Daviess County Bicentennial

Well, happy 200th Daviess County!!  That's right, it's Daviess County's Bicentennial.  Oh yeah....we've been rocking it out since 1815!!  There are tons of amazing events during the entire year for everyone to enjoy!

Throughout the entire year you can enjoy a big birthday celebration in late May, along with festivals, dinners, and even a time capsule in December!  It's going to be a big year from start to finish here in Daviess County.

Also, there are a few things here and there that you may not have realized about this great county.  Say, for instance, you may not have known that the first locomotive in Owensboro arrived by steamboat.  The “Jo Daviess” was off-loaded in 1872 at the foot of Lewis street, which is now J.R. Miller Blvd.  Hmmm.  Interesting!  Check out more facts below and Happy Bicentennial!!!

- Two Daviess Countians have won Olympic Medals.  In the 1924 games in Paris, Eugene Oberst won the Bronze medal for the javelin throw.  Eugene was the first American to win a medal in that event.  Then, in the 2000 summer games in Sydney, Brad Wilkerson won a gold medal for baseball.

- Remember the Owensboro Oilers?  Well, back in 1954, Tony Cubeck played for them, and then later went to play for the New York Yankees.

- In 1890, a horrible tornado tore through West Louisville.  Mr. and Mrs. Henry Birch's 3-week old daughter was carried 150 feet away from the house.  She was found, unharmed under a piece of tin.

- Abe Lincoln got a whopping 6 votes from Daviess County in 1860 during the presidential election.

- Southwest Daviess County is the home of "Blue Ruin." F.M. Austin owned a store which held the whiskey, and it was said to be so awful that it was named "Blue Ruin."

- A mistake by a clerk of the Kentucky General Assembly is responsible for the spelling of Daviess County.

- Hills Grand Opera House opened in 1879.  Performers were thrilled to have dressing rooms behind the stage, rather than underneath it.  And the star of the show got the best of the best, with the luxury dressing room complete with $1.00 per roll wallpaper.

- In 1901, 30 young women, all from Owensboro, earned between $4.50 and  $9.00 per week laboring with the Kentucky Electrical Company who shipped light bulbs all across the nation.

For more information and facts like these you can visit Daviess200.org