What was the population of Bourbon County at its peak? When was it? What about the incorporated cities in the county? What about the cities that have folded? What is the current population? Here is the list:
Bourbon County 28,575 in 1890; 14,653 in 2018
Bronson 595 in 1910; 305 in 2019
Fort Scott 11,946 in 1890; 7,697 in 2019
Fulton 506 in 1890; 155 in 2019
Mapleton 251 in 1930; 81 in 2019
Redfield 269 in 1920; 143 in 2019
Uniontown 371 in 1980; 264 in 2019
Wikipedia lists 12 communities in BB that are no longer incorporated, including Devon, Garland, Hammond, Hiattville, and Xenia, to name a few. It is also interesting to note that Bourbon County has historically been fairly balanced in the population mix between rural and urban residences.
Our county is half the size it was, and many communities have contracted by more than one-half. More communities have ceased to exist than are currently still incorporated.
Who is at fault? The short answer is no one, and everyone.
Many people, using 20/20 hindsight, blame past commissioners, but that is naïve. No one could have foreseen the megatrends of the 20th and 21st centuries that have challenged rural America. Obviously, it is silly to blame the current commissioners or anyone government entity. No commission has raised the levy in the six years I have been here; in fact, it has been lowered in recent years. The blame game started long ago and continues to this day. It has divided us into parochial camps.
We have become a victim of simple math: less people to pay the growing cost of government means the people that remain pay more. People get tired of paying more, and then they leave. Potential new people look at the cost of living here and chose to live elsewhere.
Now that we know that we cannot resist the forces that created our predicament, it is time to play offense and defense…together. We must reduce the cost of government (at least stop the steady increase), invest in problem-solving and work to attract new businesses/residents.
Lastly, we are going to have to give up some of our parochial natures. Yes, civic pride is desirable, but not to the exclusion of fellow residents of the county. Drop your grudges, work to reestablish trust, and let’s reach across artificial geographic lines and become a team. As Ben Franklin once said, “We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.”