Crittenden

by Judy Holbrook

 Crittenden at one time led the entire country in population and progress.  Three tobacco factories flourished here at the same time; three brick buildings were used for dry-goods stores, and merchandise for these stores was purchased in New York City.  Mills were scattered all over town: two saw mills, a steam mill for grinding wheat and corn, a tread mill (sometimes called a grist mill), and two flour mills.  There were also two distilleries owned by companies in Cincinnati.  Crittenden also had its own undertakers, Crutcher and Vallandingham. It was told that five hundred logs were cut from a five-acre woodland in one day and went to the local sawmill.  Lloyd Park, usually called Lloyd's Woods, contributes much natural beauty to this area.  This 640-acre estate was formerly called Lloyd Library Botanical Park and Arboretum.  In the beginning, it contained rare vegetation from Europe, Asia, Africa, and from every part of North and South America.  However, the unfriendly climate and lack of care killed most of the rare plants.  Mr. Lloyd built a recreation hall and a ballpark for Crittenden, and he offered to build a large high school to be called Crittenden Lloyd.  However, this offer was declined by the school board because they did not want to name the school for an atheist.  It is believed that an Indian village and an Indian school once existed in the south end of Crittenden.  The man who owned the farm where the Indian village stood told about gathering up arrowheads by the bushel.  Many other Indian relics have been found here, such as mauls, pestles, and tools for crushing corn.

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.