By Robert Baker Strange events sometimes occurred during the Civil War.  One involved a member of a Big Sandy Union regiment, the Thirty-ninth Kentucky.  Alfred Carter Hailey was one of several soldiers chosen to escort two Kentucky ladies to the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia.  One of the ladies had a

It was February 10, 1945.  Three friends from Jonancy were traveling north on old US 23 where the highway crosses Long Fork.  Palmer “Pell” Little was driving.  His passengers were Burl Osborne and Norman Linzy Hall.  Pell was the son of Dave and Cordelia Little.  Burl was the son of

Jenkins Division Directors Of The Consolidation Coal Company No. 201 Tipple & Underground Mine 201 Mine Excavation stated last of August, 1911. No. 201 Tramway. October 8,1911 Making Progress on No. 201 Mine portal. October 8, 1911 No. 201 Mine Portal. July 26, 1912 No. 201 Tipple in the distance,

Before the Kentucky constitution of 1891, regulations on corporations were much more strict than today.  Pre-1891 applications to form corporations were submitted to, voted upon, and approved by the legislature.  The 1891 convention decided that process was too burdensome and time consuming for businesses seeking to incorporate and that the

From the end of October 1861 forward, there was no civil rule in Pike County. The military occupations of Pikeville, first by Colonel John S. Williams’ Confederates, followed by General William “Bull” Nelson’s Union army, compounded by the January 1862 murder of Judge William Cecil, made every man a law

A Special Thanks To John G. Damron The majority of Cordell L. Damron’s life was not without adventure and achievement. Most of what is preserved about Cordell’s life is only a small part of what made him widely known around the Shelby Creek and Pikeville area. What Pike Countians know

By Robert Baker After extensive research, the Reverend M. T. Burris is still something of a mystery.  What little that can be learned about him comes directly from his own writings reproduced here and from a few scattered public records.  However, it is clear that he was an early school-teacher

Roland Landon Walker was born September 9, 1875 into the union of James M. ands Mary Jane Walker. 1890 Teachers Certificate of Roland Landon Walker 1891 Teachers Certificate of Roland Landon Walker 1894 Teachers Certificate of Roland Landon Walker Roland Landon Walker is shown in Pike County’s Annual Teachers Settlement

The people in the photograph were: [Far Left]  BENJAMIN FRANKLIN JOHNSON, better known as B.F., was a storekeeper who lived on Long Fork of Shelby Creek.  He was chosen by the businessmen in the party for his detailed knowledge of the region’s topography and its people. [Second from Left]  Probably

The Harman family is widely known in Tazewell County, Virginia, but did you know that old Mathias has a Pike County connection?  Mathias Harman built the first settlement in Pike County in 1789.  He informs us of that settlement in a legal deposition of his own words.  The most current information comes in