This week in local history
Published 10:10 am Monday, June 25, 2018
The following events occurred during the week of June 24-30 in Bell County:
1890: According to the local newspaper, “The notorious Yellow Creek feud, which in times past has given this valley such an unsavory reputation, and which has been such a delicious morsel for metropolitan newspapers, is now no more. The death of Harve Turner removed the last of the belligerents.”
1906: Ground was broken for a new $30,000 school building across from City Hall. It was a three story brick structure to be called Central School.
1911: An ad offering Greasy Valley 100 proof corn whiskey for $2.00 a gallon boosts, “We have made whiskey for years and know what it takes to please the people of this section.”
1916: Company H of the Kentucky National Guard was leaving from Bell County for active duty along the Mexican border.
1922: The Tannery had 165 employees; Big Ben Overalls, 225; J. R. Hoe and Sons, 45; Coca-Cola Bottlers, 8; Chero-Cola Bottlers, 6 and the Ice and Cold Storage Company, 25. The Sel-Hur Wagons Company was turning out two to three wagons a day and the Middlesboro Creamery Company was producing 500 gallons of ice cream and sherbet daily.
1931: After a week of temperatures in the high 90’s, the thermometer hit 100. The paper reported that rivers, pools and relatives in the country were being sought as means of escaping the heat.
1944: Lt. Earl A. Davis, son of Mrs. Evelyn Davis, was one of the American glider pilots in the invasion of Europe. He was reported to have captured 30 Nazi prisoners.
1952: Newspaper headline: “Main road across mountain to revert to Indian Trail, tunnel to be used as main road? One of the most fantastic stories…out of Frankfort in regard to 25 E.”
1960: For the first time since the founding of Middlesboro, the town was to have filtered water. The half million dollar filtering plant was reported to be 99 percent complete.
To learn more about local history, visit the Bell County Museum, located just north of the Middlesboro Post Office, Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.