Historical accounts report the first post office known as Clarks River came here on April 27, 1846. However, several Civil War era maps show a village named Clarks River on the other side of the county, near where Almo is today. I haven’t been able to find any information on a community called Clarks River in Calloway County other than the postal reference and the maps.
The Clarks River post office shut on July 6, 1860 and nothing appears to be recorded throughout the Civil War for this area. Some maps from this period refer to a place on the river very near here called “Williams Mill”, but I haven’t been able to find anything about it.
Two men arrived here in 1869 – Jac Thomas and Asa Backus – and built a saw and grist mill along the side of the river. A post office opened up on November 7, 1873 with Backusburgh as the name, after Mr. Backus. For some reason the “h” was dropped in 1894 for simply Backusburg.
During the late 1800s, the community grew to include a blacksmith shop, a couple of churches, a lodge hall, and a school. It became the site of reunions, with Confederate soldiers having at least two there in 1897 and 1898. The West Kentucky Confederate Veteran’s Association based in Mayfield like the place to meet for their annual gatherings.