Category Archives: Jackson

Vandals Closed Jackson’s Rest Area

Posted on April 14, 2022 by sdbowling

Jackson once had a rest area just north of town to help travelers who passed through the area.

A series of attacks by vandals helped the state make its decision to close the facility in the 1980s. Continue reading →

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Remodeling the Jail – 1879

Posted on March 21, 2022 by sdbowling

A group of designers worked the totally remodel the Breathitt County Jail in 1879.

Their eye for design and work were only temporary. Continue reading →

Posted in Breathitt County, Feuds, Jackson | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Squealers Gonna’ Squeal

Posted on March 14, 2022 by sdbowling

The game went wrong and a rat got loose.

Fourteen pillars of the Jackson community paid the penalty. Continue reading →

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Breathitt Slave Whipped for Theft

Posted on February 28, 2022 by sdbowling

Alfred, an enslaved person belonging to Jeremiah Cockrell, was convicted of larceny in 1845 and whipped at the Breathitt County Courthouse.

It is the only court case involving a slave in our earliest records. Continue reading →

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Jackson Opposed the County’s “Crossing Tax”

Posted on February 26, 2022 by sdbowling

In 1911, the people of Jackson were angry that they were having to pay for a bridge that should have been paid off long ago.

The people organized but nothing was done for nearly a decade. That is the saga of Breathitt County’s unpopular crossing tax. Continue reading →

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Was It Charles Miller? We May Never Know

Posted on February 24, 2022 by sdbowling

A skeleton was found on Lower Cut Off Branch with a single gunshot wound to the chest.

A coroner’s inquiry determined he was murdered and then nothing happened.

It is just another unsolved Breathitt County murder. Continue reading →

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Remembering Dr. Gardner

Posted on February 21, 2022 by sdbowling

Doctor Rudolphus B. Gardner served the medical needs of the people of eastern Kentucky for years. He chose to spend his final days in Jackson.

We remember one of Jackson’s forgotten medical professionals. Continue reading →

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The Hotel Jefferson

Posted on February 18, 2022 by sdbowling

A brief history of one of Jackson most iconic buildings- The Hotel Jefferson.

Started in 1907 and completed in 1919, the building is one of Jackson’s most recognizable structures. Continue reading →

Posted in Breathitt County, Jackson | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Beware of Lewd Women at the Courthouse!

Posted on February 10, 2022 by sdbowling

The Jackson Town Council passed two ordinances aimed at slowing illicit activities in the city. The Lewdness Law and the Bawdy House Ordinance had little impact on the trade. Here is a look at those ordinances. Continue reading →

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Bach becomes Kentucky’s First Blind Senator

Posted on February 4, 2022 by sdbowling

One Breathitt County man saw a huge need and filled it despite his own physical limitations. He is known today as the “Father of Kentucky’s Talking Books” program. Continue reading →

Posted in Breathitt County, Jackson, Military, Railroad | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments