Dixville--African-American Community in Bourbon County, Kentucky

Date: Before 1900 [unknown]
Location: North Middletown, Bourbon, Kentucky, United States
Surnames/tags: Kentucky Black_Heritage

A compilation of sources and people of Dixville

One of the earliest mentions of the Dixville African American community is in a 1901 article in The Bourbon News. The community is also mentioned in Jacqueline Sue's book, Black Seeds in the Blue Grass.

Dixville is located in North Middletown, KY on the main road that heads toward Mt. Sterling. Albert B. Wess, Sr. was born on Deweese Street in Lexington, his family moving to Dixville when he was a small child. His father, a prominent member of the Dixville community, owned several homes there as well as the Tom Wess Grocery Store, which was in operation long before Albert Wess and his twin sister, Alberta, were born in 1923; it closed a year before Tom Wess died in 1936.

The 2nd Christian Church was across the street from the store and nearby was a UBF&SMT [United Brothers of Friendship and Sisters of the Mysterious Ten] Lodge Hall. Tom Wess belonged to the lodge. The present day church in Dixville is Wiley Methodist Church.

In 2007, the first Annual Dixville Picnic was held.

Three other African American communities were located in North Middletown. One was Kerrville (1), on Highway 460 about a mile outside North Middletown. The Francis M. Wood High School, grades 1-8, was located in Kerrville (1), and Florence H. Wess (d. 1932), mother of Albert Wess, was the music teacher; she also played piano at the church.

Kerrville (2) was next to Kerrville (1), and Smoketown was one mile on the other side of North Middletown, heading toward Little Rock.

Some family names of the residents of these communities include Carter, Cason, Mack, Kenney, Green, McClure, Butler, Fields, Dorsey, and Gibbs.

The information in this entry comes from Albert B. Wess, Sr. See the article in The Bourbon News, 11/19/1901, p. 5. If you have more information about Dixville or the other communities, please contact Michell Butler.^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ “Dixville and Other Communities in North Middletown, KY,” Notable Kentucky African Americans Database, accessed November 3, 2023, https://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/items/show/1697.