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The Reverend William Montague and his wife Polly purchased 700 acres in
what is today Devou Park in 1833. On this property the family built a
large home (on the present site of the Devou Park Gold Course Clubhouse).
For many years, Reverend Montague was the pastor of Covington’s
Fifth Street Christian Church and taught at an academy for boys in the
same city. Montague’s first cousin, Richard Mentor Johnson, was
vice president of the United States under President Martin Van Buren.
At the death of Reverend William Montague (1842) the home and a portion
of the property was inherited by his son William Montague Jr. (1816-1863).
William Jr. married Zerelda Vickers (1835-1899) and was the father of
four children. William Jr. died on July 11, 1863. Zerelda Vickers Montague
lived in the home and continued to operate the farm. By 1872, the Montague
family had experienced financial difficulties. That year, the farm and
house were sold to William P. Devou for $11,700.
The Montague house remained the property of the Devou Family until 1910
when the entire Devou estate was donated to the City of Covington for
use as a park. By the 1920s, the Montague house was being used as a clubhouse
for the Devou Park Golf and Tennis Club. The home was completely destroyed
by a fire in 1927. The current clubhouse was built on the same site in
1929.
The Montague Family Cemetery was located on a small hill near the family
home. By the time the Montagues sold the property in 1872, the small cemetery
contained perhaps two-dozen graves. Those buried in the cemetery included
Montague Family members and a number of African American slaves and servants.
During the expansion of the golf course in 1994, the cemetery was rediscovered
by a Montague descendant with the aid of an archaeologist from the University
of Louisville.
Northern Kentucky Heritage, Vol. VI, NO. 2, Spring/Summer 1999, pp.
57-66; Kentucky Post, March 19, 1994, p. 6k, March 22, 1994, p. 7A, March
24, 1994, p. 12A, April 20, 1994, 5K |
