Meade County Kentucky Place Names

The following list of place names and locations of Meade County, Kentucky have been accumulated by various authors and from a variety of sources, some unpublished. A large proportion of these listings come from Robert M. Rennicks Kentucky place names published in 1984 by the University Press of Kentucky.

Battletown (Meade): (New Amsterdam). This crossroads hamlet with post office on KY 228, 1 mile west of the Ohio River and 7 1/2 miles northwest of Brandenburg, probably preceded the establishment of the Battletown post office on May 7, 1890. According to local tradition, Mack Bennett, the first postmaster, named it for an afternoon-long, inconclusive fistfight between Nathan Hubbard and Jimmy Bennett either over the location or the naming of the post office, or possibly over a woman. ^[1]Lyons, Fr. John A. Manuscript history of St. Theresa’s Church, 1950. Meade Co. Public Library. ^[2]Coleman, Marie. Interview. Brandenburg, Ky. Aug. 23, 1978.

Brandenburg (Meade): (Mauckport, Guston). This 5th class city and the seat of Meade County is on the Ohio River, 27 miles southwest of downtown Louisville. In 1825 the Kentucky legislature authorized the transfer of the county’s seat from Claysville to a site offered by Solomon Brandenburg by his landing and ferry. The town was laid out and the post office was established in 1826 and named for him, spelled Brandenburgh at the time. ^[3]Ridenour, George L., Early Times in Meade Co., Ky, Louisville: Western Recorder, 1929. ^[4]“Meade County.” Louisville Courier-Journal Magazine, Mar. 25 1979, 10.

Caseyville (Meade). See Paynesville.

Ekron (Meade): (Guston). This 6th class city with post office lies at the junction of KY 144 and the L&N RR, 3 1/2 miles south of Brandenberg. The town was founded on land donated by a Dr Roberts, local physician and farmer, and its name, that of a Biblical city was suggested by his wife. It was adopted over Loneoak (for a lone oak tree that once stood by a large pond and offered shade for resting slaves). A post office was established here on Jan 14, 1889, with Charles E. Anderson, postmaster. ^[5]Chism, Robert W. Letter. Ekron, Ky., Apr. 14, 1980. ^[6]Frymire, Margaret. Letter. Ekron, Ky., Apr. 10, 1980.

Flaherty (Meade): (Flaherty). This village with extinct post office extends along KY 144 and 1600 from their junction 11 1/2 miles southeast of Brandenburg. It was founded by and named by and for Michael W. Flaherty who had arrived in the early 1880s and opened a blacksmith shop. On May 14,1883, he established the post office, which closed in 1906. ^[7]Bowling, William miller, “Rambling Remarks of William Miller Bowling,” Manuscript compiled by Rita Adkisson Thompson, 1972, from his columns in the Meade County Messenger, 1938. Meade Co. … Continue reading.

Grahamton (Meade): (Rock Haven). This extinct village and post office where US 60 crosses Otter Creek, now lie within the Fort Knox Military Reservation, 2 1/2 road miles west of US 31W and 9 1/2 miles southeast of Brandenburg. In 1837 Robert Graham moved from Louisville to newly acquired land at the falls of Otter Creek, built a large stone mill, and established a village he called Grahamton. The post office was established as Grahampton (an obvious spelling error that was later corrected) on Jan 2, 1880, but closed in 1907. The village site was acquired by Ft. Knox just prior to World War II. ^[8]Boyd, S. G. “Grahamton, Ky, and the History of the Company,” Louisville Courier-Journal, Mar. 27, 1927.

Guston (Meade): (Guston). This village with post office is on KY 428 and the L&N RR, 3/4 miles north of US 60 and 7 miles south-southwest of Brandenburg. The post office, established on Jan 19, 1889, with Albert J. Thompson, postmaster, was named for Gus[tavia] W. Richardson, a local farmer and civil servant, who had succeeded in attracting the Louisville St. Louis & Texas (now L&N) RR through this site in the 1880s. ^[9]Coleman, Marie. Interview. Brandenburg, Ky. Aug. 23, 1978..

Muldraugh (Meade): (Ft. Knox). This 5th class city, (with post office) now surrounded by Ft. Knox, extends north and south for over 1 mile between US 31W/60 and the Ft. Knox Military Reservation, 9 1/2 miles east-southeast of Brandenburg. It may have been named for William (or John) Muldraugh (or Muldrow), who is said to have settled briefly in the area before moving on. The post office was established on June 22, 1874, with Thomas W. Summers, postmaster. The town was incorporated in 1952. A popular account of the name, patently absurd but amusing, has been offered for both the community and the important Muldraugh Hill to the south. The latter, a very steep hill (actually a ridge), was very difficult to climb and pioneer teamsters were often dependent on mulepower to get them up the hill. One enterprising man purchased a number of mules for rental use and set himself up at the foot of the hill at a place he called Mule-Draw Station. Soon the hill came to be known as Mule-Draw Hill. 616, ^[10]“Meade County.” Louisville Courier-Journal Magazine, Mar. 25 1979, 10..

Oolite (Meade): (New Amsterdam). This extinct post office and county town was on the Ohio River, 7 miles northwest of Brandenburg. The town was founded in the first decade of the 20th century with the establishment of a limestone quarry there and named for the oolitic nature of its rock. The post office opened on June 9, 1910, with William H. Tompkins, postmaster, and closed in 1958. ^[11]Osinski, Bill. “Digging Up History.” Louisville Courier-Journal, May 27, 1979, B1. ^[12]Coleman, Marie. Interview. Brandenburg, Ky. Aug. 23, 1978.

Payneville (Meade): (Irvington). This village with post office extends for over 1/2 mile on KY 144, around its junction with KY 376,7 miles west of Brandenburg. The community was first called Caseyville, but a post office of this name in Union County led to the Meade County post office being established on July 26, 1868, as Payneville to honor a local family. ^[13]Coleman, Marie. Interview. Brandenburg, Ky. Aug. 23, 1978.

Rhodelia (Meade): (Alton). A hamlet with post office on KY 144, 13 miles west of Brandenburg. The site was first called Vessells Woods (sic) for its owners, Thomas and Sarah Vessels, and was settled around 1876 by their grandson, Samuel Joseph Manning. In 1878 Stephen K. Vessels and his brother opened a general store, and on Sept 4,1879, Vessels established the post office, which he named at the suggestion of (future governor) J. Proctor Knott for Elias Rhodes (1781-1868), a leading citizen of neighboring Breckinridge Co. ^[14]Lyons, Fr. John A. Manuscript history of St. Theresa’s Church, 1950. Meade Co. Public Library.

Rock Haven (Meade): (Rock Haven). This extinct 19th century riverport and industrial town was at the foot of a high bluff overlooking the Ohio River, 6 miles east-southeast of Brandenburg. Here in the early 1790s several Englishmen planned to build a large city called Ohiopiomingo, for the river and the chief of the Mingo Indians. (Though nothing came of this plan, the name appears on Russell’s 1794 map of Kentucky.) It is assumed that Rock Haven was named for its location. The local post office was in intermittent operation from 1848 to 1956. ^[15]Bowling, William miller, “Rambling Remarks of William Miller Bowling,” Manuscript compiled by Rita Adkisson Thompson, 1972, from his columns in the Meade County Messenger, 1938. Meade Co. … Continue reading ^[16]Coleman, Marie. Interview. Brandenburg, Ky. Aug. 23, 1978.

Weldon (Meade): (Guston). This defunct station on the Louisville St. Louis and Texas (now L&N) RR 3 1/2 miles north of the present Brandenburg Station, was the first to serve the city of Brandenburg, 2 miles northwest. It was called Weldon for Messrs. Cromwell and Herndon, engineers who helped locate the RR line through the county. A Weldon post office was in operation here from 1889 to 1914. Only the nearby Weldon Church preserves the name. ^[17]Bowling, William miller, “Rambling Remarks of William Miller Bowling,” Manuscript compiled by Rita Adkisson Thompson, 1972, from his columns in the Meade County Messenger, 1938. Meade Co. … Continue reading