Chronicles of Boone County

Ferguson, Bruce S.

Item

Title

Ferguson, Bruce S.

Alias

Ferguson, Bruce Stuart

Gender

Male

Biography

Bruce Ferguson was born in Covington, KY in 1929, son of Walter and Shirley Rice Ferguson. Bruce studied law and Agriculture at the University of Kentucky from 1947-1951. In 1967, Bruce earned a BA in history and political science from Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, KY.

His long political career began with the Boone County Board of Education, where he first served from 1955-1961. In 1964, Bruce was elected County Judge for Boone County. He served first until 1982, then returned to the position from 1986-1992.

Some of his landmark accomplishments during his tenure as County Judge included: helping to spearhead the Northern Kentucky Tri-County Economic Development Corporation, the county's first hospital as well as a county water system.

In 1992, Bruce accepted a position as commissioner of the Department of Local Governments, serving until 1996, when he returned to Boone County and served on the Boone County Soil Conservation Board, retiring in 2001.

Bruce Ferguson was an active member of the community and contributed as a member of a number of civic groups. In addition to his work on the Boone County Conservation Board, Bruce contributed to the history of Boone County in many ways throughout the years. He served as president of the Big Bone Historical Association in its early days, and was instrumental in the effort to establish Big Bone Lick State Park. Ferguson also gave many presentations on Boone County's history in the area to groups at meetings of historical groups and societies, as well as local libraries.

Bruce Ferguson and his wife Elizabeth (Reynolds) were married for more than 50 years, and had five children together. Ferguson passed away in Boone County on May 3, 2015, at the age of 86.

Member

Ferguson family

Birth date

21 Mar 1929

Place of birth

Latonia (Ky.)

Father

Ferguson, Walter Stanley

Mother

Rice, Shirley

Spouse(s)

Reynolds, Elizabeth R

Child(ren)

Ray, Carol Ferguson

Hayden, Patty Ferguson

Ferguson, Stuart

Pacheco, Miriam McConnell Ferguson

Ferguson, Philip

Death date

3 May 2015

Place of death

Florence (Ky.)

Occupation(s)

Farmer

Employed by

Boone County (Ky.). Judge/Executive's Office

Resided in

Union (Ky.)

Related resource

Oral history interview with Bruce Ferguson [MP3}

Transcript of oral history interview with Bruce Ferguson [PDF}

Big Bone Lick State Historic Site (Ky.)

Member of

Freemasons. Boone Union Masonic Lodge, No. 304 (Union, Ky.)

Bibliographic citation(s)

FindAGrave.com, memorial #146106054

Source(s)

Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930

Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940

Find A Grave.com

U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970

Item sets

Persons--Kentucky--Boone County

Media

Bruce Ferguson removing mastodon tusk at Big Bone