Lon Carter Barton

Who was Lon Carter Barton?

Lon Carter Barton was a U.S. local historian. He was particularly interested in the Civil War history of the Jackson Purchase portion of Kentucky, located in the far western part of the state, the Civil War as fought locally, and the Kitty League Baseball.

Barton was a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War, and represented Graves County in the Kentucky House of Representatives as a Democrat from the 3rd District and 2nd District. He later became a history and journalism teacher at Mayfield High School, where he served as both the newspaper and yearbook advisor. He was the unofficial Graves County historian and authored articles in The Kentucky Encyclopedia about the area, as well as the former professional baseball team, the Mayfield Clothiers. The team was one of three from Mayfield that played in the Kitty League throughout Kentucky, Illinois, and Tennessee. The league's name came from letters of the three states.

Barton's family ran a downtown men's clothing store and were among the initial investors of the first modern shopping centers in Mayfield.

He died at his 150-year-old family home in Mayfield on March 28, 2006, aged 80.