Beriah Magoffin

Biography

Beriah Magoffin, born 1815, served as the governor of Kentucky from 1859 to 1862, a period that placed him at the heart of the nation's gravest crisis. He sought to maintain Kentucky's neutrality when the Civil War broke out, reasoning that the state's border position required prudence and careful steering amid rival pressures.

Although his policies later prompted debate, his commitment to the commonwealth endured, and the Beriah Magoffin Monument stands as a reminder of the difficult choices he faced while trying to keep peace at home.