The Rowan County War Collection consists of research materials related to the Tolliver - Martin Feud which occurred from 1884 to 1887 in and about Morehead, Kentucky.

The origin of the Rowan County War, also known as the Martin-Tolliver Feud, can be traced back to the controversial election of Thomas F. Hargis as circuit judge in 1874 and the Underwood-Holbrook Feud which occurred from 1877 to 1879. The conflict between the Martins and Tollivers began in August of 1884 during a tightly contested race for Rowan County sheriff. What ensued was a series of brutal murders, deadly gun battles and three years of lawlessness in the county. The feud ended in June 22, 1887 when the Tollivers were surrounded at a hotel and tavern in Morehead by a posse of over one hundred men led by Boone Logan. After the gunfight, most of the members of the Tolliver faction were killed and peace was eventually restored to the county.

Follow


Submissions from 1886

PDF

On Thursday , Hazal Green Herald (July 14, 1886)

PDF

All Was Quiet at Morehead , Big Sandy News (July 15, 1886)

PDF

A Newspaper Reporter , Semi-Weekly South Kentuckian (July 16, 1886)

PDF

Have Patience , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (July 17, 1886)

PDF

Charley Bronston , Semi-Weekly Interior Journal (July 20, 1886)

PDF

At Morehead , Louisville Courier-Journal (July 22, 1886)

PDF

Colonel C. J. Bronston , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (July 22, 1886)

PDF

Law Below Par , Louisville Courier-Journal (July 23, 1886)

PDF

Law For Rowan , Louisville Courier-Journal (July 24, 1886)

PDF

The Sixth Victim , Louisville Courier-Journal (July 25, 1886)

PDF

The Racket in Rowan , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (July 26, 1886)

PDF

Young Logan Buried , Louisville Courier-Journal (July 26, 1886)

PDF

At Morehead , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (July 27, 1886)

PDF

Rowan's Desperadoes , Louisville Courier-Journal (July 27, 1886)

PDF

The Special Term , Louisville Courier-Journal (July 28, 1886)

PDF

Latest from Rowan , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (July 30, 1886)

PDF

Wicked Rowan , Louisville Courier-Journal (July 30, 1886)

PDF

Morehead Has a Scare , Louisville Courier-Journal (July 31, 1886)

PDF

Rowan County Circuit Court Ordinary Docket (August 1886) , Rowan County (Ky.) Circuit Court (August 1, 1886)

PDF

Rowan County Circuit Court Ordinary Docket (Special Session, August 1886) , Rowan County (Ky.) Circuit Court (August 1, 1886)

PDF

The Court's Work at Morehead , Louisville Courier-Journal (August 5, 1886)

PDF

Craig Tolliver , Louisville Courier-Journal (August 6, 1886)

PDF

The Regular Term of the Rowan County Circuit Court , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (August 7, 1886)

PDF

Compromising With Toughs , Chicago Tribune (August 10, 1886)

PDF

The Rowan County Feuds Ended , New York Times (August 10, 1886)

PDF

Peace in Rowan , Louisville Courier-Journal (August 10, 1886)

PDF

Peace Patched Up in Rowan County Once More , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (August 11, 1886)

PDF

Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish: Peace About to Visit War-Worn Kentucky Once More , Monmouth Evening Gazette (August 11, 1886)

PDF

Another Truce , Semi-Weekly South Kentuckian (August 13, 1886)

PDF

Craig Tolliver has gone to Texas , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (August 13, 1886)

PDF

A Solution That Solves , Louisville Courier-Journal (August 18, 1886)

PDF

Jeff Bowling , Louisville Courier-Journal (August 24, 1886)

PDF

Jeff Bowling's Fate , Louisville Courier-Journal (August 24, 1886)

PDF

A Desperado at Large , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (August 27, 1886)

PDF

Shot By His Cousin , New York Times (August 29, 1886)

PDF

Murder at Morehead , Louisville Courier-Journal (August 29, 1886)

PDF

A Cousin's Fatal Shot , Louisville Courier-Journal (September 1, 1886)

PDF

John Day , Hazel Green Herald (September 8, 1886)

PDF

Thomas A. Day , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (September 11, 1886)

PDF

Horrid State of Affairs in Rowan , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (September 27, 1886)

PDF

Mt. Sterling Matters , Louisville Courier-Journal (September 29, 1886)

PDF

Thomas A. Day , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (November 8, 1886)

PDF

Maysville: A Refusal to Scale a Tax Indebtedness- An Alleged Murderer Released on Bail , Louisville Courier-Journal (November 11, 1886)

PDF

Broken Loose Again , Louisville Courier-Journal (November 20, 1886)

PDF

Morehead Quiet , Louisville Courier-Journal (November 25, 1886)

PDF

The Rowan County Bushwhackers , New York Times (November 26, 1886)

PDF

Rowan County: A Dark Picture of Life as It Is Lived in the Town of Morehead , Louisville Courier-Journal (November 30, 1886)

PDF

Politics in Bath County , Louisville Courier-Journal (December 14, 1886)

PDF

County Attorney Young Resigns , Louisville Courier-Journal (December 15, 1886)

PDF

Gained Seven Years , Louisville Courier-Journal (December 23, 1886)

Submissions from 1887

PDF

Craig Tolliver: And a Reign of Terror Make Simultaneous Appearance in Morehead , Louisville Courier-Journal (January 4, 1887)

PDF

Death At The Dance , Louisville Courier-Journal (January 5, 1887)

PDF

Mason Keaton , Louisville Courier-Journal (January 5, 1887)

PDF

Craig Tolliver in Good Health , Louisville Courier-Journal (January 13, 1887)

PDF

Craig Tollivar Killed at Last , Monmouth Evening Gazette (January 14, 1887)

PDF

Rowan County Circuit Court Ordinary Docket (February 1887) , Rowan County (Ky.) Circuit Court (February 1, 1887)

PDF

On Last Tuesday Morning , Hazel Green Herald (February 2, 1887)

PDF

Rowdy Rowan , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (February 15, 1887)

PDF

The Rowan Troubles , Louisville Courier-Journal (February 15, 1887)

PDF

Rowan Methods , Louisville Courier-Journal (February 17, 1887)

PDF

The Grand Jury of Rowan County , Semi-Weekly Interior Journal (February 18, 1887)

PDF

Hon. A.G. Caruth Resigns , Louisville Courier-Journal (March 1, 1887)

PDF

Another Rowan County Killing , Chicago Tribune (March 15, 1887)

PDF

Shot By A Friend , Louisville Courier-Journal (March 15, 1887)

PDF

At Morehead , Semi-Weekly South Kentuckian (March 18, 1887)

PDF

Way Things are Done in Rowan , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (April 29, 1887)

PDF

Trouble in Rowan , Louisville Courier-Journal (May 1, 1887)

PDF

Craig Tolliver has been Elected Police Judge , Semi-Weekly Interior Journal (May 24, 1887)

PDF

That Rowan Row , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (May 25, 1887)

PDF

A Rowan County Feud , Chicago Tribune (June 9, 1887)

PDF

Crime In Kentucky , Louisville Courier-Journal (June 9, 1887)

PDF

Rowan County Comes to the Front Again , Semi-Weekly Interior Journal (June 10, 1887)

PDF

Rowan County: A Three-Years' History Written In the Blood of Seventeen Murdered People. , Louisville Courier-Journal (June 12, 1887)

PDF

Rowan County: Craig Tolliver Said to Be the Only Hindrance to the Public Peace of Morehead and Vicinity , Louisville Courier-Journal (June 15, 1887)

PDF

Bloody Rowan: Two More Killings Added to Her Criminal Calendar , Hazel Green Herald (June 15, 1887)

PDF

Three More Lives , Big Sandy News (June 16, 1887)

PDF

More Trouble for Rowan , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (June 16, 1887)

PDF

More Bloodshed in Rowan , Semi-Weekly Interior Journal (June 17, 1887)

PDF

Irresponsibilies , Chicago Tribune (June 19, 1887)

PDF

Tolliver Wants Seven More Scalps , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (June 20, 1887)

PDF

Craig Tolliver's Mandate , Monmouth Evening Gazette (June 21, 1887)

PDF

Col. Craig Tolliver , Louisville Courier-Journal (June 21, 1887)

PDF

A Reign of Terror: Wild Excitement in Rowan County, Kentucky - Tolliver Threatened , Monmouth Evening Gazette (June 22, 1887)

PDF

Tolliver's Turn , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (June 23, 1887)

PDF

Desperadoes Shot Dead , Chicago Tribune (June 23, 1887)

PDF

The Kentucky Vendetta , New York Times (June 23, 1887)

PDF

Dark and Bloody Ground: Desperate Factional Fight at Morehead, Ky. - Craig Tolliver Killed , Monmouth Evening Gazette (June 23, 1887)

PDF

Retribution , Louisville Courier-Journal (June 23, 1887)

PDF

Bloody Ground: The Tolliver-Martin Feud in Rowan County, Ky. , Boston Globe (June 23, 1887)

PDF

Tolliver's Turn , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (June 24, 1887)

PDF

Tolliver Killed , Semi-Weekly South Kentuckian (June 24, 1887)

PDF

Now Let There Be Peace: Craig Tolliver, The Noted Kentucky Desperado, Slain , Monmouth Evening Gazette (June 24, 1887)

PDF

Peace: Spreads Her Wings Over the Hills and Valleys of Bloody Rowan , Louisville Courier-Journal (June 24, 1887)

PDF

The War in Rowan , Hickman Courier (June 24, 1887)

PDF

Craig Toliver , Hickman Courier (June 24, 1887)

PDF

Driven Desperate , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (June 25, 1887)

PDF

Out On Bail , Louisville Courier-Journal (June 25, 1887)

PDF

That Arrant Scoundrel and Red-handed Murderer , Frankfort Roundabout (June 25, 1887)

PDF

Dave Martin and Allie Young Return from Kansas , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (June 25, 1887)

PDF

Morehead: Description of the Town and the Leading Actors in Wednesday's Tragedy , Louisville Courier-Journal (June 26, 1887)