A fainting goat
The Marshall County county history page, as you will see, talks about goats, ghosts and governors.
GOATS: Marshall County is known for its “fainting goats” — a breed of goat that appears to freeze and sometimes fall over if frightened. “Fainting” goats actually don’t faint; they have myotonia, a condition where their muscles tighten up when they are startled. First brought to Marshall County by a drifter, fainting goats are much loved by some goat farmers.
Every October, Lewisburg celebrates its legacy with a goat festival. If you like goats, you’ll have a great time!
GHOSTS: The Marshall County community of Chapel Hill is famous for a ghost.
Many years ago a signalman for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad tripped and fell across a section of the track known as Winns Crossing and had his head cut off. Since then, some folks say, the poor man walks the tracks, carrying his lantern, looking for his head.
(Sorry, but we don’t have a photo of this ghost!)
GOVERNORS: Marshall County, which is not a big county by any measure, has the odd distinction of having produced three chief executives. They are, in order of when they served:
Horton TSLA photo
Henry Horton, who served from 1927 until 1933.
McCord
TSLA photo
Jim McCord, governor from 1945 until 1949.
Ellington TSLA photo
Buford Ellington, governor from 1959 until 1963 and from 1967 until 1971.
When we visited Lewisburg, we saw this incredible photograph from when the Marshall County Courthouse burned down in the 1920s.
Here (on the right) is the current Marshall County Courthouse.
