Kentucky Ancestors, Volume 39, Number 2 - Kentucky Historical ...

The Curd family, continued __________________________________
buried in the Curd cemetery “On the Ison Farm” in
Mercer County. It is also believed that Newton Curd
and his wife Ann Elizabeth Hatcher were buried in
the same cemetery, although the gravestones were
removed by a later owner.
New Market
The “town” referred to in the 1786 petition was to
be called New Market. It was to include 20 acres of
John Curd’s property at the confluence of the Kentucky
and Dick’s rivers. There were detailed specification
concerning plans for the town and the responsibilities
of those purchasing lots. Lots were to be
sold at public auction and were to be advertised for
three months at the Mercer, Lincoln, and Fayette
county courthouses. 2
No record has been found of any activity at New
Market. It’s likely that Curd’s dream simply “never
got off the ground.”
Curd House, Jessamine County
In 1986, an historical marker honoring John Curd
was dedicated on High Bridge Road in Jessamine
County. In 1984, the Curd House at that location
was listed on the National Register of Historic
Places. The present owners, Margaret and Terry
Morgan, have a deep interest in Curd history and
have extensively researched the family. They have
proudly shared their interest with schoolchildren,
historical groups, and interested individuals.
Curdsville
In the 1893 edition of Lippincott’s Gazeteer of the
World, Curdsville is listed as “a hamlet of Mercer
Co., Ky., 1 ½ miles from High Bridge Station, which
is 10 miles west of Nicholasville.” It’s likely that
Curdsville was a cluster of buildings with businesses
providing services for the many Curd families who
lived on surrounding farms.
Curdsville appeared on the 1876 Centennial Map
of Mercer County and in the 1890 Kentucky Geological
Survey’s Preliminary Map of Kentucky.
William Curd of Lexington grew up listening to
stories about his great-grandfather’s general store in
Curdsville and his wagon trips to Louisville to
replenish its inventory.
Dr. John Curd, whose father was born in Louisville
in 1879, recalled childhood visits to Curdsville.
2003 Kentucky Ancestors V39-2 64
“My father took his family and relatives a number of
times to visit the Curdsville area,” Curd said. “He
pointed out where the blacksmith shop and other
buildings stood, including sites where his uncle lived,
and the Curdsville and Shawnee Run cemeteries and
Shakertown … his parents were married in the
Shawnee Run Church.” 3
Dora Curd Markovich (b. 1910), who lived in
Long Beach, Calif., remembered Curdsville in 1993:
“A little village with a mill (the old stone was there
when I grew up), a post office, a blacksmith shop, a
general store, and of course, houses, and the old
cemetery where most all of our ancestors were buried
… I went to a one-room school which was on the
edge of our property. A plot of ground was deeded to
the county for the school, and if it ceased to be a
school [would] revert back to the heirs. Daddy made
a trip back there after the family came to California
and used some of the money he sold it with to put a
fence around the old cemetery. … My high school
alma mater was Harrodsburg, 10 miles away. … Of
course, we all went to Shawnee Run Church, even
those who would move away and marry.” 4
The school was probably Locust Grove School,
which existed from 1890 to 1939. 5
Mercer County historian Alma Ray Ison gathered
information about the area from her husband’s
cousin, James H. Ison:
“His farm land adjoins the river near High Bridge.
He says it was known as Curdsville when he was a
child and has continually been spoken of as such
because the vicinity was completely inhabited by
families by the name of Curd. There was a one
room school in the 1900s called Locust Grove. On
the back of his farm near the river and indications of
an old foundation, which he thinks could possibly
have been the remains of the Curd warehouse.”
Churches and Cemeteries
Most Curdsville area residents attended Shawnee
Run Baptist Church, organized in 1788. The present
church is the fourth structure on the site. Many
Curd names are to be found in the church’s adjoining
cemetery.
There were three other small Curd family cem-
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