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In 1820 Butler County, were we set to be a livestock center for the East?  The following law, passed just ten years after Butler reached county status and seven years after Morgantown was formed, is quite amazing. 

AN ACT  ESTABLISHING AN INSPECTION OF BEEF AND PORK AT OLIVER C. PORTER’S WAREHOUSE IN BUTLER COUNTY.                                       

Approved February 14, 1820

Whereas it is represented to the present general assembly, that large quantities of beef and pork are annually shipped from Morgantown, Butler County: Therefore,

Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, That an inspection of beef and pork  be, and the same is hereby established on the land of Oliver C. Porter, and at said Porter’s warehouse on Green river, near Morgantown, to be known by the name of O.C. Porter’s Inspection; and the county court of Butler, shall, as soon as practicable after passage of this act, appoint two fit persons in said county inspectors of beef and pork, whose duty it shall be to attend immediately, on the application of any person wishing to have his or her beef or pork inspected at said warehouse, and discharge the duties of an inspector without delay, one of which may act, first having taken the following oath or affirmation before some justice of the peace for said county. I, A. B. do solemnly swear or affirm (as the case may be) that I will well and truly to the best of my skill and judgment, execute the office of an inspector of beef and pork at Oliver C. Porter’s warehouse, and that I will neither be governed by favor, affection or partiality in the discharge of the duties enjoined on me by law: So help me God.”

Sec 2. Be it further enacted, That each barrel of beef or pork, which they or either of them may inspect, it shall be their duty to see that the same is sound, well picked and packed, and that there is sufficient quantity of salt to preserve the same.

Sec 3, Be it further enacted, That each barrel shall be made of good, seasoned, white-oak timber, strong and tight, and bound with at least fourteen good, strong hoops, and shall contain at least two hundred weight of net beef or pork, to be classed as follows: That good beef, free of shanks and necks, shall be denominated mess beef, and barrels containing an equal quantity of each quarter, shall be denominated prime beef; that every barrel of pork consisting of an equal quantity of all the quarters, shall be denominated prime pork; that barrels consisting of best pieces of good pork, free of heads and feet, shall be denominated mess pork. It shall be the duty of the inspector or inspectors, to brand each barrel in at least two places, one on the head and the other on the side, with the words beef or pork, mess or prime, as the case may be.

Sec. 4. Be it further enacted, That the inspectors may charge and receive for each barrel of beef or pork, which he or they may inspect, the sum of thirty-seven and one half cents, whose duty it shall be to give the owner a certificate, setting forth the quality of the beef or pork as marked on the barrel.

Sec. 5. Be it further enacted, That if any inspector or inspectors, so appointed, who shall have qualified as this act directs, shall neglect or refuse to perform the duties enjoined on him by this act, or who shall have marked or branded any barrel of beef or pork, not having first examined and inspected the same, shall for each and every offence, forfeit and pay the sum of twenty five dollars, to be recovered before any justice of the peace for said county, one half for the use of the county towards lessening the county levy, and the other half to the informer.

Sec. 6. Be it further enacted, That when any vacancy may happen by death, resignation or removal, the same shall be filled by the appointment of the county court of Butler.

Some points of interest for this story include:

1)    Salt was key and in the early days, Berry’s Lick was a major refinery for salt production near Davis Crossroads in southern Butler. (History of Kentucky-Collins 1877).
2)    To allow shipments upstream, it would be at least 19 years before dependable river navigation developed.
3)    New Orleans diners could have enjoyed a good steak on us.