Owensboro, Kentucky: The Barbeque and Basketball Capitol
A drive through the historic downtown area of Owensboro is a glimpse at Americana at its best. There is a warm welcoming feeling in this town as you are greeted by smiles and a hand waive. It’s not surprising that the area has produced many notable sports figures, because it is just this kind of environment that cultivates fair play and team efforts. This common sense attitude is also found at every game. Whether in a stadium or field, the locals will offer their opinion as to the most favorite sport. You can see every eye on the basketball scoreboard for each winning point and just as many in attendance to football and softball games. Owensboro proudly shares their love of sports with every visitor. The venues are top notch, highest quality and technology.
The area now known as Owensboro actually had Native American settlements that archeologists have back dated to around 12,000 years. However, the more recent Shawnee tribe resided and cared for their land until the first European explorers and settlers arrived in the late 1700’s. Owensboro is located on an area of the Ohio River, with all of the beauty of nature that Kentucky has to offer. It was this natural wonder that attracted the settlers and they named the area Yellow Banks, after the color tones that graced the Ohio River bank area.
Around 1817, the town name was changed to honor Colonel Abraham Owen. Owensboro, like many of the area, experienced slow but methodical growth over the years. It wasn’t until the Civil War that Owensboro took front and center. Confederate soldiers known as ‘guerillas’ entered the town and tried (but failed) to rob the local bank. In the process, they captured thirteen Union soldiers of the renowned Colored Division. The capture ended in execution of the soldiers and the burning of their bodies. There was one other historic battle in the Owensboro area and it is marked today with a monument.
Kentucky has a history of some of the best whiskey in the United States. The quality is due to the combination of ingredients, which includes fresh, clean running streams that are low in mineral content. Owensboro has always been known for its fine distilleries and has specialized in the product of bourbon whiskey.
The first larger company that was established in the area was the Owensboro Wagon Company in 1884. They eventually became the largest wagon manufacturer in the country and later changed the direction to the manufacturing of parts for the Ford Model T products and then again in the early 1920’s into a furniture manufacturing company.
By the end of World War II, Owensboro was scouted as a site of interest for industrial company plans. Investors altered this quiet little town into a springboard of growth that would continue through to today. Later companies that joined included the natural gas, and the manufacturing of vacuum tubes.
The people of Owensboro are serious about their festivals and celebrations. They are known as the Barbeque Capitol of the World, with the famous international festival every May. They are just as passionate about their sports. The local fans support the Owensboro Oilers baseball team with an excitement that can only be described as electric. Their basketball is just as important, and I don’t think there has ever been any of the basketball scoreboards in history that are viewed so hard as those in Owensboro.
There is something about the common sense attitude of the people in Owensboro that is a reminder of the not only the way things used to be, but the way life should be.
Sources:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/media/File:Justin_Marks_on_August_31,_2013.jpg
//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owensboro,_Kentucky
