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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.*

01/16/2026

Enjoying Amazon Prime 's TV show, Fallout ? We have a tie to the Wasteland, ourselves! Take a look at this Cold War-era fallout shelter map from our archives. It lists some very outdated advice and survival techniques that would not be successful, but its certainly an interesting map here in our collection.

01/12/2026

Thank you to the General Evan Shelby Chapter, our local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, for donating a copy of their 2026 Calendar highlighting several historic churches located in Daviess County. Stop in and take a look at this informative and attractive document. To purchase, contact our local DAR ladies! General Evan Shelby Chapter

01/09/2026

A new year is a good time to try something new! So here in the Kentucky Room we're exploring a better way to let folks know about our programs and events. We're compiling a list of patrons that would like to be notified via email about our events. If you'd like to be included on that list, please let us know by emailing kentucky@dcplibrary.org, or calling 270.691.1883. Also, we'd love to hear your ideas about the kind of programs you'd like to attend this coming year!

01/02/2026

Gene got so "caught up" in the Newspaper Section that he ran out of time to explore more of the Kentucky Room this December. He's decided that this section is one of the more popular spots. Besides the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, folks stop in to read daily and weekly newspapers from Louisville, Henderson, Hancock County, Ohio County, Webster County (both Providence and Sebree), Butler County, Muhlenberg County, McLean County, Spencer County IN, and even the Western Kentucky Catholic.

12/31/2025

We want to be the first to wish you a Happy New Year! We hope your resolution for 2026 is to spend MORE time in the Kentucky Room, but it'll have to wait until January 2nd. The Library will be closed on Wednesday (31st) and Thursday (1st) for the holiday.

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

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.