June 01, 2026

Episode 191 The Rowan County War

26 minutes

In the 1880s, Rowan County, Kentucky, became known as “Bloody Rowan” after politics, old grudges and personal revenge led to one of the state’s deadliest feuds. This episode traces the Rowan County War from an Election Day shooting in Morehead to three years of ambushes, militia intervention and a final armed showdown that ended the violence, but not through justice.

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Episode Sources

Pearce, John Ed. Days of Darkness: The Feuds of Eastern Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky, 1994.

Blair, Juanita and Brown, Fred Jr. Days of Anger, Days of Tears: Rowan County, Kentucky, 1884–1887. 1984. Morehead State University Rowan County War Collection.

Morehead State University Rowan County War Collection. scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/rowan_county_war

Kentucky Historical Society. Rowan County War historical marker, Morehead, Kentucky.

The New York Times. “The Rowan County War: Two Factions Thirsting for Each Other’s Blood.” July 6, 1885.

The New York Times. Coverage of the reported Grace Martin and Frank Tolliver marriage. 1889.

Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin. “Bloody Election Day.” August 6, 1884.

Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin. “A Train Stopped and a Murderer Riddled with Bullets.” December 1884.

Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin. “Deadly Feud Ended in Marriage.” 1889.

Louisville Courier-Journal. “The Rowan County War.” April 4, 1885.

Louisville Courier-Journal. “Rowan County: A Three-Years’ History Written in the Blood of Seventeen Murdered People.” June 12, 1887.

Coats, Harold Wilson. “The Man Unafraid,” from Stories of Kentucky Feuds.

U.S. Forest Service historical account of the Daniel Boone National Forest, Chapter 23.

Episode Music

Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

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By Shannon Ballard

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