Known as the “Black Patch Three,” famed local historians William Turner, Rick Gregory and Bill Cunningham will be mustering their storytelling skills this weekend — in order to tell visitors the tales of the Tobacco Wars that once raged along the Kentucky-Tennessee state line in the early 1900’s.
Set for 6 PM Saturday at Glass Farms, Kathleen Carter told the News Edge that tickets will be $15 for supper, before the trio starts unspooling this dark chapter that’s deeply rooted in Todd, Christian, Trigg and Caldwell counties.
From this group spawned an offshoot known as “The Night Riders,” a subversive, yet active — and sometimes violent — group response to the scandal. From 1904 until 1909, its leader, Dr. David Amoss, was involved in a series of raids that comprised the “Black Patch Tobacco Wars” across Kentucky and Tennessee.
Out of perceived unfairness, Amoss — who long resided in Cobb, and whose house still stands — had he and his followers destroy large tobacco company warehouses. In 1910, he was put on trial for a 1907 raid in Hopkinsville.
Carter said to this day, many local families still don’t know if their ancestors were associated with the movement, because Amoss and the Night Riders thrived on blood oaths and secrecy.
Bringing this kind of event back into the mix, she said, was pivotal for local history and fundraising.
Carter also noted that at some point, after more renovations, they would like for St. Elmo’s to host 4-H and homemaker meetings, add a kitchen and bathrooms, and other small personal events.
On the menu: pork chop sandwiches or bourbon-glazed chicken sandwiches from the Bar-B-Que Shack.
Born in Eddyville, Cunningham is a native of Kuttawa and the author of five regional history books, including “On Bended Knees: The Story of the Night Riders.” A retired judge of Kentucky’s Supreme Court, he is a veteran of the U.S. Army who served in Korea, Germany and Vietnam. He and his wife have five sons and 11 grandchildren.
Turner is a Hopkinsville native, the city’s official historian and is a retired college history professor. His most recent accomplishments include the restoration of the Pennyroyal Area Museum, the Woody Winfree Fire Transportation Museum and the Christian County Historical Society. He and his wife, LaVena, have a son, Rob, and a daughter, Joyce.
Gregory is an Adams, Tennessee, resident who is currently working on a book about the Dark Fired Planters’ Protective Association and the Night Riders. With his master’s and doctorate in history from Vanderbilt University, he co-authored Robertson County’s bicentennial history in 1996, and in 2020 he co-authored the bicentennial history of Springfield, Tennessee. Also a father, grandfather, hiker and kayaker, his book “The Bell Witch Legend: In Myth and Memory” was published in September 2023.
