On North West Street north of South Street, on the left when traveling north.
Internationally known saxophonist, Homer Louis "Boots" Randolph attended the old Munfordville High School on this site from 1942-1944. While here he played guitar and trombone. Randolph started playing saxophone as a high school senior in . . . — — Map (db m40027) HM
On Main Street (U.S. 31W) south of Union Street (State Road 357), on the left when traveling south.
Side 1
This village's first postmaster and a charter member of Munfordville Presbyterian Church, John Thompson Street Brown (1793-1875) is the forbear of a remarkable and internationally known Kentucky family. William and Hannah Street Brown . . . — — Map (db m39985) HM
On Caldwell Street east of East Union Street, on the right when traveling east.
A noted 19th century African American poet, Whitman was born into slavery in Hart County on May 30, 1851. Self- educated, by age 22 he had published two books of poetry, Essays on the Ten Plagues and Other Miscellaneous Poems and Leelah . . . — — Map (db m174374) HM
Near River Road east of Old Street, on the left when traveling south.
James Amos, one of the early settlers of the lands on the south bank of Green River, built what became known as the Amos Flatboat Landings in the 1790s - the north and south landings here, along with others at the mouths of Lynn Camp Creek and . . . — — Map (db m40020) HM
On Charlie Downing Road north of Bragg Avenue, on the right when traveling north.
Thomas Woodson received this farm as a land grant from Thomas Jefferson for service in the Revolutionary War. His son Anthony made his home on this site and developed a prosperous farmstead, considered one of the finest in the county. From his front . . . — — Map (db m40033) HM
On Dixie Highway (U.S. 31W) at Charlie Downing Road, on the right when traveling south on Dixie Highway.
Union forces commanded by Col. Wilder surrendered to Mississippi regiments of Gen. Bragg's army on September 17, 1862, following battle on the 14th. 50 killed and 307 wounded. Bragg evacuated Munfordville on 20th before Gen. Buell's forces arrived. . . . — — Map (db m40039) HM
Sept. 14-17, 1862 Mississippi regiments of Gen. Bragg's army defeated Gen. Buell's Union forces. 50 killed, 307 wounded. Confederates destroyed railroad bridge. Site of Fort Craig and Monument to Col. R.A. Smith 1500 ft. west. — — Map (db m41845) HM
Near Charlie Dowling Road, 0.3 miles north of S. Dixie Highway (U.S. 31W).
An “unauthorized and injudicious” attack ...
General James R. Chalmers was sent by General Bragg as a vanguard to Cave City. There, Chalmers learned from Col. John Scott of a weak Union garrison at Munfordville. Eager for . . . — — Map (db m88251) HM
Near Charlie Dowling Road, 0.3 miles north of S. Dixie Highway (U.S. 31W).
When Braxton Bragg arrived at Green River, Cyrus Dunham had taken command of the Union garrison. The 15th had been spent clearing casualties from the field, but by the next day, gunfire erupted from Braggs advance guard, starting a day-long . . . — — Map (db m88347) HM
On S. Dixie Highway (U.S. 31W) 0.2 miles south of Charlie Dowling Road, on the left when traveling south.
Four hundred yards west of this site, December 17, 1861, Colonel B.F. Terry, 8th Texas Cavalry, CSA, was killed. He was leading his Rangers in a charge against troops, formed in a hollow square, of the 32nd Indiana Volunteers under the command of . . . — — Map (db m88256) HM
Carter-Dowling School Upon closing its one room schools in 1950, the Hart County Board of Education constructed Carter-Dowling School, a consolidated elementary school for "colored" children of Hart County. The School was named for Daisie C. . . . — — Map (db m39983) HM
On Dixie Highway / Main Street (U.S. 31W) south of Center Street (State Highway 88), on the right when traveling south.
Munfordville Presbyterian Church, founded, 1829. In Sept., 1862, during siege of Munfordville, the Union Army commandeered this church for use as a hospital with nurses' quarters in house at left. Those who died in battle or of wounds, removed to . . . — — Map (db m39939) HM
On Main Street (U.S. 31) at East South Street, on the right when traveling west on Main Street.
This monument is
dedicated to those who
lived, loved, worked,
and fought here during
the American Civil War,
and especially to
those who died here,
far from home.
May they find peace. — — Map (db m214815) WM
Near Rush Island Bend Road, 0.7 miles north of Rowletts Cave Springs Road, on the right when traveling north.
South 42° west and ninety poles distant is the place of the sacrifice of Col Robt A Smith and his regiment the Tenth Mississippi on Sep 14 1862 — — Map (db m165645) HM
Near Charlie Dowling Road, 0.3 miles north of S. Dixie Highway (U.S. 31W).
The mound on the hilltop before you is Fort Craig, a five-pointed earthen “star fort” that saw the fiercest fighting of the Civil War Battle and Siege of Munfordville, September 14-17, 1862. Forces of the 7th, 9th, and 29th Mississippi . . . — — Map (db m164109) HM
On Dixie Highway / Main Street (U.S. 31W) at Union Street (State Highway 357), on the left when traveling south on Dixie Highway / Main Street. Reported missing.
Built 1819-22 by Colonel Aylette Hartswell Buckner. Birthplace of his son, General Simon Bolivar Buckner (1823-1914), Confederate States Army Commander, Governor of Kentucky, 1887-1891, nominee for Vice-Presidency, 1896. — — Map (db m39940) HM
On Dixie Highway / Main Street (U.S. 31W) south of Union Street (State Road 357), on the left when traveling south.
1784 1815
Born 1784, Died 1813. Brought in childhood from Hagerstown, Md. to Lexington, Ky. Successful in both law and mercantile business. In 1812 raised and commanded Lexington Light Infantry; with his company went to Northwest Territory; . . . — — Map (db m39986) HM
On E South Street north of Main Street (U.S. 31W), on the left when traveling north.
(Side A)
In 1945, Hart County had 67 One-Room Schools scattered throughout the county. These 67 schools served students in grades first through eighth.
Not quite a decade later, all One-Room Schools in Hart County had been closed. At . . . — — Map (db m174340) HM
Near Dixie Highway / Main Street (U.S. 31W) south of Union Street (State Road 357), on the left when traveling south.
World War I
John L. Burd Leon Shipp Daniel Hodges Noah White Charles W. Ard Willie Mardis Ernest E. Stinson Walter T. Chaney Sim L. Russell Evans Butts Eugene S. Jones Willie D. Wright Montie E. Bale
Pete Nunn . . . — — Map (db m39988) WM
On Dixie Highway / Main Street (U.S. 31W) south of Union Street (State Road 357), on the left when traveling south.
The 61st formed in Kentucky, from parts of Hardin, Barren counties. Home of the Buckners. Simon Bolivar Buckner, graduate of West Point, captain in Mexican War, CSA general in the Civil War, governor of Kentucky, 1887-91, candidate for US . . . — — Map (db m39987) HM
On Main Street (U.S. 31W) at East Union Street (State Highway 357), on the left when traveling south on Main Street.
Henry Clay Furnace
Built 7Ό miles east in 1832 by Aylette Hartswell Buckner, S.V. Leedom, Cadwallader Churchill. A stone stack about 35 ft. high, 9 ft. across at widest inside, it burned charcoal fuel to produce pig iron and utensils from . . . — — Map (db m39942) HM
On Caldwell Street at East Union Street, on the right when traveling east on Caldwell Street.
John Ireland, was born on January 1, 1827 to the marriage of Patrick Ireland and Rachel Newton, Irish immigrants, who lived in the Copelin Valley, 12 miles northwest of Munfordville.
Around 1841 Ireland moved to Munfordville to work as a stable . . . — — Map (db m174372) HM
On East Union Street (State Road 357) east of Main Street (Highway 31W), on the right when traveling east.
On September 1, 1867, John Muir, the noted American naturalist, started his walk from Indianapolis to Cedar Keys on the Gulf of Mexico. In his book, A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf, Muir recounts his visit to Munfordville. "September 5 - . . . — — Map (db m39982) HM
On Charlie Downing Road north of Bragg Avenue, on the left when traveling north.
Other than by navigating the Mississippi River, the only way for armies west of the Appalachians to move from north to south was through Kentucky. Kentucky's rivers and railroads tempted commanders from both sides in spite of the state's declared . . . — — Map (db m40036) HM
Near Charlie Dowling Road, 0.3 miles north of S. Dixie Highway (U.S. 31W).
By 1857, the Louisville & Nashville Railroad lacked only one connection for through trains to travel between the two cities—a bridge over Green River. Irish stonecutters John W. Key and sons were hired for two years to construct the piers that . . . — — Map (db m88353) HM
On Dixie Highway / Main Street (U.S. 31W) at Bridge Street, on the left when traveling south on Dixie Highway / Main Street.
The railroad bridge over the Green River stands a quarter mile to the southwest. Constructed 1857-59 by engineer Albert Fink, the bridge was at the time the largest iron bridge in the United States, with a total length of 1,800 ft. Stonemasons John . . . — — Map (db m40028) HM
When humans first came to the Green River valley thousands of years ago, they quickly learned how to make use of the native trees, shrubs, grasses and flowering plants. From accounts by the first European settlers, we know that they used dugout . . . — — Map (db m40026) HM
Side A Michael Louis Burd, son of Mike and Laura Burd, attended 8 years of school at Munfordville Elementary School and 4 years at Hart County high School before graduating in 1989. Michael was a two-time All-State player for the Raiders . . . — — Map (db m214818) HM
On Dixie Highway (U.S. 31W) at Woodsonville Road/Hardyville Road (State Highway 88), on the right when traveling south on Dixie Highway.
On site, 1200 feet west, stood the church, his headquarters, where Gen. John Hunt Morgan and 84 of his men were formally sworn in, October 27, 1861, as the second Cavalry Regiment, Kentucky Volunteers, CSA. Formerly part of the Lexington Rifles, . . . — — Map (db m40030) HM
On Dixie Highway / Main Street (U.S. 31W) at South Street, on the left when traveling south on Dixie Highway / Main Street.
The small, unassuming county-seat village of Munfordville, founded on an old buffalo crossing and home to a well-known tavern, could claim pride of place in 1860 as the spot where the L&N Railroad crossed the Green River, over what whas then the . . . — — Map (db m39984) HM
Side A Noel "Tick Rogers, son of Noel and Lenda Rogers, attended 8 years of school at Munfordville Elementary School and 4 years at Hart County High School, graduating in 1992. Tick was a two- time All-State player for the Raiders and led . . . — — Map (db m214819) HM
On Dixie Highway / Main Street (U.S. 31W) at Old Street, on the right when traveling south on Dixie Highway / Main Street.
One block west stands a log inn built on a pioneer trail in 1810 by Thomas Munford, brother of founder of Munfordville. Among the many distinguished guests was Gen. Andrew Jackson in 1829 enroute to his inauguration as seventh president of USA. — — Map (db m39989) HM
Near River Road east of Old Street, on the left when traveling south.
As useful as Munfordville's small ferry was, it couldn't meet the needs of whole armies. As soon as General Alexander McDowell McCook's army arrived at Green River in the fall of 1861, soldiers immediately began building flat-bottomed boats to . . . — — Map (db m40019) HM
World War I John L. Burd Leon Shipp Daniel Hodges Noah White Charles W. Ard Willie Mardis Ernest E. Stinson Walter T. Chaney Sim L. Russell Evan Butts Eugene S. Jones Willie D. Wright James W. Wilson Montie E. Bale . . . — — Map (db m214816) WM
Centuries past, before central Kentucky became settled, a great swath of grassland and savannah stretched from the Ohio River down into Tennessee. Pioneers established Munfordville right in the middle of it. As settlement expanded, these "barrens" . . . — — Map (db m40021) HM
Near S. Dixie Highway (U.S. 31W) 0.3 miles north of Kentucky Highway 335, on the right when traveling north.
In fall of 1861, Federals planned move into Tenn, by the Cumberland River and, under General D.C. Buell, by land through here. CSA wrecked important bridge over Green River Dec. 10, to block USA move. Union force under Col. A. Willich sent to . . . — — Map (db m88163) HM
Stanley W. Cottrell. Jr. son of Stanley and Ida Belle Sharp Cottrell, went to Munfordville Elementary School and graduated from Munfordville High School in the class of 1961. He began his running career by winning the 100 yard dash at the 1959 . . . — — Map (db m214817) HM
Near S. Dixie Highway (U.S. 31W) 0.1 miles north of Kentucky Highway 335, on the left when traveling north.
(Front Side)
Texas
Remembers the valor and devotion of its sons who served with distinction on Kentucky battlefields during the Civil War.
At Houston, Texas, during August and September 1861, Benjamin Franklin Terry and Thomas . . . — — Map (db m88166) HM WM
Near River Road, 0.3 miles south of Old Street, on the left when traveling south.
The American Bison brings the Wild West to mind, but when Europeans arrived in Kentucky, buffalo were spread throughout the Commonwealth. John Filson wrote, in 1784:
"The amazing herds of buffaloes which resort thither, by their size and . . . — — Map (db m40018) HM
On River Road, 0.3 miles south of Old Street, on the left when traveling south.
The Louisville and Nashville Turnpike was established in the 1830s, following an ancient path used by herds of buffalo, by Native American peoples, and early European settlers. It followed the Phillips Trace, one of a handful of pioneer roads . . . — — Map (db m40017) HM
When a town was settled, the settlers most often chose the site because of a nearby crossroads, or, more importantly, because of nearby natural resources - especially water. Town founder Richard Munford had the best of both here, with the easy . . . — — Map (db m40023) HM
On Charlie Downing Road north of Bragg Avenue, on the left when traveling north.
The arrival of Federal troops into Lexington, Kentucky in fall 1861 prompted Lexington native John Hunt Morgan to assemble a band of 17 armed men on horseback to support the Southern cause. The "Lexington Rifle" then rode into south central Kentucky . . . — — Map (db m40038) HM
Near Rush Island Bend Road, 0.7 miles north of Rowletts Cave Springs Road, on the right when traveling north.
Coming to America from Scotland in the year 1884, Mr. James Smith, brother of Col. Robert A. Smith, visited the battlefield at Munfordville and purchased land on which he contracted to have erected a massive and costly monument in honor of his . . . — — Map (db m165647) HM
Near S. Dixie Highway (U.S. 31W) 0.1 miles north of Kentucky Highway 335, on the left when traveling north.
Organized in Houston in 1861 by Kentucky-born Texas sugar planter Benjamin Franklin Terry, the 8th Texas Cavalry would be better know throughout the Civil War as “Terrys Texas Rangers”—though Terry was himself among the first . . . — — Map (db m88165) HM
Near Dixie Highway (U.S. 31W) south of Lonoke Road (State Highway 571).
Anthony Woodson's fields and woods felt the ravages of war. Yet before and after, and even during the strife, the daily life of a central Kentucky farmstead carried on. As you wander the paths of the Woodson farm and visit the house, keep your . . . — — Map (db m40034) HM
On Old Street south of Dixie Highway/Main Street (U.S. 31W), on the left when traveling south.
Front Born in Munfordville, Ky., Thelma began working at Brown and Williamson Tobacco Co. at 15 to help her family during the Depression. There she met L.R. Stovall; they married in 1936. Thelma studied at UK, EKU and LaSalle Extension . . . — — Map (db m40016) HM
On Main Street (U.S. 31W) at East Union Street (State Road 357), on the left when traveling south on Main Street.
Side A In the winter of 1780, Daniel & Rebecca Boone and their young son, William, (b. June 20, 1775) camped at the Ebb & Flow Spring near Green River, 4 miles east of here. The Boones were hunting and trapping as they did every winter for . . . — — Map (db m41844) HM
On East Union Street (State Road 357) east of Main Street (U.S. 31W), on the right when traveling east.
In the fall of 1809, William Clark was summoned to Washington from St. Louis by President Madison to discuss the governance of the Louisiana Purchase Territories, which he had explored with Meriwether Lewis during the Jefferson administration. . . . — — Map (db m39981) HM
