by Rhonda Buffington

Created on: October 27, 2010   Last Updated: October 28, 2010

Rabbit Hash, KY is approximately 16 miles off Interstate 75 (exit 178) at the Mt Zion Rd exit. Rabbit Hash is a three and a half acre plot of land along the Ohio River. It sits just across the river from Rising Sun, Indiana and approximately 30 miles downriver from Cincinnati, Ohio. Rabbit Hash “residents” are made up of locals who live in the areas surrounding Rabbit Hash, however, the actual town only has three official residents.

The small community decided to forget all the political ways of negative comments about their opponent and decided to nominate animals in the ballot for mayor. This election would be a mockery of politics and the votes would be based on money. Each vote cost a dollar and whoever had the most money backing him or her would become the new mayor. Everyone could vote as many times as they wanted and the funds would go to the Rabbit Hash Historical Society.

It originally started as something fun for the Rabbit Hash community, but it wasn’t long before people outside of the town became fascinated with a dog as mayor. Goofy, an area mutt, received the most votes in that election. He raised almost $5,000. Sadly, after two years in office, Goofy passed away. He had testicular cancer and had to be euthanized. Goofy was put to rest on Old Timers Day in 2000 with a memorial parade and an official eulogy.

The current mayor, Lucy Lou, is a red and white border collie, who received over 8,000 votes. Lucy has lived her entire life in Rabbit Hash. She says she will do her best to fill the paws of the previous mayor. To read more about this election and other information about Rabbit Hash, visit their website USA.

In the 2008 election, the first runner-up was Toby, an English springer spaniel, while Travis the cat placed third. Other candidates included a donkey, nine other dogs, an opossum, and one human. The contest raised $21,000, which is used by the Rabbit Hash Historical Society

General Store

The General Store is the heart and soul of the town. At the Rabbit Hash General Store, you will find drinks, (including beer) snacks, antiques, organic soap and many other items. You will see some nice motorcycles and several people in the area surrounding the General Store. You will often find the mayor hanging out in the area and greeting visitors, if she doesn’t have an appearance elsewhere.

How Rabbit Hash got its name

The origin of the town name is often disputed. There are several stories, but they all recall the flooding as being the time when the name was created. Some say the name came from the flooding in the area when food was scarce and rabbits were driven to the hillsides near the river, where they were killed for food, while others say it was from a discussion during the flooding about what meat would be served at their Christmas dinner.

The story about the discussion is that some of the locals were sitting around discussing their losses due to the flood around Christmas, when the discussion turned to what meat they were planning to serve for their Holiday meal. The story goes on to say that Frank, a local comedian, was watching the flood waters drive the rabbits into the hills and said that it looked to him there would be plenty of rabbit hash. In this story, it’s been told that Frank was given the nickname of Rabbit Hash before the name was given to the town.

We will never know which story is fact, but no matter how Rabbit Hash got its name, one thing is sure. A dog as the mayor is sure to be more considerate and  loyal than some of the human mayors we vote in.

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