Cox Building History

The Joplin Hotel, constructed on this site before 1862, was the second brick building in Rockcastle County, the first building to have a tin roof, and the home of the county’s first telegraph office at the beginning of the Civil War. By 1908 the former Joplin Brick Hotel had become a business house owned by the Cox family. The basement was shared by two businesses—Hysinger and Livesay, a restaurant and grocer, and S.B. Ramsey’s Butcher Shop. The first floor was shared by Robert Cox, general merchandise, Claude Cox, furniture, and W. A. Cox, undertaker. The second floor was used by Dr. D.B. Southard. At approximately five o’clock a.m. on Saturday, November 21, 1908, a fire broke out in the basement and completely destroyed the old hotel building. The Cox family began construction of the present building almost immediately following the fire. The contractor for the new building was R.H. Casey, and the cast iron façade was manufactured by G.L. Mesker and Co. of Evansville, Indiana. The current building opened for business during the summer of 1909. Claude Cox eventually bought out his brothers and operated the business as C.C. Cox Hardware. His son, John, joined him in the business following World War Two. Cox Hardware later passed to Claude’s grandson, Jim Cox, and his wife, Martha, and remained a landmark in Mount Vernon until its closing in February 2013.

Mount Vernon, Kentucky · United States