Owensboro, Kentucky

Owensboro is a city located in Daviess County, Kentucky on U.S. Highway 60 about 30 miles southeast of Evansville, Indiana. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 54,067. It is the county seat of Daviess County6.

History

Owensboro was first settled in the 1790s and was known at that time as Yellow Banks.

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• 1806: The United States Post Office establishes the "Yellow Banks" post office.
• 1817: Yellow Banks is incorporated as the city of Owensborough, named after Colonel Abraham Owen (who is also the namesake of Owen County, Kentucky).
• 1893: The Owensborough post office becomes the Owensboro post office.
• 1910: The former Carriage Woodstock Company in Owensboro begins manufacturing the Ames automobile.
• 1934 Streetcars make their final trips through Owensboro.
• 1936: Downtown Owensboro was the site of the last public hanging in the United States. On August 14, 22-year-old Rainey Bethea was executed for the rape of 70-year-old Elischa Edwards, who was also murdered. He had confessed to her strangling but the Commonwealth indicted him only on the rape charge since that was the only capital crime for which the penalty was hanging.
• 1937: The western Kentucky Roman Catholic diocese of Owensboro is created by Pope Pius XI.
• 1961: The Compactron, a family of vacuum tubes designed by engineers from the General Electric plant in Owensboro, is introduced.
• 1994: Owensboro establishes a sister city relationship with Olomouc, Czech Republic.
• 2002: The William H. Natcher Bridge opens, allowing easier access to and from Southern Indiana.