Beech Tree News Network

The Kentucky Historical Marker #2487 and the 13th for Butler County was unveiled in the Little Muddy Community on Sunday afternoon, May 1.

Wayne Hatcher, former president of Little Muddy Rural Development Club and elder of Little Muddy Cumberland Presbyterian Church, welcomed everyone to the dedication service.  He introduced state Senator C.B. Embry Jr, Butler County Clerk Sherry Johnson, and Judge-Executive David Fields.
Stuart Sanders, Director of Outreach for the Kentucky Historical Society, was also in attendance.  Sanders thanked everyone for their hard work and for providing the information for the marker.

Greg Drake Jr. and wife Shannon read the names of the founding families of the Little Muddy Rural Development Club, which was formed in 1957.  The list included: Edwin Austin, Erie Basham, Chester Belcher, Ithra Belcher, Guy Brooks, Paul Brooks, Edgar Clark, Marlin Clark, Acie Charlton, Horace Chapman, Paul Cohron, Judson Cohorn, Frank Crabtree, Fred Crabtree, Linnie Sweatman, John Cole, Darrel Duncan, N. B. Dunn, James Drake, Ginnie Gill, Avis Givens, J.H. Guffey, R.G. Guffey, Dudley Hatcher, Ernest Hatcher, Turner Hogan, J. O. Hines, Ruth Hope, Raburn Hood, E. E. Hood, Russell Keen, Volley Kowen, John C. King, Jimmie D. Clark, C. J. Coffman, McCellan Deweese, Jewell Snell, Herb Hayes, Warner Railey, W. O. Parr, Edward H. King, E. C. Lamastus, Clarance Lee, Pearl Miller, S. R. Miller, M. H. McKinney, A. R. Mcntgues, Earl McKinney, Wilbur McCoy, Glyndon Page, John Sweat, T. S. Simpson, M. D. Stahl, Willie Smith, Roy Tines, Rosie Lee Tuck, Nat West, Fealon White, Emmit Woosley, Porter Wyatt, Herbert Jones, and J. C. Carson.

The cost of the marker was $2,500, which was made possible by donations made in memory or honor of family members.  Heather Drake Green read the names of those honored: Victor and Ann Hatcher Martinez, William Dudley and Ruby Dee Moore Hatcher, Maurice and Donnie Dye, Russell and Cora Lee Keen, Leon and Ann Chapman, Carlton and Cherry Lee Hatcher, Paul Taylor, Rayburn and Lucille Hood, H. Clay Keith, Jennie Vaughn Drake, Greg and Rita Drake, John Bell and Calvary Ragland Hatcher, George Washington and Nancy Belle Berry Hatcher, Charles and Myrtle Carnefix Hatcher, Wayne and Mary Hatcher, Harold N. Wiley, and Avis and Velma Givens.

Roger Givens, Butler County Marker Chairman, shared several historical facts about the Little Muddy Church and Community. 
A veteran of the Revolutionary War, Thomas Carson donated the land for the Little Muddy Cumberland Presbyterian Church, school, and cemetery along the Green River in Butler County, Kentucky, about eight miles south of Morgantown. Carson had received a land grant in the district as compensation for his service, and his son-in-law, Alexander Chapman, conducted camp meetings there as early as 1805.  He took the Little Muddy Creek Church into the Cumberland Presbyterian Church when that denomination was organized in 1810.
About 1835, the congregation replaced the first log structure with a red brick building. They used that meeting house as both a church and a school until 1860, when the current wood frame church was built nearby. The brick building continued to house the Little Muddy Academy until 1891 and used as a public school until 1956. When the building was returned by the local school district to the congregation, the church converted the building into a community center. The cemetery, opened in 1829, contains the remains of several ministers of the church.

Greg Drake Sr., president of Little Muddy Rural Development Club, and members Rita Drake, Danny and Judy Dye, and Wayne and Mary Hatcher unveiled the marker.

(Front side) Settled ca. 1800 by Rev. War veterans Thos. Carson, John Helm, & Matthew Kuykendall who received land grants for their service. These founders of Butler County served as first county surveyor, presiding justice of county court, and first sheriff. Community has been served by water grist mill built in 1811, a mercantile business est.1890s, & a post office from 1893-1919. Over.

(Reverse) Thomas Carson donated land for a cemetery & Little Muddy Cumberland Presbyterian Church, organized in 1811 from camp meetings starting as early as 1805. Slave church members may have helped construct the brick building which served as church and Little Muddy Academy. Built in 1830, it is one of oldest in the county. The frame church was built in 1860.

The dedication service concluded with the singing of “This Land is Your Land” by everyone in attendance. The marker is located on Little Muddy Church Road and U.S. 231.