"Pleasure Boat "Leader" on Cumberland Near Burnside, 1900-1915" - hand-tinted lantern slide
Elmer L. Foote Lantern Slide Collection, 1900-1915, Kentuckiana Digital Library

"Somerset Family, ca. 1900"
Elmer L. Foote Lantern Slide Collection, 1900-1915, Kentuckiana Digital Library

Rose Will Monroe, who played "Rosie the Riveter," the nation's poster girl for women joining the work force during World War II, was from Pulaski County, Kentucky.

"Rosie the Riveter - We Can Do It"
US National Archives. Produced by Westinghouse for the War Production. Created by J. Howard Miller.)

"Bull Sale at Somerset (Sires brought in from Louisville)"
C. Frank Dunn Photographic Collection, 1900-1954, Kentuckiana Digital Library

Reading List: Harriette Simpson Arnow

Title	Catalog Number
Mountain Path (1934)	K Arno
Hunter's Horn (1949)	K Arno
The DollMaker (1954)	K Arno
Seedtime on the Cumberland (1960)	K976.85 Arno
Flowering of the Cumberland (1963)	K976.85 Arno
Weedkiller's Daughter (1970)	K Arno
Kentucky Trace (1974)	K Arno
Old Burnside (1977)	K976.963 Arno
Between the Flowers (1997)	K Arno

"Monticello-Burnside Stage, at Mill Springs, KY, ca. 1900-1915"
Elmer L. Foote Lantern Slide Collection, 1900-1915, Kentuckiana Digital Library

Pulaski County Websites

County of the Month: Pulaski County, Kentucky

Pulaski County was the 27th county formed in Kentucky. It is located in south-central Kentucky, carved from Green and Lincoln counties. Having a variety of terrains, most notably the Cumberland River running through it, it is mostly rural and has little fertile soil.

At the end of the Revolutionary War, several veterans from New Jersey and their families migrated to the area. By 1798, 3,000 people claimed the area their home. To facilitate a local government to protect the citizens from Indian attacks as well as serve the judicial needs of an isolated area, the residents petitioned for creation of a county. In 1798, Pulaski County - named for famous Polish-American Count Casimir Pulaski who served during the Revolutionary War - was created with Somerset, named for a county in New Jersey, as its county seat.

During the Civil War, Pulaski County openly supported the Union, even though many residents were Southern sympathizers. Two battles, Mill Springs and Dutton's Hill, resulted in Union victories, and for a brief time a Federal garrison was occupied in Somerset. Although the area was invaded by Confederate General John Hunt Morgan, Union troops held the county until the end of the war, even renaming the town of Point Isabel to "Burnside," in honor of the Union general.

During the Reconstruction Era, Pulaski County became known as a Republican bastion. Thomas Morrow, of Somerset, was one of the founders of Kentucky's Grand Old Party. Only three Democratic presidents have ever carried the county during an election.

In 1877, the Cincinnati & Southern Railway laid track in the area, bringing with it logging and sawmill operations, machine shops, and migrant workers. By the turn of the century, the population had increased 1000%. After WWII, the railroad closed, taking many jobs with it. As part of the Tennessee Valley Authority's effort to redevelop the region, Wolfe Creek Dam was built, creating Lake Cumberland and opening new possibilities for fishing, recreation and tourism.

Source: Kentucky Encyclopedia

Pulaski County Trivia

Zollicoffer

In the city of Nancy, in Pulaski County, stands an oak tree, known as the "Zollie Tree," a state historic marker indicating where Confederate General Felix K. Zollicoffer fell in the Civil War battle of Mill Springs.

During the fighting, Zollicoffer rode toward a group of men he thought were Rebel soldiers, and began issuing commands. Actually, the near-sighted Zollicoffer had encountered the Yankee Fourth Kentucky Infantry. He was temporarily saved because he had a blue raincoat over his Confederate uniform; the Union troops started to obey his orders. However, his eagle-eyed but dim-witted aide rode up and immediately recognized the soldiers and said, "General, it's the enemy!" Both Zollicoffer and his aide were shot to death.

Source: Lexington Herald-Leader, March 4, 1998; Kentucky Files: Counties-Pulaski

Harriet Simpson Arnow

Although born in Wayne County, author Harriette Simpson Arnow (1908-1986) claimed Burnside, in neighboring Pulaski County, as her home.

Arnow's family moved to Burnside when she was five. She was raised amid the tradition of storytelling, and grew up hearing local stories of the Civil War, the War of 1812, and long-ago fights with Indian tribes. Arnow attended Berea College, but left because of the rigid restrictions put upon women; namely smoking, for which she was constantly fined. Arnow continued her education at the University of Louisville, attaining a degree in science.

After graduation, she had several odd jobs, such as being a teacher, a library assistant, a cashier and waitress while writing poetry on the side. In 1934, she moved to Cincinnati to publish magazine stories and her first novel, Mountain Path.

During World War II, Arnow and her family moved to the housing projects of Detroit so that her husband, a reporter, could work for the Detroit Times. Although their financial circumstances improved, the Arnow family remained in Michigan for the rest of Harriette's life.

Arnow's works reflected the goodness and purity of the Appalachian region. During a time when many Kentuckians were migrating to industrial towns such as Detroit or Chicago, Arnow's storylines depicted the stark contrasts and harsh realities her characters experienced when leaving their home of Pulaski County for life amid slums and housing projects. Later works were fictional reflections upon pioneer life in the Cumberland Valley region. Nostalgic at times, the storylines were often social commentary that stated the need to prize individualism over culture, ethnicity, or stereotype.

Common to all of Arnow's works was the enormous strength of her female characters. Strong, self-willed and able, they were responsible for holding the families together at any expense, characteristics which were remarkable during the 1950's - before the Women's Liberation Movement - characteristics which Arnow displayed herself.

Family History and Pulaski County Research Resources

Below are some resources for genealogists and researchers interested in the Pulaski County area.

County Clerk records

Agency history
Articles of incorporation books (indexed) - 1920-1991
General index to deeds - grantee - 1799-1934
General index to deeds - grantor - 1799-1934
Deed books - 1799-1991
Deeds (loose) - 1799-1962
Commissioner's deed books - 1886-1991
General cross index to marriages - 1799-1938
General index to marriages (groom or bride) - 1799-1964
Marriage bond books - 1799-1901
Marriage books (indexed) - 1800-1993
Freedmen's declaration of marriage (indexed) - 1866-1885
Mineral lease books (indexed) - 1874-1950
Mortgage books - 1943-1989
Order books - 1799-1896
Tax assessment books - 1799-1966
General index to veteran's discharges - 1941-1992
Veteran's discharge books - 1943-1992
General index to wills - 1802-1910
Will books - 1802-1990

Circuit Court records

Agency history
General indexes to civil cases - 1880-1977
General indexes to criminal cases - 1893-1978
Civil and criminal case files - 1800-1928
Civil case files - 1880-1977
Criminal case files - 1893-1977
Idiot inquest book - 1924-1940
Lunacy inquest books - 1902-1911 and 1920-1931
Judgment books - 1863-1887 and 1926-1927
Judgment from inferior courts book - 1854-1916
Order books (indexed) - 1823-1833 and 1837-1875
Civil order books (indexed) - 1876-1977
Criminal order books (indexed) - 1879-1890, 1894-1906, and 1908-1981

Quarterly Court records

Criminal order books (indexed) - 1970-1977