Crittenden

by Terry Case

In the early days Crittenden was called the banner village of Northern Kentucky.  Young men came from othe4r towns and enjoyed dances and other festivities here.  In 1849 a Christmas Ball was given at Crittenden: invitations to this ball were sent to people in Covington, Walton, Crittenden and Dry Ridge.  There were many clubs and lodges in Crittenden, such as the Masonic Lodge, the Odd Fellows Lodge, and Sons of Temperance Lodge, and Know-Nothing Lodge.  There were such strong community feelings, and fellowship that the whole town turned out to say goodbye to two it its boys, John and Will Elster, when they started out with a fine outfit of mules and wagons to travel over the land route to the California gold fields in 1849.

 The Cincinnati Southern Railway was begun in 1871, and the first train passed over it on July 23, 1877.  When the road opened, the President of the United States made a good will tour from Cincinnati to Chattanooga.  When the train carrying President Hayes stopped at Crittenden, all the citizens came and had the pleasure of shaking his hand, some gave him a gift of flowers, and others just looked at him.  A still greater advance in transportation came in 1828 when the Dixie Highway was completed between Covington and Lexington.

Among the distinguished citizens of Crittenden, there are three brothers that are best remembered: Curtis, John Uri, and Ashley J. Lloyd.  While Curtis was exploring for toadstools, Ashley was becoming a genius with figures, and John Uri was developing an interest in home remedies.  A compound which [John Uri's] grandfather had sent to relieve his asthma aroused the interest which led him to become one of the outstanding manufacturing pharmacists in the country.  He was also instrumental in preparing the original draft of the Pure Food and Drug Act.

 The Lloyd Brothers did not attend high school or college, but obtained most of their education in their own home.  At the age of fourteen John Uri was apprenticed to a Cincinnati pharmacist.  Eight years later he became a chemist for a Cincinnati drug-manufacturing firm.  Whenever John Uri needed a new apparatus with which to perform his chemical experiments, he invented one.  The United States Patent Office has 16 inventions in his name.

 Makers of ginger ale asked him to perfect a process by which ginger might be extracted more efficiently.  The results were so good that the company offered him $15,000 for the process.  He refused and instead collected a royalty on each bottle sold.

 When he was 29 years old, John Uri Lloyd was appointed to teach chemistry at the Eclectic Medical College in Cincinnati.  Five years later he began teaching pharmacy at the Cincinnati College of Pharmacy.

 Curtis Lloyd was a unique person; although he was sort of anti-social, people admired him.  He was always free-hearted with his money, and there are many people who say he would come to town and throw money in the air and the children would run and get it.

 He built the Welfare House in Crittenden for the young people and every Friday night there would be a dance; on Saturday he showed movies for ten cents a person.  If people did not have a way to come, he would take his car and go get them.  He is still well remembered because of the ball park and Lloyd's Woods.

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.