Home of Arthur Krock
Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky
Marker Inscription
Home of Arthur Krock. Called dean of Washington newsmen, Glasgow's native son (1886-1974) grew up here with his grandparents, Emmanuel and Henrietta Morris. He began his career in journalism with the Louisville Herald, then went to Washington, D.C., as a correspondent for the Times and Courier-Journal. Krock won French citation after his coverage of the Versailles peace conference. Over. (Reverse) Historic Home - In 1927, Krock joined the New York Times; soon became its Washington correspondent and bureau chief. His column, "In the Nation," was noted for its opinions on public policy. Over his 60-year career, Arthur Krock knew 11 presidents and won four Pulitzer Prizes. Joel Cheek, who also lived here, was one of two founders of the Maxwell House Coffee Company. Over.
Erected by Kentucky Historical Society
The Story
In this Glasgow house Arthur Krock (1886–1974) grew up with his grandparents before rising to become the "dean of Washington newsmen." From the Louisville papers he went to the capital, joined the New York Times in 1927, and over a 60-year career knew eleven presidents and won four Pulitzer Prizes. Joel Cheek, a founder of Maxwell House Coffee, also once lived here.
Why it matters
The home links a small Kentucky town to a century of national journalism and to one of America's most famous coffee brands.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
The Glasgow this house looked out on in the late 1800s was a small county-seat town in south-central Kentucky, far from the corridors of national power. Yet the boy who grew up here came of age just as American journalism was transforming into a national institution, with Washington correspondents becoming figures of real influence.
His long life—stretching from the 1880s into the 1970s—spanned nearly a century of upheaval: the rise of the United States as a world power, two world wars, the Depression, and the Cold War. He reported through much of it from the capital, where the modern press corps and the modern presidency grew up alongside each other.
That this national career began in a modest Kentucky home is part of the point. The Progressive era and the decades that followed opened paths for talented people from small towns to reach the center of American life, and few traveled that path further than the man raised under this roof.
People & events
Arthur Krock (1886–1974) grew up in this Glasgow house with his grandparents, Emmanuel and Henrietta Morris. He began in journalism close to home, with the Louisville Herald, before making his way to Washington as a correspondent for the Times and the Courier-Journal.
His coverage of the Versailles peace conference—the gathering that tried to remake the world after the First World War—earned him a French citation, an early mark of the reputation to come. In 1927 he joined the New York Times, and soon became its Washington correspondent and bureau chief, writing a column, "In the Nation," known for its pointed opinions on public policy.
Over a career spanning some sixty years he came to be called the dean of Washington newsmen, was acquainted with eleven presidents, and won four Pulitzer Prizes. The house holds a second notable name as well: Joel Cheek, one of the two founders of the Maxwell House Coffee Company, also lived here—an unexpected second thread of national fame running through a single Glasgow address.
Its place in the American story
Krock's life traces the coming-of-age of American political journalism. When he started, the Washington press was one thing; by the time he finished, the capital correspondent and the opinion column had become central to how the country understood its own government—and he was one of the people who made them so.
His Versailles reporting connects this small Kentucky town to the moment the United States stepped fully onto the world stage. His decades at the New York Times, his access to eleven presidents, and his four Pulitzers place him among the most decorated and influential journalists of the twentieth century.
And then there is Joel Cheek and Maxwell House, a brand that became a fixture of American kitchens. That two nationally known stories—one in journalism, one in one of the country's most familiar consumer names—should both touch a single house is a reminder that American history is not made only in big cities. It is seeded in places like Glasgow.
If you visit
This is a place to slow down and think about scale. Look at the house, an ordinary Kentucky home, and set it against the sweep of the career that started here—sixty years of reporting, eleven presidents, four Pulitzers. The gap between the modest setting and the national reach is the whole story.
Be sure to read both sides of the marker. The front follows the young correspondent from Louisville to Washington and Versailles; the reverse carries him into his New York Times years and slips in the surprising detail about a Maxwell House founder having lived here too.
For a road trip through south-central Kentucky, this makes a rewarding pause—a chance to trade the usual battlefield-and-cabin stops for a quieter kind of history, the kind that shaped how the whole country read its morning news.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · Arthur Krock
- · Joel Cheek
Related events
- · Versailles Peace Conference
Themes & tags
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