The History of Corinth

by Louise Browning

When Corinth came into existence around the middle 1800's, all the land was woods between what is now Corinth and Williamstown.  The old Dry Ridge road was little more than a path.  Corinth never really began to grow until the Southern Railroad was opened for traffic - just fifty-six years after Grant County was formed.  Later that year the Corinth and Keefer precincts were cut off from Owen County and became part of Grant County.  Tobacco was the chief product of the region and was transported to outside markets.  The growers received from six to eight cents a pound.  Another favorite export of the "good old days" was sour mash whiskey.  The whisky was famous for quality and won the prize at the World's Fair for purity and excellence.  

The Corinth Academy, founded in 1878, offered a type of education seldom found outside the larger towns.  In the stage coach days, Corinth was called Mullinexville; later, because of the influence of the Christian Church, gradually became known as Corinth, a Biblical name.  In those days, the mail was brought by a stage coach traveling the old Covington-Lexington Turnpike, and drawn by eight horses.  In 1904, Corinth was badly damaged when almost the entire business section was destroyed by fire.  Ten years later, in 1914, an even more destructive fire swept away the main street business section, and in 1932, the town suffered another terrible fire.

From a collection of essays written in American Literature Eleven.  The class was taught by Ms. Hazel Ogden of Grant County High School in the 1963-1964 school year, and was typed by the typing classes of Mrs. Mattie Cox.  It is copyrighted by the Grant County Schools, and is used here with their kind permission. We found a copy in UK's King Library.