Axtel is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

within Breckinridge County,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, United States. St. Anthony's Catholic Church is located in Axtel.

History

William L. 'Billy' Cannon, tanyard owner and pioneer, and Ferd McClellan wrote on the application for a post office, "We have rote to ax yo to tel us a name fo our post office," and the post master wrote "A-X-T-E-L" will be the name of your post office." According to local tradition that's how the name Axtel came to be. The post office was established in 1891 but closed in 1977. The name of the community may have been St. Anthony (after the church) before the post office opened. It may also have been known as Long Lick after the nearby creek. The first

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church was built in 1819 and named for St. Anthony the Abbott. There were several failed attempts at starting a school for the church, one around 1820 by the

Sisters of Charity of Nazareth The Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth (SCN) is a Roman Catholic order of nuns. It was founded in 1812 near Bardstown, Kentucky, when three young women responded to Bishop John Baptist Mary David's call for assistance in ministe ...

, another in 1823 by the

Sisters of Loretto The Sisters of Loretto or the Loretto Community is a Catholic religious institute that strives "to bring the healing Spirit of God into our world." Founded in the United States in 1812 and based in the rural community of Nerinx, Kentucky, the ...

, and a third from 1830 to 1836 by the parish itself. A school was again built in the 1920's and staffed by the

Ursulines The Ursulines, also known as the Order of Saint Ursula (post-nominals: OSU), is an enclosed religious order of consecrated women that branched off from the Angelines, also known as the Company of Saint Ursula, in 1572. Like the Angelines, they t ...

. This school closed in 1971. After the

US Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

completed work on the dam that formed

Rough River Lake The Rough River Lake is a Y-shaped reservoir located in Breckinridge, Hardin, and Grayson counties in Kentucky, about 70 miles southwest of Louisville. This lake was created by the building of a dam, begun in 1955 and completed in 1961, 89.3 mile ...

in 1961, a boat ramp and campground for the lake were built near the community.

References

Unincorporated communities in Breckinridge County, Kentucky Unincorporated communities in Kentucky {{BreckinridgeCountyKY-geo-stub