Williamstown
| Located near the center of Grant County, Williamstown
grew around the two and one-half acre plot donated to the county in 1820
by William Arnold for the courthouse and other public buildings. The surrounding
25 acres were surveyed into town lots and sold to others by Arnold. First
named "Philadelphia," it was discovered another town in the state was so
named. The name was then changed to "William's Town" in honor of Arnold.
From 1822 to 1826, the post office name was "Williamstown Court House." In
1828, another 49 town lots were added to the original survey. Williamstown
grew, not only as a trading and marketing center for the county, but also
due to the traffic on the Covington-Lexington Pike. Several taverns and feed
lots accommodated livestock drovers and traders. A stagecoach service was
initiated on the Lexington Pike about 1818. In 1832, a stage coach company
was organized at Williamstown by O. P. Hogan with runs to Georgetown and
Covington. Later expansion included twice weekly runs to Maysville. All of
this changed with the opening of the Southern Railroad in 1876 when most
of the passenger, livestock and freight traffic centered around the railroad
station. The Lexington Pike regained its importance to Williamstown and the
county after the turn of the century with the wide spread use of the truck
and automobile. This led to rebuilding and improving the Lexington Pike as
U. S. 25 in the 1920s.
Early churches include the Williamstown Particular Baptist Church, reorganized in 1826 from the Old Baptist Church on the Dry Ridge. The Williamstown Christian Church was probably organized in the late 1820s, followed by the Presbyterian Church in 1847 and the Williamstown (Missionary) Baptist Church in 1878. The development of Williamstown temporarily slowed each time the town was struck by disastrous fires. The first was in 1856, when several wooden buildings were destroyed on both sides of Main Street. Fire struck in 1864 and 167. Following another serious fire in 1892, the town established and equipped a volunteer fire department. In 1913, an entire block on the east side of Main Street was destroyed. After a 1927 fire, the town moved to install a waterworks system which would provide ample water to fight fires and also furnish water to homes and businesses. Another damaging fire occurred in 1930 and again in 1983. In the 1950s, Lake Williamstown, covering 500 acres, was developed to accommodate the growing need for a dependable water supply. In the 1980s the water treatment plant was enlarged to produce 1,500,000 gallons per day. This amount would be required to serve the manufacturing, business and home needs in the foreseeable future. Williams took a very forward progressive step in 1938 in buying and thereafter operating the electric distribution system for its area. In the 1940s, the city took over the care and maintenance of the Williamstown Cemetery. Williamstown was the first in the county to install a sewage collection system and maintain a model sewage disposal plant. In 1982, Williamstown created its city owned cable television system with cable wire strung on the city owned electric utility wires. The log home of city founder William Arnold was moved and restored as a museum at its present location.
This is Grant County |