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Monday 9am - 9pm Tuesday 9am - 9pm Wednesday 9am - 9pm Thursday 9am - 9pm Friday 9am - 8pm Saturday 9am - 6pm Sunday 1pm - 5pm

DCPL Kentucky Room

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Owensboro, KY
DCPL Kentucky Room

Daviess County's only genealogy and local history research center. Located in the DCPL. These resources are available to the general public at no cost.

In 1922 the Carnegie Free Public Library of Owensboro started an effort to collect materials related to Kentucky. In 1935, the library's collections of Kentucky histories along with its Daviess County and Owensboro histories were assembled in one room known as the Kentucky Room. The current Kentucky Room now holds an immense collection of genealogy and local history resources and artifacts. Our staff of experienced genealogists and researchers are eager to help with any genealogy or history questions you may have.

*Due to time constraints we do not do full family trees. We will do up to 3 generations and help you with any brick walls you may come across.*

12/29/2025

Tomorrow, December 30th, is National Bacon Day! Bacon has a long history dating back thousands of years. But it has a bit of history in Owensboro too! Field Packing Company was established in 1914 by Owensboro native Charles Eldred Field. This month's display is a peek back at the early days of the company. Thank you to Kevin Clark of Specialty Foods Group for the loan of Field memorabilia.

12/26/2025

Our Old Kentucky Gnome is taking a well-deserved rest from his travels to Owensboro City Parks- but he's not headed back to the North Pole yet! Stop in the Kentucky Room and test your knowledge- can you remember which park is which from his journey this month? Let one of our staff know and you'll receive a peppermint!

12/24/2025

Enjoy this peek into Christmases past with postcards from the Rudy Family Collection. A reminder, the Library will be closed on Wednesday, December 24th and Thursday, December 25th. We'll reopen on Friday and look forward to hearing about your holiday. Merry Christmas and happy holidays from all of us in the Kentucky Room!

12/22/2025

Have YOU checked out the holiday decorations downtown? Our Old Kentucky Gnome lit up when he saw the lights in Riverview Park- known these days as Smothers Park. It may be Owensboro's oldest park, established in 1816, but the sights and sounds are definitely 21st century. While the park is as old as the city, its name was changed in 1963 to honor Pioneer Bill Smeathers (Smothers) who built the first permanent home in the area that was to become Owensboro. The park underwent a $68 million renovation in the early 2000's and rededicated in 2012.

12/19/2025

Our Old Kentucky Gnome was deLIGHTED to find this little corner of Christmas Magic. Tapscott Corner, located on the northwest corner of Frederica and Parrish Avenue, is a beautiful spot year-round, but is especially colorful at this time of year. The floral mini park is named for James A. Tapscott, a local florist, who provided funds after his death in 1976 for perpetual park upkeep.

12/18/2025

If you found Gene this week, you have a good eye- or you're just persistent. He was hanging out in the very back corner of the Kentucky Room in our telephone book collection, containing Owensboro phone books from the mid 1970's to the early 2000's (with some phone books from our surrounding counties as well). These, along with the City Directories, provide interesting tidbits of information about the history of Owensboro, its citizens, and businesses.

What's next for Gene? It'll be newsworthy!

12/16/2025

The recent cold snap caused our Old Kentucky Gnome to limit his sightseeing at Chautauqua Park (1301 Bluff Avenue). Although too cold to explore the entire 31-acre park, he did find some remnants of its historic past, such as an old entrance to the park and lovely old trees. The park was once part of the Chautauqua Movement that spread throughout the country in the late 19th century. In 1916, Owensboro purchased the park from the Seven Hill Chautauqua Company. Through the years, the park was used for tent meetings, entertainment by nationally known musicians and speakers, and sporting activities of all kinds - fishing, baseball, swimming, even baton twirling. Hard for our gnome to imagine, but there was once an island surrounded by a lagoon, an auditorium, and campgrounds. Find more information about the park's past by visiting the Kentucky Room Digital Archive, https://dcpl.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/search/searchterm/chautauqua

12/11/2025

Did you find Gene? He was perusing our display case- originally from Anderson's Department Store! He knows there are lots of cool things to find here in the KR, but was surprised to learn there are even more cool things in our Archives and Storage. These items are separated for safe keeping but do get displayed as much as possible.
Want a hint for his next location?
If you're a longtime Owensboro resident, Gene's got your number- thanks to his new spot in the Kentucky Room. It's a bit obscure and not so well known, but does provide useful information from time to time.

12/09/2025

Our Gnome found his way to the corner of Walnut and 7th Street to Moneta Sleet Jr. Park. It's a small park with a big history! Originally the site of the Lower Ward School (built in 1871), the school was enlarged in 1893 and the name changed to Walnut Street School. In 1926, its name was changed (again) to Woodrow Wilson School and classes continued until May 1952. Owensboro Public Schools used the building as its Central Office until 1973. The City purchased the property, razed the building, and established a neighborhood park in 1977. In 1982, the park was named for Max N. Rhoades, who served the City of Owensboro from 1959 to 1980 as City Manager. In 2022, the name was changed to honor Moneta Sleet, Jr.- a Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist who grew up in the Walnut Street Neighborhood. Information about both men can be found in the park, (and here in the Kentucky Room) as well as a nice spot to sit and enjoy some greenery.

12/05/2025

Our Old Kentucky Gnome wanted to take advantage of the recent snow to take in this lovely nature spot. Do YOU recognize where he is?

He's enjoying Cap Gardner Park, located at 238 E 20th Street. This park was established as a Nature Park in 1977 but renamed for Owensboro Mayor Casper "Cap" Gardner in 2005.

12/03/2025

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... in the Kentucky Room! The Christmas tree is glittering, the stockings are hung, and our buddy Gene the Genealogy Elf is back in our midst. Wonder what's in store for December? Stop in to find him, and you'll get a peppermint for your participation!

Address

2020 Frederica Street
Owensboro, KY
42301

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 9pm
Tuesday	9am - 9pm
Wednesday	9am - 9pm
Thursday	9am - 9pm
Friday	9am - 8pm
Saturday	9am - 6pm
Sunday	1pm - 5pm

Website

http://www.dcplibrary.org/genealogy

Alerts

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Our Story

This is the previous page for the Daviess County Historical Society. The Society disbanded in September 2018 and the Kentucky Room at the Daviess County Public Library now holds all the records for the previous society. This page is managed by workers in the Kentucky Room and posted material comes from it’s archives which include county records, photographs, genealogies and local histories.