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A Bit of History from Red Bush, KY
Red Bush, located in the hills of Eastern Kentucky, has an interesting story. Although an almost dead community now, Red Bush once had its day. This is the story of that day. It all began around the year 1880. Red Bush was settled by various families including the Bonds, the Hamiltons, the Wallens, Dortons, the Fergusons, the Daniels, and the Wallens at first, the settlement was called Enterprise. The name Red Bush came in approximately the year 1891 when the residents of Enterprise desired to establish a post office. But before a post office could be established, the community had to have an offical name. The residents got together and decided to call their settlement "Red Brush" since there was a large growth of red brush. At the capital, Frankfort, there was some sort of mix up and the name of "Red Bush" came back as the offical name. Since there was really nothing they could do about it without a lot of trouble, and since the name really sounded better, they accepted the name of Red Bush and it stuck. The residents of Red Bush were mainly farmers as they are today. The main crops raised were corn, cane, wheat, and hay. The land was fertile although it was soon exhausted because of improper crop rotation. The farming was done very simply because there was no farm machinery as there is today,although they did have crude tools such as plows,hand sickles,etc.animals raised on the farms were horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, chickens, geese, and turkeys. The horses were used for labor and breeding, the cattle for dairy products and meat, the sheep for wool, hogs for meat and lard, the chickens for eggs and , the geese for feathers, and the turkeys for meat to sale. The simplicity and self-sufficientness of the residents of Red Bush was brought out through these animals. The wool from the sheep was made into clothing, and the feathers from the geese was used for pillows and feather beds. Revenue was brought in through the sale of the eggs and the sale of turkeys. Like most country villages, religion played a great part in the development of Red Bush. There were three churches in this small community, the Primitive Baptist, the Enterprise Baptist, and the Old Log Methodist. The Primitive Baptist Church was organized in approximately (unlisted)The Primitive Baptists were often called "Hardshells" because they preached "a hard doctrine". The Enterprise Baptist Church was organized in 1894 by my great-grandfather H. F. Hamilton. The Old Log Methodist Church was organized in approximately 1880. Today, only the Enterprise Baptist Church still stands and functions. The educational system of Red Bush , which began around 1885, was exceptional for those days. In fact, a few years later, it became the second leading educational center of Johnson County. The reason for such a fine educational level was the fact that the teachers had to be qualified. They had to pass all the requirements of a teacher's school, which was, in those days called "normal" or "common" schools. The schools were financed by state funds. The larger the district, the larger the funds. Because Red Bush was in a large district, it received sufficient funds and employed well qualified teachers which, of course, caused a better school system. The school year lasted five months, from July to December, and the "normal" school year lasted from January to May. Some of the very successful men who attended Red Bush School were Tommy Holbrook, M. D., Thurman Bailey, M. D., Hige Skaggs, M. D., John Dorton, D. D. M., Proctor Evans, D. D. M., and Elbert Skaggs, D. D. M. The little village of Red Bush was a fairly prosperous community. It had two blacksmith shops, three general stores, and a second-hand store. Among the resources of Red Bush were timber, coal, and animal furs. The timber was used for the construction of homes and stores, the coal for fuel, and the furs were sold to a fur buyer who visited the homes and purchased the fur of mink, fox, oppossum and skunk . Red Bush also bad four lodges, the Masonic Lodge, the Oddfellow Lodge, the Junior Lodge, and Eastern star, Yes, although the prosperity of Red Bush is almost gone, and the days of glory are gone, a few still remember "the good old days" when Red Bush was a thriving community. Certainly it has an interesting story that will go down as a bright spot in Kentucky history.
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