postmaster on November 29th, 1895. He was followed by Kelly Beal, Harvey Whitman. He’s got all that. Yeah, okay.
Rennick:
See, I have the complete listing of postmasters or post offices. However, I don’t, you know, there’s no information in the post office register about the community, the post office served, or where it was or anything. What happened there and who it was named for?
Tucker:
When did you say that come in?
Rennick:
1853. And where do you have C-I-C-O?
Tucker:
I’ve got it C-I-C-O Cico. Newton C. Brandon, see? Under his name was Newton Cico Brandon. Yeah, I don’t see anything else.
Rennick:
September 18th, 1857.
Tucker:
Yeah, what do you got?
Rennick:
Well, I don’t have that. I’ve got ‘53 William Hardy. Apparently, it’s a different place. I’m not sure I have Hico at all.
Tucker:
That’s Hico, H-I-C-O. You got it on this list.
Rennick:
Yeah, I have Hico with William Hardy, but I don’t have Cico, you know, with a C.
Tucker:
I don’t know, let’s see.
Rennick:
Of course, Brandon, he could have followed Hardy. That may be a continuation.
Tucker:
1853, you have her.
Rennick:
Uh-huh. I’d have to go back and check my own list. See, I just put it down when it was established here. I’d have to go back to the original list.
Tucker:
1857, what I’ve down here … Oh, let’s see… ‘14, Hico, continued the same as before. That’s on up through, uh, let’s see now. You don’t have much on Hico, do you?
Rennick:
There you go … a Hico. That’s going up to 1901. This is later.
Tucker:
Then there’s Cherry [Corner]. And then it was discontinued in 1909 and nothing after that. Well, Cherry [Corner] come in there. Well, let’s get on over here. Now let’s see, I may have lost some … Hico re-established on July 8th, 1868, when you can see Brandon at postman. Now let’s see, back over here. Hico, established 1857, when you can see Brandon.
Rennick:
September 18, 1857, yeah.
Tucker:
And then in front of it…
Rennick:
And Brandon’s first name…
Tucker:
What do you got?
Rennick:
Now I’m just reading what you’ve done. I have 1853 with William Hardy.
Tucker:
That’s possible. I’d say it’s, Hico was established in 1857. Of course, we, I’ve got Hico over there, but that don’t give you anything like this. Well, let’s see if there’s an error on me… We’ve got a Hardy there in ‘53. I don’t know why it was named that. That old ledger down there was mighty old and rusty, and we may have picked that out. They may have made an error on top of those things. When somebody’s, you know, been getting one of those areas of gray. And that’s what they wrote down. Well, that’s all I’ve got on that. I told George W. Perry, that’s who you want. I may have missed some research here. I notice I’ve got… continued the same as before. Now that’s a… What’s that go back over there, too? I may have missed something.
Rennick:
It’s Hico.
Tucker:
This is what we need to see Brandon again. Hico discontinued in ’63. Reestablished in ’68.
Rennick:
Or, I could have copied something … the wrong thing. That might be my error.
Tucker:
How about your first date? What do you got?
Rennick:
January 22nd, 1853.
Tucker:
That’s all. We may have made them. I don’t think that’s going back a year. I’ll find them… 1845, see… Locust Grove, you see? There’s another one, Abe Thompson, he’s a, that’s the one of the … 1841. They had that post office there when that four-horse stage route comes through there.
Rennick:
Locust Grove.
Tucker:
And it alternated with Cherry Corner. Now then, what do you got?
Rennick:
Well, what’s at Hico now?
Tucker:
Hico, there’s nothing there as far as I know. I believe that it seemed like to me at Hico, the road fork, and was sort of a fork like so, and blacktop roads. It seemed like to me there is an old tumble-down shack, a building or something, or maybe an old store or old house or in that… To me there’s some developer in there and some fellow out of the state that bought and taking their land there. Somebody told me that. I didn’t say … Cyrene Williams on a big wad of land right there. She probably doesn’t even know their name. I believe she’s about 400 acres right there. That’s what John intended. It’s all around Hico somewhere. But they’re on the other side of the highway. Well, let’s see. Reserve, Callaway, Pine Grove, Shiloh, Hamlin, Browns Grove and Whiskey. Now that Calloway is over there in the vicinity of where a number of those other post offices you were, like the early post offers was Rowlett and Coulon and possibly another one or two. I don’t know what to call it right now. When was that established?
Rennick:
The post office was established as Pentecost.
Tucker:
Pentecost, yeah.
Rennick:
In 1836, with John Keyes.
Tucker:
Well, that’s one of the early ones. That goes back to 1836. You go back over there and pick up Pentecost. Pentecost, post office established January 13, 1836, John Keyes. The name changed to Aurora. Now, the Aurora post office was established on December the 8th, 1837.
Rennick:
That’s right.
Tucker:
Charles Kerr was postmaster and then the name was changed to Callaway. The post office was established March 19th, 1840. Alexander Ferris, postmaster, succeeded by Isaac Wells, Andrew Vance and so on. Discontinued 1842. Now, according to my information, that area is now in Calloway County, I mean Marshall County. It’s a Marshall County site. But at the time it was established, you see, there it was in what we call Calloway. It was in the valley of the county.
Rennick:
Okay, now are these several names for the same place or different locations, different post office?
Tucker:
I would say that they’re in the same vicinity. Now, whether they’re in the exact location is probably something we’ll never know. But I would say in the same vicinity. Whether it moved from the store, the old stagecoach stop, or the ferry, or the person’s residence, you see, you don’t know where that is. And you could go back and finally figure it out if you just thrash yourself to death with a lot of research. Political things changed and worsened at that time. People get appointed postmasters because of the political patronage. They just move it to their store and put it in a new name and maybe eight years later somebody else on the other side would get in and they’d move it to … You didn’t have anything like that back in those days. It was hard to get people to accept the postmasters because you generally paid a dollar a month. And if a man couldn’t, he either had operated in his house or in connection with his business. I believe he was in the post office here at Kirksey and established, I believe, he had a dollar a month in 1872. These post offices hadn’t always paid off. Now it’s a big political deal. Of course, now they’re one of the highest paid people in the country. Well, I can see where if you owned a store … Calloway, that’d be W-A-Y… That’s right. C-A-Y. According to the maps that I have and information, I don’t have it that way. They probably changed it up there.
Rennick:
So it’s Call-A-way instead of Call-O-way. Why is that?
Tucker:
Well, Callaway, nobody knows. I’ve done some research on that. Calloway County was named after Colonel Callaway, C-A-L-L-A-W-A-Y. But they’ve got to change here. It’s got the “O” in it. When I run that down, I don’t know when that changed, but I did have a date on that. I prepared an article that’s in the Journal, which you’ve seen, and it’s never has been published, but I don’t have to finish it now. Calloway, what has that done? Pentecost? Mm-hmm. I see that way back there.
Rennick:
’36.
Tucker:
Pentecost. John Key. The name changed from Aurora. Now then, let’s see. Okay, that’s the way … it is over there in the archives, A-Y. You see, this first postmaster at Wadesboro in the county that spelled his name that way. James C. Callaway, that had an “A”, didn’t have that “O” in it. Colonel Callaway was spelled this way, that’s what the county’s name is. And I run that down to exactly the same year that they changed that on the map. I don’t remember the year, but somebody made a change, why nobody knows.
Rennick:
Now this is interesting, that the Postmaster in Aurora in 1837 was Charles Curd.
Tucker:
Yeah, Charles C. Curd, 1837.
Rennick:
Now is that the same Charles Curd as …
Tucker:
Could have been. Could have been, because his brother over here, or father, was the U.S. Land Commissioner at Wadesboro, and he had a lot of power. He was elected Congressman, and he was appointed Postmaster, and he done this and he done that, see? And he’d come up with about half the land in Calloway County. Edmund C. Curd was actually based on Wadesboro, a site over there about 1824. Edmund C. Curd. Edmund C. was the father of Charles Curd, I believe. See, they had a postmaster by the name of Edmund C. Curd, too, and Jonathan. That’s the site over there near Aurora, I see. Aurora was re-established in 1841 with Elliott and then Kelly and then he was succeeded by old master and uh beginning March 25th, 1844 was listed in Calloway County but he gave that a postmaster.
Rennick:
Listed in Calloway County …
Tucker:
Marshall County. After 1844 the post office changed to Marshall County.
Rennick:
Okay, now um this uh 1840, Calloway, Alexander F-E-R-I-S. Is that spelled right?
Tucker:
No, it’s F-E-R-R-I-S.
Rennick:
F-E-R-R-I-S.
Tucker:
According to mine, let’s see, now that’s… Where was it? 36? There it is. Aurora. When did this ferry come in? After it becomes Calloway?
Rennick:
Calloway in 1840.
Tucker:
I don’t think it’s that. Aurora.
Rennick:
Aurora before…
Tucker:
You got to do …
Rennick:
You had it as Calloway, but you have it as separate. Alexander Ferris. Oh, I see. F-E-R-R-I-S. I made a mistake then.
Tucker:
Did you take that out of those old two ledgers, or did you get it out of a microfilm or?
Rennick:
Microfilm.
Tucker:
Well, I believe it wasn’t on microfilm when we went up there. Didn’t have them cockeyed ones over there.
Rennick:
They made it for me, especially.
Tucker:
They did. Okay.
Rennick:
Cost $220.
Tucker:
Well, I wonder where you at now? Let’s see, where’s my list? What did do with it?
Rennick:
Okay, so this is all in Marshall, then. Now, is this, this Aurora, is that the same Aurora, Aurora Landing?
Tucker:
Over there, that’s right.
Rennick:
Same site.
Tucker:
That’s right. I would say in the same general vicinity. Many call it Callaway and Aurora. Let’s see and look that list up. I’ve got a map that lists those things. It’s 1846 now. I’ve got a complete set that goes back to 17 … to 1800 to 1890. That’s a very… I’ve got an 1839 map here at very exactly … see the old Cherokee Land map there was a lot of that stuff and then I think maps that goes on down … he was put out by the university associate to go down when I was a member. It was when they established that and published a whole mess of maps. See, I made them distribute it all to all people who were members of the club … I mean historical society. Let’s see where are we at now? I’m lost here … Pine Bluff. When was that set up? Here we are, established.
Rennick:
1845.
Tucker:
John Hodges as postmaster.
Rennick:
Right. Okay, now where was that?
Tucker:
Over there on the Tennessee River. Down a little way, it’s north of Blood up in those places. And we had a rocky coast over there and a bunch of cedar trees up there. I don’t believe any pines over there. John Hodges, he was postmaster I think he was ’45 against Smith. He discontinued in ’63 and Hamlin and Roberts … Well, it was just discontinued in 1875. Pine Bluff is an old, historical point on the Tennessee River, and it used to have a Fourth of July picnic every year there. And … I don’t know if there’s anything in Pine Bluff, I don’t know. I don’t think so. I don’t know about it. I think the [easletts] and the water kind of punched it around and without anything being there anymore.
Rennick:
They say that that was cedar and not pine.
Tucker:
In my opinion, the best I remember, it was cedar. I’ve heard people talking about cedar and you could see it on the other side of the river then there was a bluff too, wasn’t it? Whereas this is sort of a limestone outcropping today. Yeah. There are a few on this side of the river, you don’t see many on this side of the river. And I guess it’s just up from … a little further down the river from old Fort Heiman. Is it about the next outcropping down below Fort Heiman going down the river? I think it’s on the south side of the Blood River. That’s how I remember it. Well, I put it just about … I put it just on the way to the Blood River. And Brandon or Blood or anything. Yeah. That’s what… Is that the way you went to Brandon Mill to go to Blood? No, no, you went out to Pottertown Road … You turn left to Pottertown, went on down to Blood River there. That’s on the north, wasn’t it? On the north side of the Blood River there, go out to Pottertown and go on down to the left. Wildcat Creek comes in there too. We see Pottertown and Blood River is on down. You’re on the confluence of Wildcat Creek and Blood River. And. I’ll tell you who’ll give you some good information on that would be Bess Kerlick, Lewis Kerlick’s wife in Murray. Bess Kerlick.
Rennick:
How do you spell that?
Tucker:
K-E-R-L-I-C-K. Her father was a Thurman, and he ran a grist mill and a post office, I think. Yeah. And a post office back, I’m saying, back in the ’20s. That’s what’s called Brandon’s Mill. And it was just in his own … Blood River, that Blood River dammed up. And I think Pine Bluff was just right in that general vicinity, because she and she’s really … Oh, it was across Blood River on the top. So, Louis Kerley’s wife, Bess Kerley, could tell you quite a bit about that neck of the woods, I believe. If not, she’d get some. That’s one of those names we could… The community, uh, arrived at its name by the topography of the area, see. In other words, Cook’s Valley is one of them. Pine Bluff is another. High Cove is another. And let’s see, Lynn’s Grove is another. The landscape or something about the topography of the area causes it, caused post offices to always be called that. Then it’s named after families and after historical items that’s significant. There’s four different categories that these towns are named after. Most of the city towns, that holds true to the United States. Of course, Burg, B-U-R-G-H, or B-U-R-G-H, or B-U-R-G, or B-E-R-G, that denotes a strong place, or a good place for a village. But like Backusburg, see, or Newburg, see. Burg always denotes strength and for the community. In other words, you’ve got a lot of natural resources there. Or it’s easy, hard to defend, easy to defend on the Indians, on the frontier. That’s what, that’s the way to get that name. Shiloh next.
Rennick:
There’s nothing at Pine Bluff?
Tucker:
No, as far as I know, there’s nothing out there. Unless somebody’s got a cabin out there…
Rennick:
Okay, next, 25.
Tucker:
Shiloh.
Rennick:
1850, E. P. Chandler.
Tucker:
Shiloh is another one of those regional trading areas, trading centers. They have the post office out there and saw mills, shops, and general stores. I don’t know what all that. Maybe a store is still out of Shiloh. Yes, the last time I was out there, there’s still a store in Shiloh. Mr. John Grogan… Established July 24th, 1868, with V. P. Tanner at the postman. And… Well, John, last time I stood there… Let’s see. Discontinued in ’62 and reestablished again in ’68. Discontinued in ’74 and reestablished again in ’74. And then later, it is still growing. The town is still growing. Shiloh, more likely, was all that old original four-horse stagecoach that went from, went to the military road and new convoyed out to the store. I believe I had a map and I traced that out all the way. And there was an early church out there, another one of these, the Baptist Church of Christ, the Shiloh. One of the sites, one in Salem, one in Shiloh, and one down here at Clark’s River. Bannister Wade, the old church. Cut to the Baptist Church of Christ.
Rennick:
Do we know who and when that was settled?
Tucker:
I don’t know. I have no idea.
Rennick:
What’s there now?
Tucker:
There’s a store. The old store. Last time I was over there, there was a small country store. Yeah. One of those old … the local family still run that store. Mr. Grogan. Yeah, Mr. John Grogan.
Rennick:
John Grogan.
Tucker:
Right. Grogan’s has been out there for years and years. That old lady was … old when I was out there. Pretty alert. I’d gone by. I did a lot of history out there around Shiloh. There’s a family out there that’s got an old trunk of pictures taken back in the old 20th century. They had a photographer in the family, and a business near Kirksey. And I had a friend that invited me out there to see that old lady Douglas in town and town again. She got her name. She was one of the early families here in the county. I want to go out there and get some of those pictures. Shiloh was discontinued in ’76, and then Henry Cagg come on there to ’89. You’ve got all that.
Rennick:
Yeah.
Tucker:
Okay. Now then, what’s the next? Pretty much…
Rennick:
Twenty-six.
Tucker:
Hamlin. That’s an old area out there on Blood River. That was established by the Hamlin family… to some very early settlers and important settlers there. I imagine that Hamlin was post office … post master, too.
Rennick:
Robert Macon Hamlin, 1885. So, could it have been named for him or his family before him?
Tucker:
Well, more than likely it was his family. The historical spot out there that’s on the National Registry of Historic Places. Peter Hamlin, I believe, built that old brick house out there. It seemed like the lady, Hamlin, that old Hamlin was also a postmaster at Blood way back there. But the Hamlin family in the community was named after the Hamlin family, a very early settler, and apparently a very influential settler out there. Richard A. Hamlin, 1894, he was settling before that. I don’t know, getting on down there, and it’s still going.
Rennick:
Still in existence.
Tucker:
Yeah. I believe it is. Yeah. Hamlin Postal is still open. Yeah, it’s just a little bitty thing not much bigger than this shed right here. Let me see, Hamlin. See, Evelyn’s grandmother was a Hamlin, right? Yeah. And they came from that very area. And her uncle then, his name, I never thought about that, about making it the Christian. I may go back, maybe where that woman got that name made it. I thought that was an odd name, but there was somebody that was a Hamlin, she was a Hamlin, and it goes back, I bet that’s back to her grandfather.
Rennick:
Robert Macon Hamlin.
Tucker:
I bet it goes, I bet you that’s… It was great grandfather.
Rennick:
1885.
Tucker:
1885… 1885… I bet you… Robert Macon Hamlin. Yeah, that’s where it goes. It went after 1885, C. S. Hamlin ’88. And, uh, that C. S. Hamlin, they, uh, he wouldn’t serve. They asked him, he wouldn’t serve. He’d have to rescind the order. He’d done that two or three times. Try to make him serve, he wouldn’t do it. There’s a … that Hamlin standing right in the door with him. Hamlin is still going. There’s still a little store, and it seems like to be a fish shop or couple of … something there or… You can buy tillers or something there. I don’t know. I just got the mails across the… seemed like me on the front of the top of the little porch or something that says, Hamlin, it is a Mickey Mouse thing. I mean, it’s… maybe it must serve 20, 30 families or less. One of those that… Brown’s Grove was 27. That’s still in existence. I don’t know when they closed the store or not from there. Now, half of Brown’s Grove is in Graves County and half of it is in Calloway, but the post office was located on the Calloway County side. Didn’t that fellow die in there that run that store? They sold it to a young fellow, and when they had a sale. I don’t know whether they opened it up again or not. Brown, Brown’s Grove is again one of the topographical landscape names. Mr. Brown, Jordan and Brown, they’ve been over there for years.
Rennick:
What’s his name?
Tucker:
Jordan and Brown.
Rennick:
Jordan and Brown.
Tucker:
They had an early trading center there, and when does that open up? That Jordan is spelled like Jordan, and it’s spelled like Jordan, but they pronounced it Jurdan. Well, it’s by ’93.
Rennick:
July ’93.
Tucker:
Well, I don’t know, I’ve got to hear something like that. Are you doing some research just on your own, just for writing a book, or…
Rennick:
On the place names of Kentucky.
Tucker:
Oh, 20 years ago, when I was teaching history stuff, I’d like to go on in a real historical book, I’ll tell you what to say. It really dug up everything for years and possibly thought of. I’ve seen so many pieces and parts of it…1893.
Rennick:
That’s right, July 1893.
Tucker:
I’ll pick a thing up somewhere. Yeah, I mean, Marty Wallcreek’s here. Yeah, who did I get them over there? Well, let’s see … it’s was about, 1893. Let’s see, between ’83 and ’93. That’s right. Brown run that store and then he went in with a fellow by the name of Jordan, J-O-R-D-A-N. And they operated there together, the old man Brown died, then Jordan took over. Were they related, I don’t know. But the post office was in Calloway County, and it was old just a few hundred, maybe a few hundred feet east of where the store is now, and where the crossroads is there. And they were pretty progressive merchants, and they were one of the first in the county to issue these brass tokens. And I’ve seen some of those tokens, tried to find some of them, but I don’t know if I’m in Murray’s got some, but I can’t get them from them.
Rennick:
Now is that in existence before the post office was established in ’93?
Tucker:
I would think so. That’s on an old road or two in there. And at the crossroads, long been the crossroads there, and some early churches and cemeteries around there. I expect that there’s probably something there, kind of near Kirsey, you see. A nice space for shops or a water control for horses or something, more than likely.
Rennick:
I mean with that name, Brown’s Grove.
Tucker:
Yeah, that’s right.