xt7qnk36372t https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7qnk36372t/data/mets.xml Owensboro, Kentucky United States. Work Projects Administration. Kentucky 1940 5 p. l., 4-81 (i.e. 92) p. incl. maps (part fold.) tables, diagrs. 28 cm. "Official project no. 665-43-3-424-1" -t.p. UK holds archival copy for ASERL Collaborative Federal Depository Program libraries. Call number HD7303.K4 U5510 1940. books  English  This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed in accordance with U. S. copyright laws. Kentucky Works Progress Administration Publications Real Property Survey of Owensboro, Ky.: A Study of Housing, Land Utilization, Population, Growth, 1939-1940 text Real Property Survey of Owensboro, Ky.: A Study of Housing, Land Utilization, Population, Growth, 1939-1940 1940 1940 2015 true xt7qnk36372t section xt7qnk36372t V   °‘‘`'`‘' `   ‘``‘‘                     I I I
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REAL PROPERTY SURVEY   1
OF Y _
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TABLE N0. 1 ........................................... 57 1
TABLE N0. 2 ............................¤.............. 58
TABLE N0. 3 ........................................... 59 ·
TABLE N0. 4 — PAGE 1 .................................. 60 j
TABLE N0. 4 - PAGE 2 .................................. 61 h
TABLE N0. 5 A ......................................... 62 g
TABLE N0. 6 ........................................... 63 E
TABLE N0. 7 A ....................°.................... 64 x
TABLE N0. 8 A .....................,................... 65 g
TABLE N0. 9 A ......................................... 66 1
TABLE N0. 10 A ........................................ 67 A
TABLE N0. 11 .......................................... 68 4
_ TABLE N0. 12 ....................... . .................. 69 Y
TABLE N0. 13 .......................................... 70 .
TLBLE N0. 14 ......................................... . 71 1
TRBLE N0. 15 .......................................... 72 g
TABLE NO. 16 A ....................................... . 73 U
SUMMARY TABLES N0. 1, 2 & 3 .......................... . 74 }
SUMMARY TABLES N0. 4 & 5 .............................. 75 ·
SUMMARY TRBLES N0. 6, 7 & 8 ........................... 76 Q
SUMMARY TABLE N0. 9 ................................... 77 _P
SUMMARY TABLES N0. 10 & 11 ............................ 78 Q
SUMMARY TABLE N0. 12 .................................. 79 j
SUMMARY TLBLES N0. 13, 14 & 15 ........................ 80 ·i _
SUMMARY TABLE N0. 16 .... . ............................. 81 5
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1
HISTORY OF OWENSBORO _
T 
Owensboro is located on the south bank of the y °
T Ohio River, midway between the falls of the Ohio and the ¥
mouth of the river, at what was known to the early flat- 3
boat men as "Big Yellow Banks“ usually shortened to Y
"Yellow Banks.“ This name was derived from the deep &
yellow color of the river bank which extended for about l?
six miles along the river at a height of ten to twenty L
feet above the highest floods. 3
The first settler was Bill Smothers, whose ~Q
log cabin, at the future site of Owensboro, was erected ¥; ‘
in 1799 or l800. He was without family and resided {ri
there with his unmarried sister. He supported himself ru U
and his sister by hunting wild game, which was plentiful %
in the unbroken forest, and supplying the passing boatmen J
with supplies. pl
By l8lO , however, a David Morton had built  
r
a modern store stocked with goods of foreign manufacture, 5
{
brought in over the mountains, which he disposed of ;i·
at shockingly high prices. This store provided a QF
stopping point for emigrants from Virginia, Maryland and %
the Carolinas, and hardly a single westward—bound caravan Ul
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   ’  .~ · '·»· ·  “'*¥*"* ·‘·· **’¥"·`=·¢·  , . .-.l..-. ;;‘::.:.;:..s··7;;:;::;::T—::;·;—;¤;;,.,;l3:ar.:.;»aam, l___,,____     owl We -..,
stopped at the thriving community but what one or two 1
families remained as permanent residents. Meanwhile 1
the demands of trade brought other emigrants and by -
l8l5 the population had grown to more than one hun— {
dred persons. a .
In l8l7 this community was incorporated by Q
w
the Kentucky Legislature under the name of Owensborough 3
in the honor of Colonel Abraham Owen, statesman, _ Y
soldier and one of the members of the Constitutional E
Convention. Colonel Owen, as aide to General William g
Henry Harrison, fell in action at the Battle of Tippe— /
lil
canoe. W
Before the charter was grunted, a town was jj
laid off on the present site of Owensboro and named { .
Rossboro.. This was in recognition of the position of l~
l ` .
David Ross, innkeeper and largest landowner in the ff
community. It is of interest also to note here that y I
to Frederica, his daughter, went the honor of giving 8
the main ~ and only — street her name. Thus it is that L
one of Owensboro's main streets still bears her name. bb
The growth of the new town was slow but by QH
r
l83O its population was 229. In l85O it had increased %w
to l2l5 people , From this date on the town took on new   `
life and almost doubled its population during the ten y
A
years following, the l86O census showing nearly 230t UQ
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 K I .~ '   --=·. kifi-` M ____.___ ,___,___.._ `"""*"**—·‘·—· ;7;.·: ·;e;;;-_,1,;;-M.-;t;a·aa:a .i....i..... -. · --~· H rrr· ww-. Y-`
inhabitants. The growth and prosperity of the town L
was greatly affected by the Civil War, many of its i
citizens removing to more secure localities, and ·
others entering the armies of the North and South. {
1
The first Court House was a log one. The second, of f .
brick, was constructed in l858. lt was burned during Q
the Civil War by a guerilla named Davidson, in l865. 3
The town was chartered as a city in lS66 and four years Q
later its population was given as 3,437. ln l850 it A
contained 6,231 inhabitants and by l890 had grown é
to a city of nearly l0,000 people. Q
Following the turn of the century the tempo 4%
of the city quickened. New industries were ,*t attracted _&
to the locality and older ones began to expand. The { .
principal industry at this stage was the distilling of }p~
l` .
whiskey. Tobacco also came in for its share of attention gk
and, for a time, cellulose was manufactured in large F
quantities. By l9l0 the city had grown to l6,0ll. This H
growth has continued and at the present time has almost l
doubled the l9l0 figures , the l9¢l0 census showing    
than 30,000 people. QU
w
With the advent of prohibition most of the Q.
distilleries were abandoned, only one remaining in {E`
existence. This one operated at intervals manufacturing é;
medicinal whiskey and alcohol. ln the early l920's m
- 6 - Q
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 _   · ~»»· mw- ·»· ’ »   ____,__ ...... _ . iZ;"I." ZJ`—iZ3f-T`i_?1‘*¥-*'¥*"—-—·?¥»'¤#i wv-"*=¤* " "" "" "   " 0 V ' W"
the Kentucky Lamp Company, manufacturers of incandes-
cent light globes was founded. With the tremendous {
growth of the radio industry, the lamp company began `
the manufacture of radio tubes and today it is the F
i
largest single industry in the town, employing at T `
peak approximately 3500 persons. With the demise of V i
the Eighteenth Amendment 0wensboro's long—dormant 3 A
distilling industry was reborn. Today there are T
three distilleries with a total capacity of ll00 & °
barrels of whiskey a day. if
The first or original town was laid off in ; ,
l8l7 when the first charter was received. These boun— v
daries were as follows: The 0hio River was the northern ~Q
boundary and this extended from Lewis Street on the east _% ‘
to Frederica on the west, then it ran south—west along hl
a deep ravine to Walnut Street, then south on Walnut »W _
to Fourth Street and from this point back cast to p
Lewis Street. J
Owensboro in 1872 had a population of approx— j
imately 8,000, and was one of three princiapl cities 3
M
on the Ohio River between Louisville and Cairo. The Q
L
city at this time had the following businesses: i0·
3l Lawyers  
lb Physicians *
9 Ministers of the Gospel V
3 Dentists Q
6 Drug Stores {
- 7 - Q
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 6 Express Wagons
15 Drays
25 Grocery Stores 1
16 Dry Goods Stores
1O Merchant Tailors ·
2 Boot and Shoe Stores
1 Queen‘s Ware Store 1
l Carpet Store 3
2 Tinware and Stove Establishments W L
3 Hardware Stores '
3 Bakeries {
ll Confectioneries 1
2 Book and Stationary Stores 2
5 Barber Shops J
6 Meat and Vegetable Shops $
6 Millinery Stores ;
2 Furniture Stores i
2 Gunsmiths E
2 Photograhpers 0
3 Jewelry Establishments }
35 Liquor Saloons
6 Beer Saloons Q
1O Livery Stables fl
3 Cigar Makers 'i
3 Undertakers _Q
9 Shoemakers >
7 Clothing Stores i` .
4 Saddlers .
8 Blacksmiths and Wagonmakers L—
l Hide and Fur House }.·
l Dye House fi
1 Real Estate Agent M -
15 Tobacco Stemmeries M
2 Planing Mills Q
1 Woolen Mill J
1 Foundry
l Broom Factory _
2 Breweries ”
3 Corn and wheat Mills i
6 Hotels jh
_ 7 Distilleries {
l Furniture Factory V
4 Brick Kilns f _
2 Large Wharf Boats , _
l Gas Works FQ
2 Public Schools  
3 Private Schools V
1 Opera House VL
wx;
- 5 -  
A,
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 It was during this year that the first Fire
Department was organized. For several years this need 1
had been discussed but up until this time nothing had `
been done. An excellent steam fire-engine was purchased F
and was manned by a crew of four. The first telephones f °
were installed in l880, local citizens organizing a .¥
company known as the Owensboro Telephone Exchange. 3
The first Mayor, a Mr. E. S. Ayers, was elected ?
in l866. He died in less than a week after taking office &
and his unexpired term was filled by S. D. Kennady, a ly
member of the City Council. f
Prior to the automobile age Owensboro was ·?
well known for its three large buggy plants, two large ~Q
wagon factories and a factory manufacturing buggy and F ‘
wagon wheels. One of the buggy plants survived until {rl
there were only three of these plants in the whole L`
country. One of the wagon plants is still in operation. %
Lumber has also played its small part in the industrial A
life of the city, as the largest hardwood band mill ,
in western Kentucky has been manufacturing lumber here gr
for forty years. H
Old residents of Owensboro are agreed that while %`·
no single industry or development can claim all the L a @F
credit for the rapid growth of the city following the I E
World War, perhaps the two largest contributing factors U%
- 9 - Q
_ /

 have been the Ken—Rad Tube & Lamp Company and Oil lndustry.i R
While it was generally known that there was oil in this 1
territory it was not until the middle 20’s that it was ‘
found in paying quantities. Development of the oil fields E
south and west of Owensboro together with the rapid ex— i »
pansion of the Ken—Rad have been important factors in gi
the building up of the city. 3 O
The construction of new homes has been going y
on at a rapid rate since l934 and in l939 over l2OO g
homes were built. This is readily explained by the 1940 ?
census which shows an increase in population of over Q
8,ooo since l930. .5
pj
Owensboro is ideally situated for the location _Q
of manufacturing industries. It is close to the western g ·
Kentucky coal fields, has exceptionally good water, Lit
natural gas and reasonable power rates. There is plenty gk
of good labor and transportation facilities. In select- Q I
ing a place to settle Bill Smothers used exceptionally %
good judgment, for Owensboro was one of the few cities L
along the Ohio River that was located high enough to w
be safe from the flood waters of l937. ®
5%
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CHART NUMBER 1 ,
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40,000 J. I i .
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gj 7,000 —— qi
*42 V _ , Z
,__;; ` 6,/0].  
Q 0,000  
2 I  
0,000 }· A
4,000 . ,   M
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2,5qE./{/l . I iw, l
2,000 — -1.1   — I if
1 000 — ‘ ' ‘ li?5 ——l— » H
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/ ·-’ 222 . ! r __ 4 j_ ,
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1
PART l -`
REAL PROPERTY SURVEY {
INTRODUCTION {
X
PURPOSE * SCOPE * PROCEDURE if
Puaross  
The Real Property Survey of Owensboro was conduct- N
ed in an effort to make the city a healthier and happier H
place in which to live. This, it is hoped by the Spon- Q
ser, the City of Owensboro, will be achieved in the im- {
mediate future as a result of the survey which: g
(I) Gives an authentic picture of the housing needs ’
of the city, particularly among the low-income groups now N
living in substandard conditions. Q
(2) Furnished employment to citizens of the profes- ·,
sional and clerical classifications on the rolls of the U
Work Projects Administration. ·J
S O OPE  
1
The survey was planned to cover all of the dwell- /
ing structures and dwelling units in the city and its J
out-lying districts, and was conducted in accordance with IA
the suggested technique of the Work Projects Administra— P
tion and Federal Housing Authority. M
For example, there are approximately Tlll dwelling N
structures and 8729 dwelling units in Owensboro. Each of t
these is broken down to reveal the number of persons per I
dwelling unit, number of bathrooms, the race and number p
of persons per room, whether the structure is owner or M
tenant occupied and other data of interest to particular U
groups. j
Naturally, the picture as a whole furnished inval- g
uable information to those officials engaged in the fut- N
ure zoning and planning of the city; those weighting the la
need for housing projects to alleviate the needs of the low lu
income groups, and to many persons seeking data on quest- M
ions of population shifts, overcrowding, sanitation with- VJE
in the home, child welfare agencies and the like. Y
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To attempt to include all potential benefits which `
may be developed from a survey of this type is futile. 1
If only some of the major problems of the city can be
solved the sponsors will feel that it was not made in
vain. .‘
DEFINITION OF A REAL PROPERTY SURVEY J
2
X
.A real property survey is an inventory of all resi- A
dential structures and dwelling units within a city, to- Q
gether with an account of the use to which all the land J
j. S put .   y
With respect to structures, statistics dealing with Q
the various types of houses, the material used in con- L
struction, the percent which are mortgaged, the age of T
the building and their condition, as it relates to occu- i
pancy, are presented. ’
Concerning dwelling units, data revealing whether Q
or not the unit is vacant, if occupied whether by a ten- ?*
ant or the owner, the monthly rent, number of persons per j
room per unit, number of bathrooms and toilets per occu- .J
pant, the heating, lighting, cooking and refrigeration t
facilities is obtained. S
RESULTS OF A REAL PROPERTY SURVEY I
_ lf
It is the hope of the sponsor that a study of the T
facts brought to light by this survey will result in an }?
alleviation of poor housing conditions within the city; "
that future housing movements in Owensboro will recognize ‘
the need to eliminate many conditions which now exist. q
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The various phases of the survey present such a wide &
field for improvement in the city that to go into the de- IE
tails of them all in this limited report would be impract- {
ical. One thing, however, stands out when the information {
herewith presented is studied: ,
m
In a city which has always prided itself upon its pro- {H
gress, many of our citizens are living in homes which, by U
present day American standards, are inadequate. Expansion y{
of the town through the years has left several areas of JQ
slums wherein conditions prevail which can be believed only T
after they are seen. v
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That there is a vital need for the elimination of
these "boils" within the city seems to the sponsor self 1
evident. And if this survey provides the spark needed
to take this forward step, then it will not have been
made in vain. .`
The number of dwelling units in Owensboro which do }
not have flush toilets or private bathing facilities is J
a definite menace to health — not only to the occupants ,
of the units but to the general public. This is but one ,
of the conditions brought out by the survey. A
USES OF A REAL PROPERTY SURVEY i
L
A partial list of the agencies, to which a detailed &
study of the information gathered during the survey may Q
prove of value, follows. At the same time this list may E
serve to inform the layman of a few of the wide uses to f
which the material may be put. U
l. PUBLIC AGENCIES 7%
A. Local Housing Bodies. .H
B. City and County Engineers and Planning Boards. i
C. City Health Departments.
D. Real Estate and Re—zoning Agencies. JJ
E. Departments of Education. ,
F. Police Departments. z
G. Fire Departments. if
H. Welfare Agencies. D
I. Federal Agencies. {
(a) Federal Housing Administration. Q
(b) United States Housing Authority. ·/
Cc) Home Owners Loan Corporation. ‘
(d) Department of Commerce. q
(e) Department of Labor. *%
.  
2. SEMI-PUBLIC AGENCIES M
A. Real Estate Boards. K
B. Chamber of Commerce. .‘
C. Public Utilities. H
D. Professional Societies. M
E. Colleges and Universities. kg
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3. PRIVATE AGENCIES. 1
A. Real Estate Operators.
B. Financial Agencies _·
C. Newspapers. _
D. Radio Stations. q
E. Marketing Agencies. {
F. Insurance Companies. n
G. Architects and Construction Companies. X
1
This information, if properly used, will be of I
untold value and assistance in making the city of 5
Owensboro a better city in which to live. 4
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1
The first step in beginning a survey of such mag-
nitude and which, by its nature, depended on absolute ac- -
curacy, was to make an identification map. This was done `V
by taking an ordinary standard map of Owensboro and then g
numbering every block. The city was then divided into “
thirteen districts, each of which contained approximately J
forty-five blocks. ?
Q
Workers were then requisitioned from the rolls of F
the Work Projects Administration and a field staff and of- =
fice force were organized. While workers were being J
schooled in the proper use of forms provided and the ex- W
act meaning of all terms to be used during the enumeration, N
maps for each block were drawn. {
M
These maps were assigned numbers corresponding with t
those on the identification map mentioned above. Whenever }
available, these maps were taken from the Sanborn Insurance y
maps and in cases where not available, the block was traced L
from a master map and the structures filled in as the enum- Q
eration progressed. All structures falling into this V(
group were measured by a field survey crew but where a San- {B
born map was used originally the measurements thereon were “,
a c c ep t e d . \}t
This made it possible to show every structure, includ- [I
ing business, industrial, public and residential, on the ,
block. »_
· M
The field force was divided into squads of seven men {
each with a squad leader to act as foreman for each squad. W
lt was the squad leader's responsibility to see that the _h
enumeration made by his men was accurate and included every Q
dwelling unit. A system of spot checking was employed to ,
insure the accuracy and conscientiousness of each squad. ,%
During the enumeration of a block count was started %@
at the northwest corner of the area and the workers .‘·. pro- Q
ceeded clockwise until they reached their respective start- w
ing points. A night crew, detailed specifically to contact J
families who were not at home during the day, also was· set 3
up. This assured the tabulators that no structures were {
omitted until every effort to establish a contact had been I
exhausted. The number of dwelling units on which no report xt
could be obtained was of such a fractional percentage as to M
be negligible and in no way affects the statistical value JZ
of the survey. §
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Before any field work was attempted all enumerators 1
were instructed and thoroughly schooled in the proper
technique. Accuracy and the need of a rapid enumeration
were stressed. Terms such as residential structure and _·
dwelling unit were explained and the difference in types
were pointed out to eliminate all chance of confusion. {
Cards to be used by the field crew were distributed T
and the importance of all data stressed. These cards Q
dealt with the type of structure, exterior material, year g
built, number of stories, condition, whether owner or ten- ?
ant occupied, monthly rent, sanitary conditions, heating, K
number of persons and race of occupants. Each enumerator J
checked the structures with his block map and t