Crockett, Morgan Co., KY
CROCKETT
Crockett is a small community at the head of Fannin Fork of Elkfork. Fannin
Fork got its name from the Fannin settlers who came from Ireland.
Due to the large number of Wheeler Families living here, the community of Crockett
for a long time was called Wheeler Town. Later, when the Crockett post office was
established, the community began to be called Crockett.
The first post office of the area was on Split Wood near the head of the Opened
Fork of Paint. It was established by Andrew Fyffe and was called Fyffe, KY.
Lee Skaggs was postmaster for a short time. When the post office was discontinued,
the Crockett Post Office was established about 1890. It was kept in Pete Fannin's
house under the stairs. It was named Crockett, after David Crockett Fannin, son
of Pete Fannin. Following Pete Fannin, Jim Hutchinson, J.P. Conley and Lee
Skaggs served as postmasters.
The first schoolhouse of Crockett was where the ball diamond was most commonly located,
in a bottom above the Community Church. This was taught by Henry Barker. The
school later moved to where the Community Church is now amd was taught by John D.
Fannin for many years. In 1911, a three-room building was built on the top of the hill
between Elkfork and Paint. The money for the building was collected largely by
Frank Wheeler, who went from house to house making collections. In 1931, an another
collection was made and two more rooms were added. The school then became a junior
high school. From 1936-1939, a stone building was constructed. About 1934,
Crockett became a four-year high school. During WW I it was returned to a junior
high school base and with the completion of the hard-surface road, the high school
was discontinued. There is a consolidated grade school there at the present time.
There are three churches in the Crockett area: Community Church, Menonite Church and
the Enterprisee Baptist Church just across the hill.
The greatest disaster that ever befell Crockett was the flash flood on Monday morning,
May 30, 1927. Seven people were drowned while trying to flee from the home of Lan
Lyons. They thought the house was going to be carried away by the flood. If they had
remained in the house, they would not have drowned.
(Information from Early Morgan County by Arthur C. Johnson, published in 1974)
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