Bald Knob Community
Northeast Franklin County, Kentucky
Sources:
- The History of Franklin County, Kentucky by L. F. Johnson
- Frankfort Celebration 1786–1986 by Frankfort's 200th Birthday Committee
- Capital on the Kentucky by Kramer
- Church and Family Graveyards of Franklin County by Kentucky Genealogical Society
Transcribed By: Anne H. Lee
Overview of Bald Knob
The small communities of Flag Fork, Flat Creek, Harp, Harvieland, Honeysuckle, Lebanon, Mt. Zion, O'Nans Bend, Polsgrove Landing, St. John, Stoney Creek, and Union Store comprise the section of the county known today as Bald Knob.
Bordered by Henry and Scott counties on the west and the Kentucky River on the east, this rural area holds characteristics reminiscent of eastern Kentucky. The land consists mainly of hilly terrain best suited for grazing, though years of erosion formed fertile bottom lands ideal for growing corn and tobacco.
Early inhabitants migrated from Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, and Pennsylvania. Independent and self-reliant, of German, Irish, and English ancestry, their faith, hard work, and family values sustained them through demanding daily routines centered around communal work tasks like barn raising, hog killing, hay cutting, and tobacco housing.
Settlements & Local Landmarks
Flag Fork & Bailey's Mill
Located on U.S. 421 just north of Frankfort around a leveling bend once stood the community of Flag Fork. Today, only a road marker and the frame building that served as the general store and post office remain.
Just up the road stood Bailey's Mill, named for Americus A. Bailey, Jr., who operated the mill and general store. Lawyer and postmaster James A. Violette handled hardware, groceries, and dry goods there. At the intersection of Harp Pike and U.S. 421 sits the historic Bailey Graveyard.
Flat Creek & Polsgrove Landing
Around 1800, early settlers including James Brewer, Thomas Brewer, William Harrod, and William Lewis came downriver from Harrodsburg to claim land along the Kentucky River banks. Jacob Palzgraff and his wife Nancy settled Polsgrove Landing, which grew into a bustling river port featuring a post office, churches, stores, lodge halls, and a cemetery. Charles B. LeCompte operated a dry goods store, while M. I. Baker and building contractor James Sanford operated a river tobacco warehouse at Flat Creek.
Stoney Creek
Stoney Creek, once known to Native Americans, is the largest creek in the area, dropping 160 feet from its headwaters to the Kentucky River. Landmarks include the historic Penn-Marshall House in the bottom land near the river, the Penn Graveyard on the left branch of the creek, and the Lewis Graveyard at the end of Stoney Creek Road.
Honeysuckle
Honeysuckle spanned the area from Harvieland to Dry Ridge and Flat Creek. In 1893, a post office was established at a country store near the home of Dr. Robert B. Guinn, a Carrollton native who practiced medicine in Franklin County from 1920 to 1934.
John Gladden Moore (born November 24, 1835; died September 19, 1909), a prominent tobacco farmer and hunter, married Nancy Jane Goins Chism (daughter of Lewis and Lucretia Rice Goins). They are buried in the Gowens Burying Ground located on St. John Road.
