Rock Bridge
This history of Rock Bridge was submitted by Marcella Pickerel Headrick
of Tompkinsville. The history was written by her mother, Mrs.
Ammie Pickerel... A Kentucky Colonel. Mrs. Pickerell signs the
history as if it were a letter but it contains neither a
salutation nor date of writing. It is transcribed here as it was
written.
Rock Bridge is, as we are about to speak of, was situated in a
little valley in the center of Monroe Co., in Southern Kentucky.
We don't know its first existence, but a post office at Rock
Bridge was among the first in Monroe County. Then a grocery store
was opened for the residents living near. Rock Bridge derived its
name from a natural stone bridge which spanned an inlet, on deep
branch of water which the main road has to cross on. Therefore,
the Post Office was called Rock Bridge. The mail was delivered
twice a day.
During the years of the late 70's to 1880 business began to
emerge. The grocery business was expanding. A business man by the
name of Fleming Page moved in a lumber mill which furnished jobs
for the men. A young man by the name of Ingraham Norman, who was
born in Rock Bridge became a medical doctor and built himself a
drug store. His charges were $2.00 a trip, either far or near to
see sick people, and he charged $8.00 to deliver babies. He made
quite a name for himself as all boy babies were named Ingraham. I
can recall 8 or 9 born from 1872 to 1882. In the meantime there
were other business taking place. A blacksmith shop operated by
Charlie Vibbert with anvil and bellows. A voting precinct was
established. A government distillery one and one half mile south
of Rock Bridge and a Baptist Church one and one half miles North.
Pretty soon it became a small villiage, estimated to be 250 or
300 people. A large cave about one mile west of the square called
by some Miller's cave, which made a great hiding place for
drummers and the locals to gamble in. Some drummers never
returned to take their orders from the stores. It was also a
hiding place for things to come. By 1885 another Dr. by the name
of Dr. William D. Sympson moved in. He doled out his medicine in
powder on the tip of his pocket knife on paper and twisted both
ends. He had one of the first thermonters [sic] ever seen in Rock
Bridge. He would press it half way down ones throat and would
prescribe quinnine for colds, castor oil for belly aches, toddy
for coughs and a pill so large that it required a mucus from the
bark of a certain tree to force it down the throat. It was
supposed to cure aches and pains, which was called "Rheumatize."
The villiage was about 3 miles square, with a one room school
house near the limits. It was made from logs, with a fireplace
and wooden shutters for the windows. The school term in 1872 was
four months. A cider mill owned by James K. Polk Strode which
ground and pressed the golden liquid called cider, which was used
for vinegar, etc. A cotton gin owned by Samuel Page, Jr. which
separated the seed from the cotton fiber. This was used by
Icyvenia Quigley Page in her tailoring shop. She made men suits
and had a great business. She had the measurments of men far and
near that she made suits for. I have the book. At the foot of the
big cave was a grist mill for grinding of all kinds of grain. On
one corner of the village square lived a lady that would tell
your future, and your destiny. Around 1890 another merchandice [sic]
store came in with Bob Miller as manager, whose lady operated a
millenary shop. Mr. Nelse Hume operated a songhrum mill and also
a government distillery. A few names of residents that lived in
this area are: Three or four families of Pages, Millers,
Pitcocks, Normans, Hagans, Sympsons, Chapmans, Waldens, Bushongs,
Carters, Smiths, Belchers, Vibberts, Biggers, Bowmans, Humes,
Emmerts, Fergusons, Clemons, Rasners, Harlans and Strodes. In the
year 1880, the wickeness and the meaness began. We'll have to say
they orginated from around the place, four of the main leaders
were two brothers and their brother-in-law. They were 25 to 35
years old. They had caused trouble in other territories but was
hardly noticed in their own home area. They were all helpful
neighbors. Pretty soon they were called outlaws. One of the four
gaugers at the Humes distrillery on and one half miles south of
Rock Bridge. Trouble started at this place one Saturday afternoon
about four o'clock. The writer of this story heard and saw it.
The entire law envorcement from Tompkinsville, the county seat,
came to the scene. There were shootings, blaspheming, screaming,
a noise of a mighty aremy, the ending of the scene cleared away
because everyone rean off, after Jimmie Clemons buried the
trigger of a double barrel shotgun in Sheriff Smith skull. Death
resulted a few days later. Some were wonded and everone else was
scared to death. Nelson Humes had the distillery, and Elzie G.
Carter was the gauger. He was a government employer who gauged
the alcohol content of the brewer. This was the beginning of
their wickeness. The neighbors turned their heads when they heard
of the shooting, stealing and lawlessness. All but one man in the
neighborhood whose name was Jimmie Polk Strode. He bragged of
what he would do if they bothered him. One morning when he went
to his front poarch [sic], he found a big switch there. On the
switch was a note telling him that this would be applied to his
rear if he did not shut up. They ruled the neighborhood by
intimadation. It's hard to explain what happened in the months
thereafter. The men hid out in the woods and the big cave near
Rock Bridge. Many foldks in the neighborhood were related to the
outlaws and would put food out for them. My grandmother who was
related to all would put milk and food in the spring house near
their home. This was in the years of late 1880, and early 1890.
It was several months before two of the men were apprehended. Sam
Henry Bushong and James T. Clemons, who was married to the two
Walden boys's sister Enner Tom. They were sentenced to two years
in the state penitentiary. Elgie G. Carter and Loindsey W. Walden
left the county, and Walden was never heard of again. There were
rumors and thefts and crimes committed during the time the two
were in the "pen" and Rock Bridge had to take the
blame, of course. Jimmie Clemons served eighteen months of his
two years and Sam Henry was parolled. They returned to their
homes here, soon they were again united and terrible things began
happening again. They began stealing, robbing, torturning aged
couples whom they thought had mone. They robbed distilleries,
stole meat from the smokehouse of farmers, reaided drugstores to
get chlorform, burned buildings and barnes. They tortured an old
man by the name of Bryant in Cumberland County. They heated irons
in the fireplace and applied them to his feet in hope he would
tell them where he had his money hid. The last move they mad the
state of mind as the writer remembers was in the early 90's or
about 1893. A bank was robbed at Summer Shade, Kentucky, about 14
miles from Tompkinsville. Several hundred dollars were taken, a
great amount of merchandise including expensive men clotheing. A
young lady in the neighborhood was seen wearing very expensive
and beautiful apparels. She was the sister of and girl friend of
one of the outlaws. Joe Carter and Fendol Hagan mortaged
everything they had to get the boys of of jail. Pretty soon both
counties, Monroe and Metcalfe were searching day and night in the
coldest winter that had been in years. They hid out until they
nearly starved to death. Clemons fled to the mountains of
Tennessee near Chattanooga, Tenneessee and established a home for
his family. Bushong left the county and was seen in Waveland, Ind.,
along with Elzie G. Carter. Bushong married and left some
descendents. Walden and Carter were never apprehended, reports in
later years, was that Walden has met is fate. After being away
from this county for 35 or 40 years Elzie G. Carter came home. By
this time a new generation was living in Rock Bridge and no one
knew him. He was near 70 years of age. He lived a year or two
among his relatives and died about 1955.
The little villiage began to decline as many had died, many had
married and moved away, most business' had closed its old way of
living and by 1900 Rock Bridge was only a spot by the side of the
road. However a store and postoffice were still miantained. After
the highway came through the neighborhood, people go on their
way, forgetting the Old Rock Bridge. Weeds and brush have hid the
site of the bridge over which Braggs' army passed on, and
youngsters of today don't know one had existed. There's much more
could be said about the people of those days. There are a dozen
or more houses of the big log houses of two story, big double
chimney etc., around this area. Some of them are 150 years old.
As far as I am concerned Rock Bridge was, and is one of the
finest places on the map. Rock Bridge had some of the finest,
bravest, well educated Christians in society. They were, and are
still equal to the best. When one asks where you are from, tell
them you are from Rock Bridge. They'll probably say, "I
don't know where that place is, but I've heard of it".
Sincerely,
Mrs. Ammie Pickerell...A Kentucky Colonel
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Last Updated:
Monday, 08-Sep-2008 1:49 AM