Howardstown, Kentucky is located in the extreme southern portion of Nelson County.
It includes both the actual Howardstown community and the Stiles community.
Neither community contains a US post office. Stiles became part of the Howardstown post in the 1950s and Howardstown part of the New Haven post in the 1990s.
Howardstown is located on the Rolling Fork River and much of its lore and history are part of that association.
Howardstown was formed by mainly Roman Catholic settlers, who formed the St. Ann parish and School. Stiles was formed by the Stiles family from a Revolutionary land grant to David Stiles from Morristown, New Jersey. Stiles has been primarily protestant with the formation of the Beech Grove Methodist Church and the Union Band Baptist Church.
Traditionally the residents have been mainly farmers, but the advent of good roads and easy access to "public" work in the neighboring communities has changed the most common occupation to laborers or industrial workers.
The community has contained several commercial enterprises, mostly capitalizing on the proximity of Howardstown to dry county of LaRue. The Cecil family has operated a package liquor store for many years from three locations. Cecil's presently have 2 package stores...the original store that was no more than about 200 square feet (19 m2) of concrete block still stands, but is no longer used.
There is a small "mini mart" containing fuel and basic needs, package beer, grilled and fried food and a deli currently operated by Paul and Katie (Hornback) Wheatley, they recently purchased the store from Joe and Lois Hornback July 1, 2011.
The old FM Head store collapsed years ago, but is a part of the local lore. Frank L Boone operated a local bar near the county line in the exact location of one of the Cecil's modern stores for years before his death. There has also been a pool hall and bar that has operated intermittently over the years, most notably by "young Boogie Howard".
The most notable history of Howardstown has been its association with illegal liquor during and after prohibition. Many of the locals chose to earn part of their living by erecting moonshine stills and marketing the illegal spirits made from corn and sugar. Probably the most famous was Archie Spalding, who by all accounts was quite a character.[1] Others were "Soup" Boone, and Charlie Stiles. Local marijuana growing briefly returned the community to this spotlight in the '70s and '80s, but has died off as well. Regard for what is locally seen as silly or overbearing parts of the law have been light in Howardstown.
Probably the best feature of the Howardstown/Stiles communities is the closeness that isolation and large families bring. All folks, except the few brought-ins, are related some way or other and have known one anothers families for generations. Funerals, weddings, and parties, bring huge turnouts. Any attempt to mess with the local school brings out extreme passion. Family members that marry into the community quickly become part of the fabric and are accepted as locals. The community has been very stable for many years owing much to the stability of long-term land owners who seldom sold.
Men such as George Stiles, Stiles Perkins, David Stiles, the Harned Family and their descendants still held much of the original 5000-acre David Stiles grant as of the 80s. Their descendants largely still hold much of this ground. John Boone, Bobby Hughes, Leo Boone, Joe Whelan, and many others have held or their descendants are still holding large portions. Lots for building, small parcels, and subdivision simply has not been much of a factor in the community, therefore outsiders have not had access to the community to any great extent until the 2000s.
Another factor keeping outsiders away beside the remoteness and lack of houses and land has been the easy availability of potable water which only came to the community in the early 2000s. Many locals had wells, cisterns, or hauled fresh water, many still do. However, for someone from Louisville to move to Howardstown without city water, would have been too alien.
Locals love the view of the knobs, the smell of the river, the familiarity of the community, and the remoteness. Most are ambivalent about outsiders moving in, but are always friendly and accepting when they do.
Cagegory:Unincorporated communities in Kentucky