John M. Bibb

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Historical Marker #1205 in Frankfort commemorates the home of John B. Bibb, a War of 1812 officer who is also credited for developing the Bibb variety of lettuce.

Born in Virginia, Bibb's family moved to Kentucky, where he became a lawyer. When the War of 1812 erupted, he volunteered for a Kentucky regiment and was promoted to major after the American victory at the Battle of the Thames.

After the war, Bibb was an attorney in Logan County and served in the Kentucky House and Senate. In 1856, he built a house on Wapping Street in Frankfort. There, Bibb developed his new lettuce. First called "limestone lettuce," it was eventually named Bibb lettuce in his honor. Although Bibb created the lettuce sometime after 1865, it was not commercially available until the early twentieth century.

Bibb died in 1884, and is buried in the Frankfort Cemetery. His home still stands on Wapping Street in Frankfort.