Augusta in Bracken County, Kentucky — The American South (East South Central)

Bracken County, 1796

Photographed By J. J. Prats, June 13, 2019

1. Bracken County, 1796 Marker

Inscription. Formed from parts of Campbell and Mason. Named for William Bracken, hunter, fisherman, Indian fighter, came here 1773. Birthplace of John Gregg Fee, founder of Berea College, 1855. Birthplace and home of Dr. Joshua Taylor Bradford, 1819-71, world famous surgeon. Site Augusta College, first Methodist College in world, 1822. First White Burley tobacco, 1867, from Bracken seed.

Erected 1965 by Kentucky Historical Society and Kentucky Department of Highways. (Marker Number 861.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Churches & Religion • Colonial Era • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Kentucky Historical Society series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1773.

Location. Marker has been reported missing. It was located near 38° 46.278′ N, 83° 59.797′ W. Marker was in Augusta, Kentucky, in Bracken County. Marker was on Heather Renee French Boulevard (Kentucky Route 8) just west of Augusta Chatham Road (Kentucky Route 19), on the right when traveling west. Heather Renee French Boulevard is also known as 5th Street and as the Mary Ingles Highway. Touch for map. Marker was in this post office area: Augusta KY 41002, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least

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8 other markers are within walking distance of this location. Bracken County Wine (approx. 0.2 miles away); A Foster Inspiration (approx. ¼ mile away); In Memory of All American Veterans (approx. ¼ mile away); Augusta College (approx. 0.4 miles away); Augusta World War Memorial (approx. half a mile away); Built by B.F. Powers (approx. half a mile away); Augusta In Civil War (approx. 0.6 miles away); The Battle of Augusta Walking Tour (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Augusta.

Also see . . . Wikipedia entry for Burley Tobacco. Excerpt:

The origin of white burley tobacco, used in cigarettes, was credited to George Webb and Joseph Fore in 1864, who grew it on the farm of Captain Frederick Kautz near Higginsport, Ohio, from seed from Bracken County, Kentucky. He noticed it yielded a different type of light leaf shaded from white to yellow, and cured differently. By 1866, he harvested 20,000 pounds of burley tobacco and sold it in 1867 at the St. Louis Fair for $58 per hundred pounds. By 1883, the principal market for this tobacco was Cincinnati, but it was grown throughout central Kentucky and Middle Tennessee. In 1880 Kentucky produced 36 percent of the total national tobacco production, and was first in the country, with nearly twice as much tobacco produced as by Virginia,
Photographed By J. J. Prats, June 13, 2019

2. Bracken County, 1796 Marker
then the second-place state. Later the type became referred to as burley tobacco, which is air-cured.

(Submitted on July 7, 2019.)

Bracken County, 1796 Marker post image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, March 4, 2023

3. Bracken County, 1796 Marker post

Credits. This page was last revised on March 12, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 7, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 301 times since then and 38 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 7, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 3. submitted on March 10, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.