Rivals [1] is a small unincorporated rural community on the banks of Brashear's Creek (near the confluence of Buck Creek and Brashears) in Spencer County, Kentucky, United States. At one time it had a general store, post office and a grist mill. These businesses have been gone for many years, though the building that served as the store and post office still stands as a storage building for a home. It is located approximately 5 miles north-northeast of Taylorsville.
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not governed by a local municipal corporation; similarly an unincorporated community is a settlement that is not governed by its own local municipal corporation, but rather is administered as part of larger administrative divisions, such as a township, parish, borough, county, city, canton, state, province or country. Occasionally, municipalities dissolve or disincorporate, which may happen if they become fiscally insolvent, and services become the responsibility of a higher administration. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. In most other countries of the world, there are either no unincorporated areas at all, or these are very rare; typically remote, outlying, sparsely populated or uninhabited areas.
Spencer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,061. Its county seat is Taylorsville. The county was founded in 1824 and named for Spier Spencer.
Kentucky, officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state located in the east south-central region of the United States. Although styled as the "State of Kentucky" in the law creating it, (because in Kentucky's first constitution, the name state was used) Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth. Originally a part of Virginia, in 1792 Kentucky became the 15th state to join the Union. Kentucky is the 37th most extensive and the 26th most populous of the 50 United States.
Rivals received its name in an unusual fashion. The story goes that when the application to open a post office there was filled out, a second name choice was required in case the first choice had already been taken. The store owner, needing this second choice, looked upon his shelves and saw a box of ammunition with the brand name Rivals. [2] The first choice was already in use elsewhere, so Rivals became the official post office name, and consequentially the community name. The Van Dykes were early settlers of the area, owning at least one grist mill and also farming the area. The road into Rivals from Highway 55 is still known as Van Dyke Mill Road. Early newspaper reports refer to the area as "Van Dyke Mills". A letter to the editor of one of these early papers refers to more than one mill, a wool carding factory, and several other business interests.
The area is still largely farmland, producing tobacco, corn, wheat, soybeans, sod, cattle, and goats. Over the past 25 years, however, a number of farms have been subdivided into residential areas and "mini-farms"—properties with zoning to allow a small number of animals and/or growing of crops, but not large enough to actually be considered a for-profit farm. In spite of the changes and growth of recent decades, Rivals and other nearby communities such as Normandy are still home to a number of families who have lived there for multiple generations, such as the Allgeier, Harp, Jeffiers, Jeffries, Prewitt, Travis, Yates and Wills families.
Tobacco is a product prepared from the leaves of the tobacco plant by curing them. The plant is part of the genus Nicotiana and of the Solanaceae (nightshade) family. While more than 70 species of tobacco are known, the chief commercial crop is N. tabacum. The more potent variant N. rustica is also used around the world.
Maize, also known as corn, is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The leafy stalk of the plant produces pollen inflorescences and separate ovuliferous inflorescences called ears that yield kernels or seeds, which are fruits.
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain which is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus Triticum; the most widely grown is common wheat.
