OLD MARSHALL COUNTY COMMUNITIES
PART II
WRITTEN BY JUSTIN LAMB
With the passing of time, several communities and towns have disappeared from Marshall County’s map. We continue our look back at some of those once bustling settlements that are now only footnotes in Marshall County’s past:
HEIGHTS:
The community of Heights was located east of Fairdealing along HWY 68 near Jonathan Creek. The origin of its name is unknown, but its earliest inhabitants were the Rudolph family. The community had a school, a general store, and a telephone exchange. Vernon Rudolph, founder of Krispy Kreme Donuts, was a native of the community. Heights disappeared following the construction of Kentucky Dam.
Heights School, 1922-23
IOLA:
Iola was located west of Benton near Elva on the New Harmony Road. Little is known about the community except that it was a flag station on the Paducah, Tennessee, and Alabama railroad. Iola was a major shipping station in the early 20th century and Cyrus Reeves operated a successful store for many years. By World War II, Iola was no longer on the Marshall County map.
JONESTOWN:
Jonestown was located near Jonathan Creek and settled by William “Button” Jones as early as 1850. Jones owned several hundred acres and at one time the community had a post office, three grocery stores, grist mill, blacksmith shop, and a school called Tennessee Ridge. Located just north of Jonestown near Denny Mill Ford was Hooker’s Bend which was a settlement mostly of the Sirls, Shepherd, and Gordon families. The road at Hooker’s Bend went to the mouth of Jonathan Creek where Collie School was located and ended where Maple Springs Church is now. According the History of Marshall County, Kentucky published in 1984, a bridge was built across the creek at Denny’s Ford in 1922 and the creek no longer had to be forded. Three miles below Egners Ferry was a steamboat landing called Sassafras Landing where boats would leave freight and store owners would gather supplies.
LITTLE CYPRESS:
Founded in 1832, Little Cypress was one of Marshall County’s oldest communities. The creek surrounded by cypress trees still flows today. The community was founded by Daniel and Nancy Settle Fooks who came from Virginia with their son James Librian Fooks where they settled between the Big and Little Cypress Creeks. A post office and a school was established in 1870 soon after the completion of the railroad. Dr. Goodloe practiced medicine in Little Cypress for many years and he assisted in the first appendectomy every performed by western Kentucky doctors. Located near Little Cypress was the Coca Cola Plant which operated for many years.
Picnic at Little Cypress, early 1900s
SPOUT SPRING:
Spout Spring is where Marshall County was founded when nine justices of the peace met on the first Monday of June 1842. The community was located on present day Foust Sledd Road across from the Hartsfield Cemetery. The area became a popular recreational area due to the spring and people would gather for picnics around the large Walnut and Chestnut trees.
WILEY:
Wiley was a small community located Elva near the Graves County line. The community had a post office and a general store. When the railroad was built and a flag stop was stationed at Fristoe, the post office was moved there and Wiley soon disappeared.