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.
Submissions from 1886
On Thursday , Hazal Green Herald (July 14, 1886)
All Was Quiet at Morehead , Big Sandy News (July 15, 1886)
A Newspaper Reporter , Semi-Weekly South Kentuckian (July 16, 1886)
Have Patience , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (July 17, 1886)
Charley Bronston , Semi-Weekly Interior Journal (July 20, 1886)
At Morehead , Louisville Courier-Journal (July 22, 1886)
Colonel C. J. Bronston , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (July 22, 1886)
Law Below Par , Louisville Courier-Journal (July 23, 1886)
Law For Rowan , Louisville Courier-Journal (July 24, 1886)
The Sixth Victim , Louisville Courier-Journal (July 25, 1886)
The Racket in Rowan , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (July 26, 1886)
Young Logan Buried , Louisville Courier-Journal (July 26, 1886)
At Morehead , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (July 27, 1886)
Rowan's Desperadoes , Louisville Courier-Journal (July 27, 1886)
The Special Term , Louisville Courier-Journal (July 28, 1886)
Latest from Rowan , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (July 30, 1886)
Wicked Rowan , Louisville Courier-Journal (July 30, 1886)
Morehead Has a Scare , Louisville Courier-Journal (July 31, 1886)
Rowan County Circuit Court Ordinary Docket (August 1886) , Rowan County (Ky.) Circuit Court (August 1, 1886)
Rowan County Circuit Court Ordinary Docket (Special Session, August 1886) , Rowan County (Ky.) Circuit Court (August 1, 1886)
The Court's Work at Morehead , Louisville Courier-Journal (August 5, 1886)
Craig Tolliver , Louisville Courier-Journal (August 6, 1886)
The Regular Term of the Rowan County Circuit Court , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (August 7, 1886)
Compromising With Toughs , Chicago Tribune (August 10, 1886)
The Rowan County Feuds Ended , New York Times (August 10, 1886)
Peace in Rowan , Louisville Courier-Journal (August 10, 1886)
Peace Patched Up in Rowan County Once More , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (August 11, 1886)
Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish: Peace About to Visit War-Worn Kentucky Once More , Monmouth Evening Gazette (August 11, 1886)
Another Truce , Semi-Weekly South Kentuckian (August 13, 1886)
Craig Tolliver has gone to Texas , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (August 13, 1886)
A Solution That Solves , Louisville Courier-Journal (August 18, 1886)
Jeff Bowling , Louisville Courier-Journal (August 24, 1886)
Jeff Bowling's Fate , Louisville Courier-Journal (August 24, 1886)
A Desperado at Large , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (August 27, 1886)
Shot By His Cousin , New York Times (August 29, 1886)
Murder at Morehead , Louisville Courier-Journal (August 29, 1886)
A Cousin's Fatal Shot , Louisville Courier-Journal (September 1, 1886)
John Day , Hazel Green Herald (September 8, 1886)
Thomas A. Day , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (September 11, 1886)
Horrid State of Affairs in Rowan , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (September 27, 1886)
Mt. Sterling Matters , Louisville Courier-Journal (September 29, 1886)
Thomas A. Day , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (November 8, 1886)
Maysville: A Refusal to Scale a Tax Indebtedness- An Alleged Murderer Released on Bail , Louisville Courier-Journal (November 11, 1886)
Broken Loose Again , Louisville Courier-Journal (November 20, 1886)
Morehead Quiet , Louisville Courier-Journal (November 25, 1886)
The Rowan County Bushwhackers , New York Times (November 26, 1886)
Rowan County: A Dark Picture of Life as It Is Lived in the Town of Morehead , Louisville Courier-Journal (November 30, 1886)
Politics in Bath County , Louisville Courier-Journal (December 14, 1886)
County Attorney Young Resigns , Louisville Courier-Journal (December 15, 1886)
Gained Seven Years , Louisville Courier-Journal (December 23, 1886)
Submissions from 1887
Craig Tolliver: And a Reign of Terror Make Simultaneous Appearance in Morehead , Louisville Courier-Journal (January 4, 1887)
Death At The Dance , Louisville Courier-Journal (January 5, 1887)
Mason Keaton , Louisville Courier-Journal (January 5, 1887)
Craig Tolliver in Good Health , Louisville Courier-Journal (January 13, 1887)
Craig Tollivar Killed at Last , Monmouth Evening Gazette (January 14, 1887)
Rowan County Circuit Court Ordinary Docket (February 1887) , Rowan County (Ky.) Circuit Court (February 1, 1887)
On Last Tuesday Morning , Hazel Green Herald (February 2, 1887)
Rowdy Rowan , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (February 15, 1887)
The Rowan Troubles , Louisville Courier-Journal (February 15, 1887)
Rowan Methods , Louisville Courier-Journal (February 17, 1887)
The Grand Jury of Rowan County , Semi-Weekly Interior Journal (February 18, 1887)
Hon. A.G. Caruth Resigns , Louisville Courier-Journal (March 1, 1887)
Another Rowan County Killing , Chicago Tribune (March 15, 1887)
Shot By A Friend , Louisville Courier-Journal (March 15, 1887)
At Morehead , Semi-Weekly South Kentuckian (March 18, 1887)
Way Things are Done in Rowan , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (April 29, 1887)
Trouble in Rowan , Louisville Courier-Journal (May 1, 1887)
Craig Tolliver has been Elected Police Judge , Semi-Weekly Interior Journal (May 24, 1887)
That Rowan Row , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (May 25, 1887)
A Rowan County Feud , Chicago Tribune (June 9, 1887)
Crime In Kentucky , Louisville Courier-Journal (June 9, 1887)
Rowan County Comes to the Front Again , Semi-Weekly Interior Journal (June 10, 1887)
Rowan County: A Three-Years' History Written In the Blood of Seventeen Murdered People. , Louisville Courier-Journal (June 12, 1887)
Rowan County: Craig Tolliver Said to Be the Only Hindrance to the Public Peace of Morehead and Vicinity , Louisville Courier-Journal (June 15, 1887)
Bloody Rowan: Two More Killings Added to Her Criminal Calendar , Hazel Green Herald (June 15, 1887)
Three More Lives , Big Sandy News (June 16, 1887)
More Trouble for Rowan , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (June 16, 1887)
More Bloodshed in Rowan , Semi-Weekly Interior Journal (June 17, 1887)
Irresponsibilies , Chicago Tribune (June 19, 1887)
Tolliver Wants Seven More Scalps , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (June 20, 1887)
Craig Tolliver's Mandate , Monmouth Evening Gazette (June 21, 1887)
Col. Craig Tolliver , Louisville Courier-Journal (June 21, 1887)
A Reign of Terror: Wild Excitement in Rowan County, Kentucky - Tolliver Threatened , Monmouth Evening Gazette (June 22, 1887)
Tolliver's Turn , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (June 23, 1887)
Desperadoes Shot Dead , Chicago Tribune (June 23, 1887)
The Kentucky Vendetta , New York Times (June 23, 1887)
Dark and Bloody Ground: Desperate Factional Fight at Morehead, Ky. - Craig Tolliver Killed , Monmouth Evening Gazette (June 23, 1887)
Retribution , Louisville Courier-Journal (June 23, 1887)
Bloody Ground: The Tolliver-Martin Feud in Rowan County, Ky. , Boston Globe (June 23, 1887)
Tolliver's Turn , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (June 24, 1887)
Tolliver Killed , Semi-Weekly South Kentuckian (June 24, 1887)
Now Let There Be Peace: Craig Tolliver, The Noted Kentucky Desperado, Slain , Monmouth Evening Gazette (June 24, 1887)
Peace: Spreads Her Wings Over the Hills and Valleys of Bloody Rowan , Louisville Courier-Journal (June 24, 1887)
The War in Rowan , Hickman Courier (June 24, 1887)
Craig Toliver , Hickman Courier (June 24, 1887)
Driven Desperate , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (June 25, 1887)
Out On Bail , Louisville Courier-Journal (June 25, 1887)
That Arrant Scoundrel and Red-handed Murderer , Frankfort Roundabout (June 25, 1887)
Dave Martin and Allie Young Return from Kansas , Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin (June 25, 1887)
Morehead: Description of the Town and the Leading Actors in Wednesday's Tragedy , Louisville Courier-Journal (June 26, 1887)