The following events occurred during the week of Feb. 24-March 2 in Bell County:

1891: The Middlesborough Town and Land Company declared a 10 percent dividend and reported making 30 percent in 18 months. Capital stock was increased by $1,000,000 in order to buy new lands and secure new manufacturing companies.

1907: Saloons listed in the “Roster of Businesses” included Harrison Ausmus’ Saloon, Ball Brothers, Josh Burdette, Eureka Saloon, A. J. Goodfriend, Hoskins’ Saloon, Little Gem, Nelson Saloon, The Palmetto, Shady Grove, Stag Saloon and Nick Stone’s Saloon.

1921: The Kiwanis Club organized with 50 charter members. L.D. Hill was elected president.

1932: Middlesboro families who wished to obtain good dirt and leaf mold for their gardens could provide employment for men who had been helped through the Middlesboro Welfare Office. Orders were taken at the Welfare Office and crews went into the woods and sacked up the product.

1943: W.B. Paynter was elected president of the Kentucky Association of Highway Contractors. He was president of the Kentucky-Virginia Stone Company.

1946: Kentucky’s major contributions to the No. 1 football team in the county last year, the undefeated and untied West Point, were Jack Green of Shelbyville and Herschel “Ug” Fuson of Middlesboro.

1947: Average wages of miners hit an all-time high. Soft coal miners were averaging $70 a week and hard coal miners, $66. The average workweek was 47½ hours.

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.