Some history books put the city’s age at 202
Published 4:45 pm Thursday, September 13, 2012
For a few days this summer, it appeared that Bowling Green, like some people, might be fibbing a little about her age.
When city officials decided to celebrate Bowling Green’s bicentennial this month, reporters researching information for this section were a bit stumped after finding a variety of incorporation dates on everything from a state website that tracks such information to state and local history books.
State history books list the city’s age at 202, with an incorporation date of Feb. 12, 1810. But city records show 1812 as the city’s official year of incorporation. While history itself doesn’t change, sometimes the information about historical events does.
After a little digging, Kandie Adkinson in the Land Division of the Office of Secretary of State resolved the issue.
“I was unable to locate any Act in 1810 that specifically incorporated Bowling Green,” Adkinson said in an email. “In fact it appears the Legislature did not meet in February 1810. This suggests the city may have filed incorporation papers with the Warren County Clerk but the incorporation was not acted upon during the 1810 session in December.
“The Legislature did pass legislation that regulated the city in 1812,” she said.
State leaders on Dec. 19, 1812, authorized the city to elect trustees, the 1812 equivalent of the modern-day board of commissioners. The General Assembly authorized all qualified voters to elect five trustees charged with enacting local legislation and setting tax rates, according to state legislative records.
Two hundred years later, Bowling Green remains governed by a body of five people – four commissioners who serve two-year terms and a mayor who serves a four-year term. The board of commissioners sets policy for Bowling Green, while a city manager oversees the management operations.
The city’s first mayor, Dr. Thomas B. Wright, served from 1870-71. Since Wright, there have been 37 men and three women at the helm of Bowling Green’s city government, with notable names such as Dr. Spero G. Kereiakes and C.W. Lampkin, for whom two of the city’s parks are named.
