The legislative approved "an act imposing a tax upon billiard tables" on February 9, 1858. The act gave the county courts the power to grant licenses for billiard tables located outside incorporated cities and towns. The license fee was set at one hundred dollars. The clerks of the counties were obligated to account for moneys received which would be "carried to the credit of the Sinking Fund of the State of Kentucky." The proprietors of establishments licensed to have billiard tables faced loss of license if they permitted betting on games, sold liquor in the rooms where the tables were located, or permitted games on Sunday.
Advertisement, The Mammoth Steam Power Billiard Table Manufactory of America, Cincinnati, OH. Billiards was extremely popular in the Victorian period. Many fine homes were built with billiard rooms. Publicly, the game was often played in "poolrooms." A "poolroom" was originally a parlor for betting race horses. The billiard tables were added to entertain patrons. Museum Collection, UN 280. Kentucky Historical Society Collections.
