Owensboro, KY

Owensboro, the County site of Daviess County, is located on the south bank of the Ohio River, at what was known to the early keel and flat-boat men as the Big Yellow Banks. The name was given because of the deep yellow color of the river bank, composed of yellow clay, extending about six miles along the river, and from ten to twenty feet above the highest floods in the Ohio. The site was selected as the County seat in 1815, by Commissioners appointed by the first County Court, held in April of that year. The survey of the first lat of the town extended from the Ohio River and a ravine on the north, to fourth street on the Street on the south, and from Lewis Street on the east to Walnut Street on the west. The survey and plat thereof was completed by Captain James W. Johnson, the first County Surveyor, on the 23d day of March, 1816, and approved by the Commissioners and Court with the name of Rossboro, and ratified by the agent and owners of the land, George Hanley being agent for Ross and other proprietors. Later the name was changed to öst, in honor of Colonel Abram Owen, formerly of Shelby County, Kentucky. Col. onel Jo. H. Daveiss and Colonel Owen were both officers serving under General W. H. Harrison at the bloody battle with the Indians under Tecumseh at Tippecanoe, now Indiana, but then Indiana Territory. Both fell in the thickest of the fight. The County had already received the name of Daveis, and the old settlers, some of whom had been in the same battle in which Daviess and Owen were killed, determined, as a mark of respect, to link the names of the two together for all time to come. They had been associates and friends in life, fell together in battle, and it was appropriate that their names be joined after death. The old name of 'Yellow Banks," however, still clung to the place, and the town was hardly known by any other name, even by the citizens, until about 1839 or 1840. The post-office bore the name of 'Yellow Banks' up to the time of 1837 or 1838. In 1833 the population was scarcely 200 all told, and not a single church edifice or organization. The increase in population was small until 1850. A branch of the Southern Bank was located in Owensboro about that time. The power of the Trustees had been enlarged by Legislative action, and those officials began to drain and improve the streets. The action of the Trustees, and the fact that the Bank was one of the institutions of the place, gave assurance that there was some money in town, and seemed to infuse new life into the citizens, even the old fogy part of the population, which had been averse to enterprise. Improvements began to be made. Better houses were commenced, new-comers poured in and a steady growth was maintained until 1861, when the war put a stop to all enterprise and public improvement. The population decreased, and not until 1866 did improvements begin again or was an increase of population noted. A moderate but perceptible degree of progress and growth has continued until now in 1875, when the population is estimated at about 8,000. Owensboro contains churches of the following denominations: Baptist, Cumberland Presbyterian, Catholic, Methodist, Southern Presbyterian, Northern Presbyterian, Christian or Campbellite, Baptist, Episcopal, German Catholic, German Lutheran. The above have been named in the order of their establishment. There is also a colored Baptist, and a colored Methodist, church. All, except two, of the houses of worship, are substantial brick structures, with a capacity of seating over one half of the entire population. There are three banks-the Deposit Bank, Planters' Bank, and Savings Bank. The public schools are two in number, each with a full roll of professors and teachers. The school buildings are large and commodious brick edifices, with a capacity for 900 to 1000 pupils. The Catholic Sisters have a female school with about 100 pupils, and the Vaughan Female Seminary, of which Mrs. E. S. Phillips is proprietress, is an institution richly meriting the patronage of the community. There are several other private schools in the city, altogether accommodating from 1000 to 1100 pupils. There are also one or two schools for colored children. Prominent among the other institutions of the city are sixteen stemming and prizing tobacco establishments. The smallest has a capacity for handling 600,000 pounds, whilst several of the largest have each a capacity for handling