Published: May 08, 2008 08:26 pm            

STAN CHAMPER: Our history battles with overgrowth of its own

Among those of us who write for newspapers, telling readers at the beginning of a piece that most of them won’t be interested in what follows is a Cardinal No-No.

But I figure it’s the only fair thing to do short of committing everything to File 13 and scrounging around for a subject more goose-bumpy to occupy our time today.

So, snap on your seat belts and be advised that we’re about to soar head-long into the realm of (ugh!) history, a journey triggered by an e-mail from one of our readers.

The reader was concerned about the state of neglect at a graveyard in Catlettsburg where “Confederate and Union” soldiers are buried and felt a need exists for “memorializing” the site.

The graveyard in question is known as the Old Catlettsburg Cemetery. It predates what we know today as Catlettsburg Cemetery and is the place where many of the early burials in the community took place.

The reader was correct about Civil War soldiers being interred there. Other graves hold former slaves, as well as early settlers and a key player in the town’s development, Levi Hampton.

What to do about overgrowth at the old burial ground, situated behind Speedway before you get to Radio Hill, was discussed several years ago, but efforts fell by the wayside over the question of maintenance responsibility.

There are costs attached to such projects, and money’s not readily available when the economy turns sour and revenue is even scarce for more pressing needs and services.

Then, too, there’s a question of interest. History isn’t a subject that grabs the curiosity of a great many people, and this is particularly true at times when folks are just trying to make ends meet.

Having said this, it’s important to note that within Ashland, Catlettsburg and the unincorporated areas of Boyd County are a number of people who hold the subject dear.

Some are long-time members of the Boyd County Historical Society; others have contributed to growth of the Highlands Museum & Discovery Center; we have volunteers who have given hours upon hours of their time to the Boyd County Cemetery Board and still others who have typed and indexed old source material for the genealogy department at the Boyd County Public Library.

We’re not a Williamsburg, nor do we have a Plymouth Rock, but the area that is today’s Boyd County is rich in the history played out by countless pioneers pushing west out of the original colonies.

We’ve never done an adequate job of promoting it, in my opinion.

Many adults remember what they learned in the classroom about world, national and state history but have little knowledge about past events in their own community.

Whether for reasons of economy, initiative or interest shortcomings, much about our journey to the present is lost on today’s generation.

It’s a shame.

Our reader’s e-mail caught my eye because I have my own pet project involving burials in Catlettsburg — specifically, locating gravesites of family members for whom the community is named.

Alexander Catlett and his son Horatio Gates Catlett lie in unmarked graves on property south of U.S. 23 very near the intersection with Catlettsburg’s 28th Street.

Some efforts several months ago succeeded in narrowing the search area, but the precise location of the old Catlett Burial Ground remains to be discovered.

I’d hoped a detailed message I sent to the Kentucky Heritage Council would help get the project off Square One, but I’m still awaiting a reply as to whether such a search might hold promise.

The Catletts didn’t pack the influence of Daniel Boone, James Harrod or the Lincoln birthplace, but they presided at the confluence of two great rivers at a critical period of westward migration.

It’s a chapter of history the kids need to know.

STAN CHAMPER can be reached at schamper@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2640.

        

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