Hamlet in Madison County, Kentucky
Unincorporated community in Kentucky, United States
Bobtown, also known as Joe Lick, is a rural hamlet near Berea, Madison County, Kentucky, United States.[1] Founded in 1769, since the mid-19th century it has historically been a predominantly African-American community.[2][3] It is located 12 miles south of Richmond, Kentucky, and roughly 5 miles northeast of the city center of Berea, Kentucky; and is near Farristown, and Middletown, two other African American communities.[2][1][4][5]
History
It was founded in 1769 as Joe Lick, or Joe's Lick Knob, and is said to be named after an early settler who had carved his name on a stone fence.[4] One of the first houses was built for Capt. Phillipps in the early 1800s, on the Berea and Kingston Road.[4]
Starting in 1865 after the American Civil War, African Americans were allowed to purchase land and settled in this area.[1] In 1872, the settlement was renamed Bobtown in honor of "Uncle Bob" Fitch, a long-time African-American resident.[1] The community was tied together as a community by the formation of the New Liberty Baptist Church (1866), and with schools, and stores.[2][1]
Rev. Matthew Campbell (1823–1896) founded the New Liberty Baptist Church in 1866; and Rev. Thomas H. Broaddus was the pastor for many years in Bobtown and for the surrounding towns.[1][3] In the early history of the community they had separate White and Black elementary schools.[1] In the 1930s with a merger of schools, the Black students were bussed to the Middletown Consolidated School and Richmond High School; and White students attended schools in Kingston.[1] The railroad industry and farming industry were the largest employers in the early history.[1] Pigs, cattle, and tobacco were farmed locally.[1]
