Editing Gallatin County, Kentucky (section)

==History==
The county was formed on December 14, 1798. Gallatin was the 31st Kentucky county to be established. It was derived from parts of [[Franklin County, Kentucky|Franklin]] and [[Shelby County, Kentucky|Shelby]] counties.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gZFQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA26 | title=Collins' Historical Sketches of Kentucky: History of Kentucky, Volume 2 | publisher=Collins & Company | author=Collins, Lewis | year=1882 | page=26}}</ref> Later, parts of the county were pared off to create three additional counties: [[Owen County, Kentucky|Owen]] in 1819, [[Trimble County, Kentucky|Trimble]] in 1836, and [[Carroll County, Kentucky|Carroll]] in 1838. Today Gallatin is one tenth of its original size. Its northern border is the [[Ohio River]].

The population of Gallatin County in 1800 was 1,291, according to the Second Census of Kentucky, composed of 960 whites, 329 slaves, and 2 "freemen of color".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nkaa.uky.edu/record.php?note_id=2347|title=Notable Kentucky African Americans - Gallatin County (KY) Slaves, Free Blacks, and Free Mulattoes, 1850-1870|first=University of Kentucky|last=Libraries}}</ref>

During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], several skirmishes occurred in the county and the [[Union Army]] arrested a number of men for [[treason]] for supporting the [[Confederate States of America|Confederates]].

[[The 1866 Gallatin County Race Riot]] happened just after the Civil War, when bands of lawless Ku Klux Klansmen terrorized parts of the Bluegrass State. "A band of five hundred whites in Gallatin County... forced hundreds of blacks to flee across the Ohio River."<ref>[[Lowell H. Harrison|Harrison, Lowell H.]] and [[James C. Klotter]] 1997. A New History of Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky. Lexington, Kentucky. pg. 237.</ref>

On December 4, 1868, two passenger steamers, the ''America'' and the ''United States'', collided on the Ohio River near [[Warsaw, Kentucky|Warsaw]]. The ''United States'' carried a cargo of kerosene barrels which caught fire. The flames soon spread to the ''America'', and many passengers perished by burning or drowning. The combined death toll was 162, making it one of the most deadly steamboat accidents in American history.

[[The Lynchings of the Frenches of Warsaw]] were conducted by a white mob on May 3, 1876. It was unusual as Benjamin and Mollie French were killed for the murder of Lake Jones, another, older African-American man. They were hanged by local masked KKK members.<ref>Wright, George C. 1990. ''Racial Violence in Kentucky, 1865–1940: Lynchings, Mob Rule, and "Legal Lynchings"''. Baton Rouge and London: Louisiana State University Press, pp. 98-99.</ref>

As the 20th century progressed, commercial river trade began to decline, and the steamboat era ended, as faster means of transportation became available. Rail lines expanded, automobiles and trucks became reliable, and aircraft soon arrived on the scene. In the postwar period after World War II, numerous major highways were constructed, leading to greater auto travel and commuting. Gallatin County is traversed by [[Interstate 71|I-71]], [[U.S. Route 42|U.S. 42]], and [[U.S. Route 127|U.S. 127]]. By the 1980s, more than 50 percent of the population was employed outside the county.<ref>[http://www.rootsweb.com/~kygalla2/history.htm "Gallatin County"], Rootsweb</ref>

Construction on the [[Markland Dam Bridge|Markland Locks and Dam]] began in 1956 and was completed in 1964. In 1967 a hydroelectric power plant was built at the dam, which provided jobs.

Marco Allen Chapman was executed in 2008 for multiple murders he committed on August 23, 2002, in [[Warsaw, Kentucky]].<ref name="USAToday">{{cite web|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-05-09-2368989543_x.htm|title=Kentucky death row inmate: 'I'm ready and I'm sorry' |website=USATODAY.com|access-date=February 24, 2017}}</ref> He murdered two children, Chelbi Sharon, 7, and Cody Sharon, 6, by slitting their throats.<ref name=Estep>Estep, Bill. "[http://www.kentucky.com/2008/11/22/601002_killer-is-executed.html?rh=1 Killer is Executed]", ''Lexington Herald-Leader''. November 22, 2008</ref> He raped and stabbed their mother, Carolyn Marksberry, more than 15 times.<ref name="Brief">{{cite web |url=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ky-supreme-court/1204990.html |title=Supreme Court of Kentucky. Marco Allen CHAPMAN, Appellant, v. COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, Appellee. No. 2005-SC-000070-MR. Decided: August 23, 2007 |website=[[FindLaw]] |access-date=February 13, 2017}}</ref> A third child, daughter 10-year-old Courtney Sharon, played dead after being stabbed and then escaped.<ref>Mark Pitsch. ''Two Gallatin Children Killed in Knife Attack; Mom, Sister Hurt; Suspect Arrested in West Virginia.'' August 24, 2002. ''Courier-Journal''. Louisville, Ky.</ref> Thirty-seven-year-old Chapman was executed on November 21, 2008, by lethal injection at the [[Kentucky State Penitentiary]] in [[Eddyville, Kentucky]]. He was the last person executed by the Commonwealth.<ref name="Marco4">[https://web.archive.org/web/20171107010310/http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=f11aa655-ca18-443e-971b-6f575e87a87f], WCPO-TV, News Local</ref>