William Kuykendall
Written by Justin D. Lamb
Born in the Palma region of Marshall County on November 12, 1883, William “Bill” Kuykendall was the youngest child of A.J. “Joe” Kuykendall and Amanda Blewett. The Kuykendall name was of Dutch origin and the family first arrived in Marshall County when Bill Kuykendall’s father and grandfather settled near Palma shortly after the Civil War.
As a child, Bill Kuykendall was raised on his family’s modest farm and he attended school at Palma. After completing the necessary courses in the common schools, Kuykendall enrolled at Bowling Green Business University in 1903 and graduated in 1906. Kuykendall returned home to Palma and opened his own mercantile business and operated for the next ten years. On June 26, 1912, Kuykendall married Minnie Williams, who was one of Marshall County’s leading school teachers.
In 1916, Kuykendall joined Ferguson’s Hardware Store (later Crawford-Ferguson Store) on the courtsquare in Benton as a bookkeeper and general manager, a job he held until December 1931 when he resigned to accept the position as supervisor at Western State Hospital in Hopkinsville.
Kuykendall was active in Democratic politics and resigned his position with Western State Hospital in 1933 in order to make a race for County Clerk of Marshall County. Kuykendall placed second in a five man Democratic Primary which witnessed the election of Elwood Gordon. Kuykendall made two more unsuccessful races for County Clerk in 1937 and 1941. Kuykendall served as Treasurer for the Marshall County Fiscal Court from the 1930s until the 1950s. He was very involved the progress of education in the county and served many years on the Board of Education.
Kuykendall was a very active member of the Benton community throughout his career. He was secretary of the Benton Young Men’s Progress Club (later the Marshall County Rotary Club) and belonged to the Calvert City Masonic Lodge. He was a member of the Oakland Cumberland Presbyterian Church until he moved to Benton and joined the First Missionary Baptist Church.
Kuykendall became a majority partner in the Crawford-Ferguson Store in 1933 and worked there until his sudden death on December 17, 1956. Kuykendall was buried in the Benton Cemetery.