Adam: Adam moved page Pettit to Pettit, Kentucky

2016-09-19T02:23:49Z

Adam moved page Pettit to Pettit, Kentucky

← Older revision	Revision as of 02:23, 19 September 2016
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Adam: Created page with "Thomas S. Pettit, editor of the Owensboro Monitor during much of the 1860’s, was a great “booster” for the development of Daviess County. He was particularly vocal in su..."

2016-09-16T13:15:41Z

Created page with "Thomas S. Pettit, editor of the Owensboro Monitor during much of the 1860’s, was a great “booster” for the development of Daviess County. He was particularly vocal in su..."

New page

Thomas S. Pettit, editor of the Owensboro Monitor during
much of the 1860’s, was a great “booster” for the development
of Daviess County. He was particularly vocal in support of the
county’s first railroad, the Owensboro and Russellville. He saw
the line, completed as far as Livermore in 1871, as making
accessable a vast stand of virgin timber on land Pettit owned
along Panther Creek.

As was the custom, he donated land upon which to build the
railroad to the O. & R. company and also land for a depot which
was named Pettit in his honor. Before the coming of the railroad,
the low, swampy Panther Creek bottoms had little value, but
Pettit envisioned his acres cleared of the valuable timber which
would be converted into lumber, barrel staves, railroad cross ties
and other salable products.

The land, once drained, would be some of the richest farmland
anywhere and be one of the reasons that Daviess County
would become one of six Kentucky counties included in the U.S.
Cornbelt. By 1872 a small community of woodcutters developed
around the depot, and began realizing Pettit’s vision. However,the
location was unhealthy and the wood cutting and processing soon
moved south to higher ground at Sutherland. Although the area is
still prone to flooding, a perhaps advantage to the bottoms clearing
was the mitigation of the anopheles mosquitoes which had
long been the cause of malaria in the area and a bane to development.

The name Pettit still stuck and today it is home to a few families
and a Baptist Church.

''Reference to article by Glenn Hodges''
[[Category:Towns]]

Pettit, Kentucky - Revision history

Adam: Adam moved page Pettit to Pettit, Kentucky

Adam: Created page with "Thomas S. Pettit, editor of the Owensboro Monitor during much of the 1860’s, was a great “booster” for the development of Daviess County. He was particularly vocal in su..."