In the 1800s, the healing virtues of mineral springs lured settlers and travelers to Western Kentucky. In addition to curing the sick, the springs provided a forum for antebellum America to socialize, as the elegant surroundings became popular destinations for parties and dances. In this volume, more than 200 photographs and postcards share the unique story of Western Kentucky's mineral spring resorts, spanning nine counties from Elizabethtown westward to Kentucky Lake. Highlighted is the town that grew up around the spring at Cerulean, drawing the nation's first poet laureate, a Kentucky...

In January 1820, the acting governor of Kentucky, Gabriel Slaughter, signed a bill put before him by the state's legislature to create a new county from portions of Christian and Caldwell Counties in Western Kentucky. Trigg County was named to honor Revolutionary War soldier and Native American fighter Col. Stephen Trigg. Organization of the county government commenced on May 15, 1820, at the home of Samuel Orr in the community of Warrenton. Justices of the Peace Boyd, Wadlington, Goode, Orr, Scott, Slaughter, Daniel, Fowler, and Dawson swore one another into office and set about the business...

Organized in 1832, the Hopkinsville Union Fire Company represented the first attempt to provide fire protection for the town of Hopkinsville, which had 1,260 residents at that time. Succeeding volunteer groups (called runners) were created through the remainder of the 19th century. By 1900, a paid, professional fire department had been established with the firemen and equipment housed in the old town market house at the intersection of Fifth and Main Streets. Five years later, the City of Hopkinsville completed the new Central Fire Station located on East Ninth Street between Liberty and Clay...