Kentucky Historical Marker #2036
Moneta J. Sleet, Jr. (1926-1996). Born in Owensboro, Sleet was a graduate of Ky. State College and New York Univ. Beginning in 1955, he worked as photojournalist for Jet and Ebony magazines for 41 yrs. During the 1950s-60s, his photos documented the African struggle for independence and the American civil rights movement. He inspired a generation of photographers. Presented by City of Owensboro and Messenger-Inquirer. (Reverse) Pulitzer Prize Winner - As friend of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., Sleet covered the Selma to Montgomery (Ala.) March and later King's Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. In 1969, he won Pulitzer Prize for photo of Coretta Scott King at Dr. King's funeral (first African American photographer to receive this award). His work has been part of numerous museum exhibitions.
714 W. 7th St., Owensboro, KY, United States
Kentucky Historical Marker #1436
George Graham Vest. Established Owensboro's second newspaper, The Gazette, near here in 1852, with Robert S. Triplett, an Owensboro businessman. Vest was U.S. Senator from Missouri, 1879-1903. Author of world famous "Tribute To A Dog." This spontaneous oration in court in defense of a backwoodsman's dog, "Old Drum," won case for the client and gained George G. Vest world fame. (Reverse) "Tribute to a Dog" - "The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have . . . the one that never deserts him and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog. . . . He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert he remains."-From a pleading before a jury by George Graham Vest.
Courthouse lawn, US 60, Owensboro, KY, United States
Kentucky Historical Marker #0590
Courthouse Burned. Twenty-two Kentucky courthouses were burned during Civil War, nineteen in last fifteen months: twelve by Confederates, eight by guerrillas, two by Union accident. See map on reverse side. Jan. 4, 1865, the courthouse at Owensboro, occupied by Union troops, was burned by guerrillas. The records of all county offices saved by the respective officers. Erected October 22, 1964. For more information, see ExploreKYHistory: Courthouse Burned
Courthouse lawn, US 60, Owensboro, KY, United States
Kentucky Historical Marker #2467
Daviess Co. U. S. Colored Troops in the Civil War. In 1864, several hundred enslaved African American men joined the Union army here. Enlisting in the army meant eventual freedom for the men and their families. Units raised in Daviess Co. took part in important operations at Richmond, Petersburg, and Lee's surrender at Appomattox, as well as campaigns in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Louisiana. (Reverse) Recruits served in the 100th, 109th, and 118th U.S. Colored Infantry and the 5th and 6th U.S. Colored Cavalry. There was much opposition among pro-slavery Kentucky Unionists to the recruitment of slaves. Therefore, black men in Daviess Co. took great risks to themselves and their families by enlisting in the army.
2nd & Frederica Sts., Daviess Co. Courthouse, Owensboro, KY, United States
Kentucky Historical Marker #1307
Buffalo Road. Buffalo herds opened first road in wilderness to present site of Owensboro. Bill Smothers, the pioneer settler of Yellow Banks, followed trail from Rough Creek, near present day Hartford, to Ohio River. Built his cabin at end of road, near here, 1797-98. An old court record says the buffalo road was a "place of great resort for that kind of game."
10th & Frederica Sts., Owensboro, KY, United States