Flag
and Bailey's Mill
Located on U.
S. 421 just north of
Frankfort, around
a bend where the
road levels out
a bit, once stood the
little community
of Flag Fork. Today,
only a road marker
stating "Flag
Fork" and the
of frame building
that was once
the general store
and post office
remain.
Bailey's Mill
is located just up the
road a piece from
Flag Fork. I was
named for Americus
A. Bailey, Jr.,
who once ran the
mill and general
store there.
James A. Violette,
lawyer and postmaster
at Bailey's
Mill was once
involved in the sale
of hardware, groceries
and dry
goods. Americus
and his family still
remain at their
beloved Bailey's
Mill. Located
at the intersection
of Harp Pike and
U. S. 421 is the
BAILEY
GRAVEYARD.
Flat
Creek and Polsgrove Landing
Some early settlers
came to Bald
Knob by way of
the river. Around
1800, James Brewer,
Thomas
Brewer, William
Harrod and
William Lewis
came down the
river from Harrodsburg
to claim
land along the
banks of the
Kentucky River.
They brought
their families
and began to build
log homes. The
fertile fields of the
river bottom lands
were plowed
and planted with
corn and
tobacco. This
raw, untouched
land began to
sustain a good
living for the
early pioneers. The
river, which had
brought them to
this land was
now their road to
transport their
goods to market.
Jacob Palzgraff
and his wife,
Nancy came down
the river and
settled the area
known as
Polsgrove Landing.
In years to
come Polsgrove
became a busy
river port. A
post office was
established, churches,
stores and
lodge halls were
built and a
cemetery.
Charles B. LeCompte,
was a
proprietor of
a local dry goods and
general store.
A tobacco warehouse
on the river at
Flat Creek was
operated by M.
I. Baker and James
Sanford, a building
contractor.
Stoney
Creek
Once an area known
to Indians,
Stoney Creek,
the largest creek in
the area drops
from its headwaters
to the Kentucky
River at a drop of
160 feet. The
creek was a source
of pleasure and
necessity. The
PENN-MARSHALL
HOUSE, located
in the bottom
land of the Kentucky
River near the
mouth of Stoney Creek.
The
PENN GRAVEYARD is located
on
the left branch
of the creek near the
river.
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Bald
Knob
The once small
communities of Flag Fork, Flat Creek, Harp, Harvieland, Honeysuckle, Lebanon,
Mt. Zion, O'Nans
Bend, Polsgrove Landing, St. John, Stoney Creek and Union Store comprise
today, the section
of the county we know as Bald Knob. Bordered by the counties of Henry
and Scott on the
west and the Kentucky River on the east, this rural area of Franklin County
holds many of
the characteristics known to eastern Kentucky. The land is poor, consisting
mainly of hills,
only good for grazing. Through the years, erosion from the hills made
fertile
bottom land which
was good for growing corn and tobacco. Life was hard and left little
time
for social events.
Socializing was done in the form of work; a barn raising, hog killing,
hay
cutting or tobacco
housing. The woman and young girls would bring and prepare food;
perhaps quilt
while the men completed the task at hand.
The early inhabitants
of Bald Knob migrated from Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas and
Pennsylvania.
They were a strong people, independent and self-reliant; many of whom
were of Germans,
Irish and English ancestry. Their faith in religion, belief in hard
work
and family values
sustained them in day to day life. Although still a rural area, in
the
past few years
Bald Knob has experienced renewed population growth. Good roads,
city water and
available land is making the Bald Knob area a very attractive place to
live. Many
young families from the city are now making their homes in the
area.
Honeysuckle
Honeysuckle included
the area of Harvieland to Dry Ridge to Flat Creek. In 1893 a post
office was located
at a country store at Honeysuckle, not far from the home of Dr. Robert
B. Guinn. A
native of Carrollton, he had first settled at Flat Creek. Dr. Guinn
practiced
medicine in Franklin
County from 1920 - 1934.
Dr. Robert B.
Guinn
Nancy Jane Goins
Chism, daughter of Lewis and Lucretia Rice Goins, married
second
John Gladden Moore,
on of the best known farmers of Honeysuckle. He was
an
expert in the
cultivation of burley tobacco and a fine hunter. John was born
in
Franklin County
November 24, 1835. He died on September 19, 1909. He
and
his wife Nancy
Jane are buried in the GOWENS BURYING GROUND,
located on
St. John Road
in Franklin County, Kentucky
Nancy Jane Goins
Chism Moore
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