Stories of Old KentuckyPurcell, Martha C. Grassham, Mrs.
History
Stories of Old Kentucky
Purcell, Martha C. Grassham, Mrs.
Kentucky -- History
a party of hunters, while in camp on one of the branches of the Elkhorn,
learned that the first battle between the British and Americans had
taken place. To commemorate the important event they called the place of
their encampment Lexington. William McConnell, Francis McConnell, Alex
McClelland, John McClelland, David Perry, and Charles Lecompt came down
the Ohio in a large canoe as far as the mouth of the Kentucky, thence up
that stream to the Elkhorn region, where they explored and made some
improvements, between April and June of 1775.
Another party--Joseph Lindsay, William Lindsay, Patrick Jordan, Garret
Jordan, and John Vance--explored the country and made some improvements
in the vicinity of the present site of Lexington, and Joseph Lindsay,
here, at the spring, built an "improver's cabin" and raised the first
corn and beans in that country.
Lexington was not permanently settled until a few years later, by
Colonel Robert Patterson and others.
In the summer of 1773 two parties from Virginia came down the Ohio River
to explore the rich lands of Kentucky. One of these made the first
survey and settlement at what is now the metropolis of our state. In
August, Captain Thomas Bullitt laid off a town at this site, which was
occasionally visited by different persons. No permanent settlement was
made until in the spring of 1778, when General George Rogers Clark
brought a few families and left them on an island near the Kentucky
shore, which was called Corn Island from the circumstance that the
settlers raised their first Indian corn there. In the fall of the same
year, after Clark had captured the British posts that had served as the
fountain head for the Indian incursions, the settlers felt more secure
and removed from the island to the mainland. In 1780 the legislature of
Virginia passed an act to establish the town of Louisville at the Falls
of the Ohio, naming it in honor of Louis XVI of France, whose troops
were at that time aiding the Americans in their fight for liberty.
In 1780, on the Kentucky River, where our capital now stands, a party,
among whom was Stephen Frank, on their way from Bryan's Station to the
fort at Lexington to secure salt, encamped and were attacked by the
Indians. Two were wounded, and Frank instantly killed. In memory of
Frank the place was ever after called Frankfort.
Covington was named in honor of General Leonard Covington, who
distinguished himself at Fort Recovery, 1749. The name of Colonel
Richard Henderson, the head of the Transylvania Company, is perpetuated
in Henderson, or, as it was formerly known, Hendersonville. Bowling
Green, denoting a plat for bowling, probably came from the name found
in Yorkshire, England.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account