Jessamine County, Kentucky - The whole text, 1898 (part 3 of 5)

The following extracts from a letter, written by John Xetherland, who was a son of Maj. Benjamin Netherland. will i)rove in^ teresting and show how the men from Jessamine acted in the battle of the Thames :

/'j\Iy Dear Parents: I never w^anted to see you so badly in my life. After the massacre of so many of the company of the brave Captain Price at the river Raisin, I succeeded in making my escape, after running seventeen miles in snow over tw(_i feet deep. T joined the main 1)0(1\- of the army under ( ieneral Harrison and served with Colonel Johnson in the battle which took place day before yesterday. I stood on the shore of lake ICrie on Sunday, the loth of Sej^tember. and saw Captain Terry whip hell out of the British lleet on the lake. As soon as they were whipi)e(l on the water, (ieneral Harrison made us all get on board of the ships of Captain Perry and sailed to Canada. When the army landed we marched in pursuit of the d - d murderers and cutthroats. We came u]) with them at the river Thames on the 5th of October, gave the devils a sound thrashing and took over seven hundrt'd jirisoners aud shot to death five Indians for breaking their paroles five days before the battle. It took old Governor Shelby a loug lime to kee]) our c(im])any from scalping twenty

. English soldiers for giving rum to the Indians and furnishing them with guns and powder to murder our people. We are now burying the dead and will leave here as soon as we can hunt up all who are wounded and unable to get home. When I come home I can tell you of as much suffering in this army as you ever sufifered in the Revolutionary War. I must say that every man and officer from Jessamine was game and did his duty without fear or favor. Billy Caldwell and Lieut. Ebenezer I'ricc, brother of Captain Price, was like a mad bull in battle. He was brave on all occasions and he and Billy Caldwell could hallo louder than any men in the army. They were ever ready to fight. I send you this letter by Noah Carlton, who goes to Newport and who will send it to you from Lexington. Don't let brother Ben go frollicking about on my horses. Before I left home he was in the habit of letting the young women have my horses to hunt grapes and persimmons on Hickman creek. I will be at home in five weeks.

Jessamine county had two companies in the battle of the Thames, fought June 13, 1813. The two companies were mounted men and were in Col. George Trotter's regiment. Capt. Gustavus Bower commanded one of these companies. He was born near Frederickslnu-g, Va., in 1786 and settled in Nicholasville in 1810, as a physician. When the War of 1812 was declared he raised the following company, which was in the battle of the Thames:

Capt. Mason Singleton, of the Keene neighborhood, also raised a company which was in Trotter's regiment. Hie following is a list of the company :

These captains, as well as their men, all acted a courageous and handsome part in the battle. Captain I'.ower, after the war, married a daughter of Col. Joseph Crockett, and went to Georgetown to practice medicine. He subsecpiently removed to Palmvra. Mo., where lie died in l86y.

General Hull, in conunand of the Ohio troops, on the i6th of August, 1 812, surrendered at Detroit. His army composing the army of the northwest, together with Detroit, had been turned over to the British. Hiis conduct aroused the keenest indignation. No sooner liad the news reached Kentucky than all the volunteers that the state and government desired pressed forward at once and offered themselves for the purpose of wi])ing out the disgrace wdiich General Hull had inflicted upon the American army.

The two troops from Jessamine county in ilu- regiment of Colonel Lewis, marched from Cinciiuiati towards Detroit and finally reached Fort Winchester. Here their baggage was transferred to canoes upon tlie Maumee river. The road was difificult and Ic^ng. The troops, starting- from home with their simimer clothes, had not yet been ])rovided with their winter outfit, and this amid the fierce climate of the northwest presented most serious difficulties. In a little while the provisions failed and for fourteen days the Kenluck)' troops subsisted on hickory roots, elm bark and the beef of a few cattle, which were killed in a half-starved state. In the midst of the winter a sui)])ly of warm cl(jthin_Q;' was received, and this ^ave the troojis new courage and animation.

A small force of regulars had been united with the Kentuckians in tins march. The Kentuckians received their winter clothing first, and it was (|uite a while before tlu' regulars were supplied, and, with the chi\alr\- and generosity wliicli marked men of that |)erio(l. tliese gallant Kentuckians demanded that the regulars shtnild l)e c\em])ted from camp dutv, and all military service required should be performed bv them.

( )n the Stii of January they were ordered to march to the rapids. Upon reaching this point the officers were informed that in the village called French Town, the inhabitants were terrified at the approach of the English and the Indians. French Towi^ is on the River Raisin, a small stream emptying its waters in Lake Erie. (ieneral Winchester promi)tl}- sent forward Colonels Lewis and Allen, with six hundred men. The}' reached the River Raisin on the i8th of January, 1813, and met the combined English and Indian force. aI)out 500 strong, under Majoi Reynolds, of the Canadian militia, and drove them from the place. The people of hVench Town were delighted witli tlie result. A few day.5 before they had feared the tomahawk of the Indian, and now they rejoiced at the presence of their Kentucky defenders. Those who hafl been assigned to marcli with Colonel Lewis's regiment were delighted that glory was placed in their grasp, while those who remained behind felt as if a great sorrow had come into their lives.

On the 21st of |anuar\-, 1813. (ieneral Winchester moved forward and reinforced Colonels Lewis and Allen. This reinforcement consisted of 300 regtilars, conunanded by Colonel Wells. Colonel Lewis, who was an experienced officer in Indian service, had posted his troops in an enclosed garden, with an oi)en field on his right. Colonel Wells outranked Lewis as an officer of the regular army, as Lewis was only a vtdunteer. and he demanded the position on liis right. This jilaced ( olonel Wells in the open field, wliiK- Lewis and All'-n still remained in the enclosed garden, with a |)icket fence as tlieir ])rotection. Colonel

Lewis strongly insisted that Colonel Wells should be placed in the same garden on his left, but General Winchester, yielding to the exactions of the regular army officer, ordered that Colonel Wells be placed in the open field on the right.

General Proctor, who was in command of the British at Maiden, pushed forward with all his force. He prepared for an assault on the dawn of the 22d. It was hardly light, when, with his artillery covering his right, and both his flanks protected by Indian marksmen, he advanced upon the Americans. But no sooner had he reached within musket shot of the Kentuckians, than he was met by such galling and incessant a fire tliat part of his army fell in confusion. Discovering the exposed position of the army under Wells, the British general rushed forward all his force against him. A'olley after volley of musketry broke the stillness of the morning air. and the whoop of the Indians and the cheers of the Kentuckians sounded on every side. But the 300 regulars could not withstand the assault of the entire British force. After the battle had lasted twenty minutes. General Winchester saw ill at he iriust relieve W^ells and place him within the enclosure occupied by General Lewis. The moment an order was give!! for this purpose the British and Indians redoubled their forces and pressed the Americans so hard that the line fell in disorder. A panic seized the regulars and they rushed towards the river to cross the rapids, where the remainder of the Kentucky army was in camp. The British and Indians pursued them, tomahaw king and scalping all who came in their way.

General W'inchester. although incompetent, was brave. He endeavored to reform his men. Colonels Lewis and Allen each took a company of fifty men. rushed out of their enclosures, and did their best to check the defeat and rout. Nothing would avail ; nothing could prevent the disaster. Colonel Allen was killed and General W^inchester and Colonel Lewis taken prisoners. The two Kentucky companies that had come with the regulars were swept away. It was here that the Jessamine troops interposed \\\xh superb courage and bravery. Captain Price was killed, together with a large number of his company. Some fell by rifle balls, some were scalped, others were left to perish in the cold.

Init he was delighted to know tliat General Winchester was among the prisoners. Sending for General W'incliester he recounted the savageness of the Indians, and the difficulty which he would have in restraining theni if tlie l)attle was continued. He said that he could set fire to every house in the village and this he would probably have to do and that as a result the innocent women and children would be massacred by the Indians. He then asked General Winchester to direct his men to surrender. Genj^ral Winchester consented to advise surrender. l)ut when the message was carried to the Kenttickians and handed to Major Madison, who was the ranking officer after the capture of Colonel Lewis, informing him that he and tlie Kentuckians with him had been surrendered by General Winchester, ^Vlajor Madison refused to recognize General Winchester's authority to conuiiand his surrender while a jiriscjner. and declared his determinaiion to die witli the Kentuckians unless favorable terms of stirrender were given.

At last General Proctc^r entered into an agreement that all ])rivate j^roj^erty should be respected, tliat sleds should be sent the next morning to remove the sick and v.ounded to Amherstburg, that the prisoners should be guarded from the savages and thai the side arms of the officers should be restored to them next morning. ]\Iajor Madison finally did reluctantly surrender. He Avas induced to do this by the failure of annuunition.

That night the ])risoners, 600 in number, were carried to Amherstburg. They were put in a wood-yard, exposed to a pelting rain, without sheds or blaid'cets or fire. Instead of the sleds, V. hich were to come for the wounded, came 200 savages, who rushed in the liouses where the wx)unded lay and killed them, scalped them and set the houses on fire. In the smouldering ashes the jjunes of 64 men were consumed.

The bodies of the Americans were denied sepulture and were left a prey to the animals cjf the village. Afterwards thev were ])laced in. the ground and the following sunnner, when the American army passed the same way, their bones were again ex])osed. Thev were l)uried once more, but there went u]) from the heart of every Kentuckian tlie stirring cry of "Remember the Raisin."

Capt. James C. Price was the father of the late Kleber F. Price, of Jessamine county, \vh(3 died at liis residence, above Xicholasville, in i<S64. The accompanyins^' letter of Captain Price was addressed to his wife, and was, doubtless, the last letter he ever wrote to his family, lie was killed in the battle of Raisin, January 22, 1813. He was a eallant and chivalrous soldier and a man ot noble and ur^nerous impulses. His body was never recog'nized and liis remains, with those of his compatriots, wiio died in that dreadful conflict, rest in unmarked graves, in the soil of the state they died to redeem and defend. He command'ed the Jessamine Pdues. which was one of the nrost noted uiilitarA- companies in its day. The uniform was blue, with light facings, and was considered, in those days, a marvel of beauty.

"Dear Susan: I have only time to infonu you that we e.x- "pect to have a battle tomorrow with the llritish and Indians. "On the eve of battle I have believed it proper to address you "these lines. As you are aware that the object nearest to my "heart is your welfare and that of my children, and so far as I "have been able 1 have provided everything in my power for "your comfort and that of my children. I feel in no unhappv #

"mood about my girl children; J know they are in your coni- "pany at all hours of the day. You know where they visit and "who are their associates. My only son. 1 feel a great interest "in his future life and welfare. ICarly impressions are lasting "and often. ])erha])s always, tend to give a permanent cast to the "leading principles of the heart, and to the general character of "the luind. Teach n\\ boy to love tnuh. tt) speak truth at all "times. He nuist not be allowed to associate with children or "other persons who indulge in swearing or misrepresentations. "He nuist be tatight to bear in mind that 'an lionest man is the "noblest work of God;" he_ nuist l)e rigidly lionest in his dealings. "He must be taught to attend cliurcli every Sabbath. Xever "allrjw liini to run about on Sabbath days, fishing. Teach my son "the habits of industry. Industry and virtue are twin brothers, "but indolence and vice are closely connected. Tndolence leads to "everv vice and everv other evil. Tndustrv leads to virtue and

"every other g-ood. Not a day must be lost in teaching him how "to work, and tlie great princijjles of our holy religion must be "on all occasions impressed on his mind. It mav be possible I "may fall in battle and my only boy nuist know that his father, "next to Tiod. l:)ves his country, and is now risking his life in de- "fending that country against a barbarous and cruel enemy. Be "sure and teach my son. w^ith Pope, to say and feel that -

"\'ice is a monster of such frightful mien "As to be hated needs but to be seen. "Yet seen, too oft, familiar with her face, "W'e first endure, then pity, then embrace.

"Post Script. - The snow is two feet deep, the crust is very "hard and we walk over it and ride upon it on horseback. We "often sleep under such deep snow, we cover tip in our blankets "and we sleep warm during the night. Eb. has been sick, btit is "now on dut}-. "J. C. P."

^'ou will, long before this reaches you, have received the painful intelligence c^f the death of your brave and gallant son, Capt. James C. Price, who was killed and scalped by the Indians on the morning of January 22(1. Pie had been engaged in a severe skirmish early on the morning of the 17th. At ten o'clock he was ordered by General Winchester to bring in all the wounded men and carr\- them in all the sleds beyond the reach of the Indians. In the discharge of this duty Captain Price and myself, at the head of fifty men of our company, w^ere attacked by a large bod\' of Indians, who had concealed themselves in the timber, on the river bank. The Indians had succeeded in breakimj the crust of the deep snow a mile al)ove our camp, on the river, which was the only road through wliicli we could reach the command of General Winchester, who had retreated about three miles, and was awaiting the arrival of General Harrison. As soon as the Indians opened a heavy fire on us we returned their fire and continued a rapid retreat to the main arm\-, under General W'inchester. over the only road on whicli the Indians, under their chief. Tecumseh, had early on the morning of the i8th succeeded in breaking the thick crust of the snow, which was two feet deep. In this trap we were caught. In getting away from the river nianv of our men were killed, and scalped before we got out of the deep snow. Captain Price was shot in ilie right shoulder by a nuisket ball, which disabled his right arm: he was attacked by three Indians: he ran his sword through the heart <jf one of them. ])ut was soon overpowered, killed and scaljjed. Eight of our company, besides Captain Price, were brutally massacred: more than tliirty got away and reached the conunand of General Winchester in safety. 1 had five bullet holes in my hat and clothing. The force of General Winchester was 350 and we were attacked again early on the morning of January 22<\ by a large force of British and Indians. We were completely routed and all of our army taken prisoners. General Proctor, the British conmiander, suffered the savages to kill and scalp more than twenty of our soldiers after we had surrendered. .Vbout twelve o'clock we were marched off. Dr. Todd and Dr. Augustine Bower of our regiment were left with the sick and wounded. About sunrise the next day, instead of sleds coming to convey the sick and wounded to Maiden, a large body of Indians niade their appearance, painted black and red. The\- began to ])lun(ler, and the sick and wounded were scalped. ( )ne Indian had the seal]:) of Captain I'rice. 1. being next in conunand of the company from Jessamine, the savage showed the scalp to me. but 1 knew he was lying for Captain Price was very baldheaded on the top of his head. Tlie few who were able to be sent to Maiden were saved, but all who gave out were killed on the way and were Ictt lying on the road in the deep snow. General Proctor, after he had ])roniised us protection bef(M-e our surrender, nexer named, nor did he ])ay any attention to our sick and helpless soldiers. General Wincliester and Major Madison repeatedly told liim of it. but he ])aid no attenif tion to them whatever. Capt. ElHott, a cowardly British officer, said to Major Madison and Winchester, in my licaring, that "the Indians were very excellent siirj^eons and ought to kill all the officers and men." I have, as you well know, passed through a terrible winter in suffering for our country. We have all been exchanged, and will be at our homes the tenth of March. I rejoice that we have done our duty to God and our country, l^benezer is now lieutenant in my place. Look for us on the tenth.

The conduct of the Kentucky trooi)s under their own officers evinced the highest order of courage and gallantry. They were worthy of the state whence they came and worth\- of all the expectations of those who had sent them to this war.

"On them too much praise can not be bestowed. Assailed 1)y numbers greatly superior, supported l)y >ix ]:)ieces of artillery constantly employed, tiey gallantly defended themselves with small arms alone for over four hours of constant battle. No troops ever behaved with more cool and determined bravery, from the commanding officer (Idwu to the connnon soldier. There was scarcely a single abandonment of dutw .\t last, when their ammunition was nearh' exhausted and tliey were siuToimded bv the enemy, greatlx' sn])eri()r in nunil)ers and the means of war, they surrendered witli a reluctance rt>rel\- to be found on similar occasions."

T lad llie regulars tmder Colonel Wells sustained themselves as did the \-olunteers under Lewis and Allen, the awful tragedy of the Raisin A\ould lia\e been avoided, and instead of defeat and massacre and broken faith, there woidd have been a glorious victory. The Kentuckians beat t)ff I'rocliM' and his Lidians. "At ten o'clock in the morning." sa\s Ibitler, in his historv, "Proctor, finding it useless to sacrifice his men in a vain attempt to dislodge this little band of heroes, withdrew his forces to the heights, intending to abandon the contest or to await the rettn-n of the Indians wlio had pnrsned the retreating' party, 'idle loss sustained 1)\' our men was inconsiderable and when I'roctor withdrew they employed the leisure it afforded them to take breakfast at their posts."

Their surrender was only obtained by Proctor taking advantage of ( jeneral Winchester's capture and by basel\' misrepresenting a message which he had sent t(j these Kentucky troops within the enclosure.

At the commencement of the Civil War, the people of Jessamine count\ were divided in sentiment, and many of its citizens took up arms both in the h^deral and Confederate armies.

Companv K. of the 20th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry, commanded by Col. Sanders I5ruce, was almost altogether composed of Jessamine county men, and thev were in the service three years.

Andrew AIcCam])bell, captain, resigned June, 1862: Charles R. \\'est was elected captain May 24, 1863, served three years; George W. IJaker, first lieutenant, resigned in 1862; Ben Thornburg, Joseph Lewis, afterward A\'illiam L. Steele; Samuel M. Anderson was made first lieutenant September 29, 1862; Allen A. Rurton and S. T. Corn, now of Corlinville, 111., were first and second lieutenants ; W^illiam Plumblee, first sergeant : Levi Reynolds, second sergeant ; C)liver Davis, first corporal ; Jonathan White, second corporal.

Confederatk Montmhnt

in 1880: the niommient was dedicated on the i3tli of June. 1896, and stands in the court-house yard. The platform was erected in tlie court-house yard as the ])lace for the decHcatory ceremonies. Special trains were run on all the roads entering the city, and the delegation from Louisville, headed by Col. Bennett H. Young, brought the largest number of persons. The city of Xicholasville royally entertained all those who came to unite in the ceremonies. At one o'clock they began. Dr. Charles Mann, president of the association. ])resided. Ca])t. John 11. Leathers and Col. Bennett H. Young, of Louisville, were the orators of the day. The monument was unvailed b\' Miss Josephine Mann and Master Lawson ( )xle}', of Cynthiana, son of Jefferson ()xle\-, the first president of the association. The exercises were opened with pfayer by Rev. F. W. Noland, a member of the Eighth Kentucky Confederate Cavalry, and the Confederate Glee Club of Louisville, sang a beautiful and appro]>riate selection ; the closing song, "Tread Lightly, Ye Comrades," produced a profound impression upon the audience. The history of the work of the association, in ccjnnection with the monument, was read by I'rof. A. X. (iordon. its secretary and treasurer.

In 1862. Dr. Charles Mann, then a surgeon in the Confederate Army, was ordered l>y Gen. Kirby Smith, to gather and care for the sick and woimded who had been left about Camp Dick Kobinson. Alxjut eighty of these, he brought in ]^n'vate conveyances to Xicliolasville. where they were nursed and cared for bv the ladies of the conminnit\ : lliose who died there were buried in the Xicholas\-ille cemetery. After the war. Dr. .Mann, with the aid of James S. AU Kenzie and Charles ( )l(lhani, gathered otlier Confederate dead, including those who had l)een l)uried in tlie Federal cemetery at Camp Xelson. and brought them to the cemetery at Xicholasville, where a lot had been gfenerously donated by the Cemetery Company for that ])ur])ose. . . . . . .

The original headboards, liaving rotted down, were replaced by Col. liennett 1 I , \<)ung. and these, in turn, by beautiful granite tablets, whirli now mark tlu-ni

Jefterson ( )xley, long a leading niercliant in .Xicliolasville, and as true, hra\e and chi\alrons a soldier as ever wore the gray, did as much as, if not more than, any one man to secure the funds necessary to construct the nionumi-nt. lie died when success was in sight, but before he saw the work acconipHshed. His comrades, and those whose dead the nionnnient commemorates, will l()n<^ keep green his memorw

I )r. Chas. Mann, the president, was the surgeon of the Fifth Kentucky Confederate Infantry, and rendered distinguished services in the Arm\- of Tennessee. He was frequently detailed to important positions, and returned from the war with highest commendations of his skill and efficiency as a surgeon and man, since which time he has practiced his profession in Jessamine countv.

Prof. A. X. (iordon, a moving spirit in the erection of the monument, was a brave and gallant soldier in the Confederacy, for many years the brilliant leader of educational work in the county, as princi])al of Dethel Academy, and now principal of Allegan Academy for IJoys, near Lexington.

"Nor can I close this address without some reference to the Vv'omen of Jessamine countw who. with such patience, such industry, such zeal and such unselfishness, have labored so long" to erect this monument to our beloved dead. Many who helpeo at the inception of the undertaking have been denied the happi ness of seeing its fulfillment, but we feel the sweet presence of their spirits, though they passed over the river before success had crowned the la1)ors of the association. If they are not here, we shall, at least, in love and gratitude, remember them and their work for this cause, and their absence alone mars the completeness of this occasion. The noblest and highest of the war's demands was to be \vorthy of the faith and trust of the Southern women, and it mitigated the anguish and bitterness of defeat to be al>le through manly tears to look down into the tear-dimmed eves of the women of the w^outli and tell them that in the sufferings, sacrifices and ])rivati()ns of all that weary struggle, there had been nothing done or left undone which rendered the men of the Confederacy,- unworthy of what was required by its women, and now. after the lapse of long years, we find the same gentle, loving, beautiful, brave, and unselfish women, with all the enthusiasm of their nobler nature, rearing these memorials to those of our comrades who went down amid the storms of war, and thus keeping the record of those heroes who gave their Ijlood as a seal of their loyalty to the land of their love and of their troth. We utter benediction for sucli women. May the angels of blessing and j^eace hover over and around them in this life and at its end bring them peacefully to that place where there will be no wars, where monuments are not rc(|uired, where death and sorrow never come. With reverent homage we stand by these graves of our heroes. The}- are hallowed in (jur hearts and souls, and we will honor and adore them forever. These are the men who fought with tile Johnstons. I.ee, Jackson. ISreckinridge, Morgan and Polk, and liraggand Hardee and Hood, and Forrest and 1 lill. and Cheatham and Cleburne, and hosts of immortal heroes. These are the ])artakers of the sublime glor\' of the Confederate armies, and we come in tenderness and devotion and afYection to mark, beautify and bless the soil that garners their dust, and to declare by this monument, which we trust will remain forever, that the memories of the virtues, of the courage, of the chivalry, and of the bra\ery, of the sacrifices, of the sufferings, of the reiKwvn of our departed conu'ades shall be as deathless, as their deeds were illustrious.

li\ forms unseen their dirge is sung. Here honor comes - a pilgrim gray - To bless the tiu-f that wra])s their clay. And Freedom doth a while re])air. To dwell, a weeping hermit, there."

Ca])!. James White, a son of Elder \\'il]iani \\'liitc, in 1862, wlien (ieneral Ilrai^g" invaded Kentucky, recruited a company of infantrs . which was in the Fifth Kentucky Regiment Confederate Infantry, conmianded !:>}- CoL Ifiram Hawkins. Tart of the men in tliis company were recruited from Grant count} and were in all the great battles of the Atlanta campaign, and surrendered at ( ireensborough, X. C. in 1865. The following is a list of the members from jessamine count}-, in Captain White's company, and in Company ]>, Capt. Wm. Lewis, Eighth Kentucky Cavalry ,. conmianded by Col. Roy S. Cluke : lessamine county has some remarkable natural scenery-. The Hudson and the Rhine have nothing- so beautiful, majestic or grand as the clififs along the Kentucky and Dix rivers. If they had been open so as to have been accessible, they would have made Jessamine county famous; but for many years the\- could not be reached by railroad and orly a part of them were within the limits of navigation on the Kentucky river, and the small boats and the slow time rendered the iovu-ue\ unattractive to the traveling public. \\ ith swift l^oats operated upon the river now that it is locked and danuned to the extreme limits of jessamine county, a great tide of visitors will flow in to see these wonderful natural curiosities. The first complete .\merican geography, written by Jedediah Morse and ])ublishe(l in 1781; at l^lizabethtown, New Jersey, gave a description of the scenery. It says:

"The banks or rather the precipices of the Kentucky and Dix rivers are to be reckoned among the natural curiosities of this county. Here the astonished eye beholds three or four lumdred feet of solid perpendicular rocks, in some parts of the limestone kind and in others of fine white marble curiously checked with strata of astonishing regularity. These rivers have the appearance of deep, artificial canals. J heir high. rock\- banks are covered with red cedar groves. The accounts of the fertility of the soil have in some instances exceeded belief and probably been exaggerated. The high grounds of Kentucky are remarkably good. The lands of the first rate are too rich for wheat. l)ut will produce fifty to sixty, and in some instances one lumdred. l)ushels and even more of good corn an acre. In conuuon the land will produce thirty bushels of wheat or rye to the acre. ISarlew oats, cotton. hemp. flax, and vegetables of all kinds couunon in this climate yield abundantly. The old X'irginia i)lanters say. if the climate does not prove too moist, few soils known will \ield more or better tobacco.''

Dr. ChristO])her Ciraham ])re])ared for Collins' llistory a description of some of these curiosities in Jessamine county, and described them in a most effective and attractive way. He says:

Methodist Church, South

(juilling our horses, proceeded on foot. Upon approaching the break of the precipice, under the direction of our guide, we suddenly found ourselves standing on the verge of a yawning chasm, and immediately beyond, bottomeil in darkness, the Devil's Pulpit was seen rearing its black, gigantic form, from amid the obscurity of the deep and silent valley- The background to this gloomv object presented a scene of unrelieved desolation. ClifY rose on cliff and crag surmounted crag, sweeping ofif on either hand in huge semicircles, until the wearied eye became unable to follow the countless and billowy-like mazes of that strange and scene. The prevailing character of the whole was that of savage grandeur and gloom. A profound silence broods over the place, broken only by the muffled rushing of the stream far down in its narrow passage, cleaving its way to its home in the ocean. Descending In- a zigzag path to the shore of the river, while our companions were making preparations to cross. I strayed through the valley. The air was cool, refreshing and fragrant, and vocal with the voices of many birds. The bending trees, the winding stream with its clear and crystal waters, the flowering slrrul)s, and clustering vines walled in by these adamantine rami)arls - which seem to tower to the skies - make this a place of rare and picturesque beauty. The dew drops still hung glittering on the leaves, the whispering winds played with soft music through the rustling foliage, and the sun])eams struggling through the overhanging forest kissed the opening flowers, and all combined made up a scene of rural loveliness and romance, which excited emotions of unmingled delight. The boat having arrived, the ri\er was crossed without difificultv, and we commenced the ascent, and after measuring up two hundred and seventy feet, arrived at the base of the 'Pulpit.' Fifty ])aces from this point, and parallel with it. in tlie solid ledge of the cliff, is a cave of consi(leral)le extent. At its termination there passes out like the neck of a fumiel. an opening, not larger than a hogshead, l^pon pitching rocks into this cave, a runil)ling was heard at an innnense distance below the earth. Some are of the opinion that this cave contains a bottomless pit. A\'e now ascended the cliffs some fifty feet further, clanil)enng up tln-ough a fissure in the rocks, having the Pulpit on our right, and a range of cliffs on our left. To look up here makes the head dizzy. Muge and dark masses roll up above you, upon whose giddy heights vast crags jut out and overhang the valley, threatening destruction to all below. The floating clouds give these crags the appearance of swimming in mid air. The ascent of these rocks, though somewhat laborious, is perfectly safe, being protected by natural walls on either side, and forming a perfect stairway, with steps from eigfht to ten feet thick. At the head of this passage, there is a hole through the river side of the wall, large enough to admit the body, and through which one may crawl, and look down upon the rushing stream below. At the foot of the stairway stands the Pulpit, rising froin the very brink of the main ledge, at more than two hundred fe^t: of an elevation above the river, but separated from the portion which towers up to the extreme heights. The space is twelve feet at bottom, and as the clifif retreats slightly at this point, the gap is perhaps thirty feet at the top. The best idea that can be formed of this rock is to suppose it to be a single column, standing in front of the continuous wall of some vast building, or ruin, the shaft standing as colonnades are frequently built upon an elevated platform. From the platform to the capital of the shaft is not less than one hundred feet, making the whole elevation of the 'Devil's Pulpit' three hundred feet. It is called by some the inverted candlestick, to which it has a striking resemblance. There are two swells, which form the base moulding and occupy about forty feet of the shaft. It then narrows to an oblong of about three feet by six. at which point there are fifteen distinct projections. This narrow neck continues with some irregularity for eight or ten feet, winding ofi^ at an angle of more than one degree from the line of gravity. Then commences the increased swell, and craggy offsets, first overhanging one side, and then the other, till they reach the top or cap rock, which is not so wide as the one below it, l)ut is still fifteen feet across."

Miss Jessaaiiine Woodson, a descendant of distinguished Jessamine ancestors, and w^ho was named for the county, prepared for the Acme Club a history of the county, and some of her descriptions are so vivid and so exquisitely penned that they deserve preservation, in more permanent fonu than newspaper columns; and the author can not refrain fron] inserting two paragraphs : symmetrical in form, bounded on three sides by the Kentucky river, making- a liorseshoe, which is for hick as well as beauty, we i:>ehold beautiful and highly iniprovctl farms, well watered and drained by three ])rt-tty creeks and intersected by 130 miles of smooth, well-kept turnpikes made of the blue limestone, which can not be found (^f the same hard (|uality anywhere else in the world, and these roads, with ihe tl-.or()Ugh])rcd horses, the product of the bluegrass and limestone water, is the most attractive feature of this regiori. jessamine is better sup])lied with these roads than her neighbors. We also see her important railways crossing each other in tht- center of the comity and diverging to the four points of the comi:)ass. fifteen or more churches and schools, sixteen postoftices and country stores, seven railway stations, three or fotu" villages, besides the county seat, and nian\ a neat, comfortable farm house, and a number of large and elegant country seats, some of tnem dating back to ante-bellum days. We see waving fields of grain, hem]) and tobacco and woodland ])astures, carpeted with green, velvety grass, and trees that are tall and straight and of great variet\- and of wondrous Ijeaut}-', and luider these and in tlie meadows are groups of fat sheej). Jerseys and Shorthorns, thoroughbred horses, Berkshire pigs and Southdown sheep. Thrift}- fruit orchards we see, too, and green hedges of osage orange, and stone fences and barn -yards with all sorts of pretty domestic fowls.

Our Ijluegrass pasture lands are our special ])ri(lc. (irass as soft as velvet, and with l)Iades often a vard long, and as fine as a siken cord, witlioul a weed, growing close to the verv trunks of the tall, wide-spreading elms, walnut, oak and maple trees. Here is the home (jf the dr\a(ls and wood nymphs, and here the poet must have been ins])ircd I0 write, "Tlie GnSves were God's Mrst Temples," and these actuall\ were to the noble armv of pioneers who first set up "The Banner of the Cross" while building their log cabins with rides in their liands. The country is gentl\- undulating, witli hill and dale, meadow and wood, giving variety and sparing tlie eye from niouotonx- until vou approach the river, when it l)cciinu'x more rugged, but always grander and more wonderful in beauty and sublimity. It is well and beautifully watered, everywhere unfailing springs of clear, cool water, gushing out froiu rocky ledges or bubbling out of a mysterious cave. overtoiDped with waving elm, beach or sugar maple trees. A most welcome sight these were to the pioneers who knew nothing of cisterns and microbes, and they invariably decided the site of the homestead. Near many of these are still to be seen the old. moss-covered spring-house, so suggestive of cool, rich cream and firm, golden butter, and of primitive arcadian life. Such a spring is Jessamine, the source of the creek of the same name, and of Hickman and Sinking creek, which Mr. Collins tells us is a remarkable natural curiosity. It rises near the Fayette line, about a mile north of Providence church, runs west through the beautiful I.afon, JUackford and Sandusky farms, and unites with a smaller. Sinking creek, from the north in Woodford, forming Clear creek. It sinks four times, running under grotmd from one (|uarter to a mile each time. At times in the winter and spring, when the water can not sink as fast as it falls, it is fifty feet deep and a mile wide. There are many wonders and curiosities under ground besides these streams.

Jessamine creek rises in the northern part of Jessamine county and flows in a southern direction emptying into the Kentucky river a few miles al)Ove High Bridge. It rises about two and a half miles above Keene, on the farm now belonging to Mr. Pleasant Cook, widch was early settled by the Singletons and Chownings. There are two large springs fiom which the water comes f up. but both of these have been very nmch changed in later years.

One of the recent owners of the land on which is the creek head, finding the sources of the stream practically bottomless, and that his stock would sometimes fall ir. between the ledges, which created a sort of chasm from which the water rose, hauled four or five hundred loads of loose stones and threw them into this ojiening, thus endeavoring to make it safe, so that stock might w^alk over it. The result has been that when heavy rains fall, the water boils up on both sides within twenty or thirty feet of the spring itself. It has never been known to go dry. It comes out of the side of the hill, the rocks of which overhang the spring about ten feet high. Two large oak trees grow immediately over the spring, and rise out of the cliff overhanging it. A\'hile the stream

The headwaters of Jessamine creek are in the midst of one of the most fertile portions of Jessamine county. The Singletons, the Cokers, the Sanduskys, the Chownings. and the Barclays settled in this neighborhood. Jereniiali Singleton, one of the earliest settlers on Jessamine creek. Ijuilt a mill ahuut lialf a mile below the mouth of tlie creek. It was used both as a saw and a grist mill. The dam was built first of stone, and afterwards lined with brick laid in cement. The mill itself was built of stone. Steam with its accommodating powers, which could be located on roads or in cities, superseded these old mills, and. about fifteen years ago, the mill was torn down and the bricks in the dam removed and used for other purposes.

Beginning at its very mouth, the creek passes throtigh some of the finest land in Kentucky, which is admirably adapted for corn, but princi])ally for hemp. Beautiful farms with elegant and tasteful residences are seen on every side, and the great fall which it is necessary for the stream to make in order to reach down to the bottom of the tremendous clififs on the Kentucky river, furnishes magnificent mill sites, and there were no less than six mills along this stream, 'khat i)art of the stream called the "Narrows." near Glass' mill, has some most beautiful and picttiresque scenery.

The creek makes a horseshue bend, the points of the shoe being very close together. Between these the earth rises several hundred feet higli. and. standing on either side, you can look far down below tipon the stream wiuduig its way in silence and grandeur to its resting place in the bosom of the l\entuc]<\- River. High up on the clifTs on the west side of the stream near the "Narrows" is the famous Chrisman Cave. This cave extends a great distruice back from the entrance, running in a northwestern course, and it is a neighborliood wonder and attracts manv visitors from all ])arts of the C()untr\'.

A short distance below Spark's Ford is a natural curiositv. known as the "Little Mountain." Tt is a mound standing out separate and single and ]ia\ing no connection with the cliffs. There by the action of the water, or by some upheaval of nature, it has cut loose from all sm-roundings. and stands out alone and independent.

The creek was given its name prior to 1774, and prior to that time it had been mentioned at Harrodsburg. There are two branches of the creek known as "Main Jessamine" and "East Jessamine." The East Jessanune rises about three-fourths of a mile above Xicholasville, between the Cincinnati Southern and tlie R. X. I. & Jl. R. R., on wliat is known as the Horine Place. It passes through the town of Xicholasville, and, keeping to the east of the Danville Turnpike, enters the main branch about three miles below Xicholasville.

The stone mill, known now as "Glass' Mill," three miles from the Kentucky ri\er, is certainly over one hundred and ten (iio) years old. It is supposed to have been laid out as a mill-site as early as 1782. It was subsequentl} turned into a paper mill which was operated as late as 1849. The rag-house and olifice still stand in a perfect state of preservation. Subsecjuently it was turned into a distillery, run Ijy a gentleman named J!ryan, and is now owned by Mr. Henry Glass. It has water power sufficient to operate the mill seven months in tlie year, and yields 72-horse power. It is a most admirable site, and is as picturescpie and beautiful as it is useful.

Hickman creek rises in Favette countv not far from Lexineton, and after running through Fayette and the eastern half of Jessamine county. em])ties into ilie Kentucky river near what is known as "I'oone's Knol)." It is a larger stream than Jessamine creek, and was named for Rev. John llickman. a pioneer Baptist preacher. It has an east and west branch, and each of these has numerous tributaries, whicli pass through high clififs and ridges, rivaling at times tlie cliffs on tlie Kentucky river itself. The country 'between the two branches of llickman creek is one of the most fertile in Jessamine county. The section drained bv Hickman creek is well timbered, and lias still a superb growth of oak, hackberry, ash, and hickory, with a sprinkling of maple. - Along this creek the earliest settlements of Jessamine county were made, and some of the best citizens who ever came to Jessamine, made their homes in tliis locality. ^Ir. I"*hilip Swigert. who was born September 27, 1798, came from this neighborhood. When quite a young man he became a deputy in the Woodford Circuit Court Clerk's office, under John McKinncy, who formerly resided in Jessamine. He afterwards removed to Frankfort and died in 1871, in the 74th year of his age. He was one of the most distinguished Masons in the state, a self-made man. and by his native force, great good sense, and indomitable perseverance, acquired a large fortune and also secured a high standing with the best men of the state. He was born on the old farm near Marble Creek schoolhouse, once the property of A. P. Davis.

Jas. Rutherford, Sr.. was another of the early settlers. He was a man of native force, strong friendships, great will, and a large number of his descendants still live in that portion of the county.

Abram Vince. who was born in Pennsylvania, in 1784, and died January 17, 1874, was also one of the settlers in this district. He came to Jessamine in 1803 ; he was a descendant of the Swiss emigrants who settled in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, the first half of the eighteenth century. He was a man of high character, great industry, and has left for himself and those who bore his name a goodly heritage.

Harrison Daniel also owned propert}' in this section, and long bore honorable and honored part in tlie government of Jessamine county. He was sheriff of Jessamine county under the Constitution of 1799, as also a Justice of the Peace. He was a man of good education and strong mind. He was a member of the legislature in 1836 and '27-

The bridge at the mouth of Hickman was long considered one of the engineering wonders of Kentucky. It was part of the structure of the turnpike between Lexington, Nicholasville and Lancaster. It was projected when the state was interested in internal im])rovements, and was lending its credit and its money to the construction of railroads, canals and turnpikes. It cost $30,000. The length of a span was 270 feet, which was unusual for a wooden bridge. Garrard count}' i^aid a part of the cost of the structure. It required six months to build it, and about eighteen workmen were employed upon it - a large proportion of these were unskilled and received a dollar a day. It was erected in 1838 by Lewis W. Wernwag, a native of Pennsylvania; he died in Lexington, Alo.. in 1874, aged seventy-six years. For the time and with the materials at hand, it is a wonderful structure. It has now remained intact for more than sixty years ; it has carried all the traffic required on a great thoroughfare, and during the war it was considered so important that a regiment was stationed on either side to protect it from destruction. It ;s not only a unique piece of engineering, but, in view of the advances in engineering since tliat time, was a signal triumj)!! ; and, while it has long been one of the curiosities of Jessamine, it also stands as a monument to the engineering skill, enterprise and courage of its constructors. It was built some distance above the site and floated down the river on rafts in sections, and when put together in position it was so accurately constructed that not even a hammer was required to adjust its parts.

One of ihe most noted of the engineering feats in the past thirty years, is the celebrated High Bridge, across the Kentucky river, at the mouth of Dick's river. It was built in 1876. The railway approaches the span from either direction along a ledge of rocks several htmdrefl feet above the river, and the perpendicular cliffs run from tlic track to the water's edge for a mile on either side. Where the bridge crosses the Kentuck\- river it has aii elevation of 276 feet above the river bed. At one time it was the highest bridge on the continent, and at the period of its construction was a marvel of ingenuitx'. A great man\- distinguished engineers of the country i)ronounce(l the work an impossibilitv. It was necessary to Iniild the structure without trestling, and for that reason the cantilever ]irinci])le was introduced. By this ])rinciple one s])an is erected, and from the end of this span is built out into space i)art of another sjian. The length to which such spans may be extended out int*^ the air without sujijiort is fixed by the weight of the span from which it is built, and these -spans from A\hich the cantilevers are extended are generallv weighted so that thev carr\- tremendous burdens. Manv dis- tinguislied engineers of America pronounced the plan of C. Shaler Smith, who constructed this l:)ridge, visionary, and deci<led that it was not feasil)le in this way to construct a bridge at this point; but Mr. Smith \\as a skilled, learned and i)ractical bridge engineer.

At this point the Kentucky river with its channel had cut down through the stone cliffs to a depth of about 290 feet. It was necessary to construct the bridge without trestles, and this Mr. Smith undertook to do. He assumed the responsibility of the construction personally, and in the end his designs and his calculations were found to be correct. The great cantilever arms stretched out from the piers on either side, reaching the middle of the channel, and when the last bolt, which was to hold them in place, was it was said that they did not vary i-ioo of an inch from the calculations which this man had made one day in his ofifice in Baltimore. He immediately sprang into prominence as one of the great bridge engineers of the world, and since then others liave followed his ideas and adopted his plans.

The bridge known as Young's High Bridge, named in honor of Col. Bennett H. Young, over the Kentucky river at Tyrone, has a s])an 200 feet longer than the one constructed at the mouth of Dick's river. It is ])uilt upon the same principle, and thus over the Kentuck}- river are two of the great cantilever bridges of .America.

At the time the Lexington & Danville Railroad w^as to be built, a susjjension briclge was designed to cross this chasm, but the railway company failed after the ])iers had been erected, and these tow^ers stand as a niDnument to the genius of John A. Roebling, who had the contract from the president of the Lexington & Danville Railroad, Gen. Leslie Combs, to build a suspension bridge, and about $100,000 were spent in the erection of the towers and anchorage for the construction of the suspension bridge which it ])ecame necessary to abandon because of the lack of financial support. On one of the towers is this inscription : "Gen. Leslie Combs, born in Clark county, Kentucky, November 28, 1793."

eastern seaboard. The enormous cost of constructing the railroad through the mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee, deterred private means from undertaking such a task, and the city of Cincinnati, after full investigation, in the summer of 1869, undertook t(j build a trunk line of railroad from Cincinnati to Chattanooga, in order to give Cincinnati proper connections with all the southern railway systems which centered at Chattanooga, and also to open up to the Cincinnati markets ]:)ortions of Tennessee and Kentucky.

This line passes through Jessamine county for 17 miles, and is now one of the great American railway thoroughfares. To build it, Cincinnati paid out $20,000,000, but it has proven a good investment, and though it will ])ass from under the control of the city which l)uilt it the cost has been amply returned in the benefits it has bestowed.

The Kentuck}' river flows through Jessamine county for nearly twenty-live miles. It bounds the countv on almost onehalf of its border lines. The state undertook to improve the Kentucky river, but it abandoned the work, and the locks never reached farther than Frankfort.

In 1865 the Kentucky Iviver Navigation Company was incorporated by the Legislature, for the purpose of building new locks and dams, anfl extending the navigation of the river through Jessamine county. .\t the September term of the Jessamine County Court, in 1865, John S. lironaugli was a])pointe(l a commission to subscribe for $35,000 of stock in the Kentucky Rivet Navigation Company, and in November, 1867, he was further directed to subscribe for $65,000 additional stock in the com- ])any. The conii)an\ failed and its creditors attached these subscriptions. Their validity was attacked. The courts relieved ^^fercer and (iarrard counties of their subscriptions, but Jessamine county was held for a large proportion of hers and compelled to pay it.

The river has been ceded to the United States .The old locks have been enlarged and repaired and new ones built. Navigation is now assined to the mouth of Hickman all the vear round.

Another lock in process of construction will give navigation throuehout the entire river border of the countv and in a few years the system of locks will reach the coal fields on the North P'ork of the Kentucky and secure to Jessamine county the advantage of river transit for the entire year from the coal fields to the mouth of the river at CarroUton.

Few counties in the state are better supplied with turnpikes than Jessamine. They are l)uilt partly by private subscriptions and ])artlv bv county aid. There are about 175 miles of turnpike in the countv, and when it is remembered that it only has 158 square miles, it will l)e seen that the county is most thoroughly supplied with first-class roadways. At this time there are not ten miles of leading roads in the county that are not macadamized. The county has bought the turnpikes and hereafter they will be free.

The first ferry in Kentucky was across the Kentucky river at Boonesboro. authorized in October, 1779, by the Legislature of \'irginia, on the farm of Col. Richard Callowax-. while the second ferrv established b\- legislative authorit\- in Kentucky was at the mouth of Hickman creek in 1785. 'ihe act was as follows:

"Be it enacted by the General Asseml)ly, that public ferries shall be constantly ke])t at the following places and the rates for jKissing the same be as followeth, that is to say : from the land of James Hogan in the county of Lincoln across the Kentucky river at the mouth of 1 lickman's creek to his land on the opposite shore in the county of kayelte. for a man four ])ence, and for a horse the same."

Up to 1786, ( miy the ferries had been established in Kentucky ; two across the Ohio river and three across the Kentucky river. Tn 1786, two more were established, one of which was the ferry at the mouth of Dick's river, the legislative act for which was as

"Section I. Whereas, it has l)eeii represented to this present General Assenil)ly that it wouhl be of pubHc utiHty to estabhsh a warehouse for tlie reception and inspection of tobacco on the land of John C'urd in the county of Mercer;

"Sec. II. He it therefore enacted that an inspection of tobacco shall be and same is hereby established on the land of John Curd l_\inj;- at tlie mouth of Dick's river in the county of Mercer, to be called and known l)y the name of Curd's warehouse.

"Sec. V. Be it further enacted that a public ferry shall l)e constantl\- Icept at the folh^wing places and the rates for passing the same as followeth, that is to say: Upon the land of the said John Curd in tlie count}' of Mercer across the Kentucky river to the opposite shore, for a man four pence, and for a horse the same, and for the transportation of wheeled carriages, tobacco, cattle and other beasts at the place aforesaid, the ferry keeper mav demand and take the same rates as are !)}- law allowed at other ferries. If the ferry keeper shall demand or keep from any person or persons whatsoever any greater rates than are hereby allowed, he shall for every ofifense forfeit and pay to the party aggrieved the ferriage demanded or received and ten shillings, to l)e awarded with costs before the justice of the peace of the county where the offense shall be committed."

In 1840, Gen. James Shelby, of Fayette county, received from the Agricultural Society a premium for the most productive five acres of corn. The five acres yielded 550 bushels, or tig bushels per acre ; but in the same year Walter C. Young, of Jessamine county, who then lived in the eastern ])art of it, gathered, by disinterested parties, from two acres of a field of corn, the enormous yield of 195 and 198 \-2 bushels, respectively, which stands, so far as known, as the largest yield ever obtained from a similar area.

The manufacture of hemp begun in Kentucky as early as 1796. and was introduced by Nathan Bm-rows, of Lexington, who afterlIlMoni of Jemtminr Cniinf>i, Knifuclnj.

The growth of lienip commenced with tlie earliest days of the settlement of Kentuck\-. It came wiili the corn and flax, among the first products of the state. The soil of Jessamine county has always been extremely favorable to the ])rodtiction of this plant. The black loam, so general throughout many parts of the county. ])ro(hices liemp of very heavy and excellent fibre, and Jessamine county stands among the greatest ]icm]i-])rodiicing counties of Kentucky. Per acre, no count\- in the state jjroduces a larger yield.

growers of the county and in the last quarter of a century has rarely failed to secure fine crops. The introduction of Chinese hemp seed thirty years ago stimulated hemp product. As showing the extreme fertility of Jessamine county soil, the land upon which Mr. Yoimg has been growing his hemp, a portion of it at least, has been in cultivation for more than one hundred years,

Melanchthon Young

Jessamine count}' has always been one of the great hemp counties of the state. Clark, Fayette, Scott, Bourbon, Woodford and Jessamine; grow the bulk of the h.emp crop raised in Kentucky, and in the earlier period of manufacture in the state this stai)le produced great ]irofits and brought large gains to those who were engaged in it. Among the pioneer manufacturers of bagging and rope were George I. Brown, Moreau Brown, George J?rown, Henrx Aletcah", A\'illiam Scott and Col. Oliver Anderson. Mr. Cleveland, in Keene, also manufactured rope and bagging. '\losi of the people engaged in this business amassed large for^ tunes. The bagging was used at tliat time in baling cotton throughout the Southern States, and there was no other substitute, prior to the fifties, for the Kentucky bag-g-ing.

This bagging was generally carried to the Kentucky river and shipped by steamboat to Louisville, and thence distributed throughout the South. \'ery few white men were ever employed in this manufacture. !Most of those who operated the factories, owned in large ])art the negroes necessary to carry on the business, and where tliey did not have sufficient hnnds, they hired them from the surrounding farmers, by the year.

The hacking of the hemp was done in open sheds, and the dust, which has, in close factories, been so detrimental to health, was not considered injurious by those engaged in the manufacture in Jessamine cotmty.

The hemp crop in Jessamine was not sufficient to supply all the factories operated, and much of the staple was purchased and bought in parts of Garrard, Mercer and Woodford and hauled to Nicholasville and there manufactured. Geo. I. Brown was probably the pioneer of hemp manufacture in Jessamine. He was a man of fine personality and a strong intellect. He represented Jessamine county in the Senate in 1829 and 1834. and in the House of Representatives in i82(j and 1832.

Robert Crockett, a son of Col. Joseph Crockett, built what is now known as the Union Mills, five miles northeast from Nicholasville on Tlickman creek. The buildings were constructed about 1803. and ccjmprised a grist mill, a saw mill and a powder mill. This mill has continued in operation down to the present day. The old stone house near it. which was erected at the same. time, is still one of the most substantial houses in the county.

Dr. Joseph Buchanan was a professor in Transylvania University, and this engine was a remarkable piece of work. It was claimed for it that it was perfectly safe and that one cord of wood would sustain a seven-horse power for twenty-four hours. Inducements were offered to owners of steamboats to avail themselves of this capillary arrangement, because of its great power in proportion to its weight, to enable boats to outrun all competitors by changing the boiler for a generator, thus converting the boilers then in use into capillary engines.

The first shoemakers in Nicholasville were Samuel Peake, Thomas Dunbar and a colored man named Martin. Also James Lusk, who carried on the business until 1837.

The first saddle and harness-maker in Nicholasville came in 1812, and was named Ednumd Phipps. David Majors was another person, who carried on a saddlery and harness bttsiness three-quarters of a century ago.

Early in the twenties iMlnunid I-".nianuel ITart established a cabinet-making shop and his son. josc])li liart, settled in Nicholasville as a cabinet-maker in 1834.

The first liat-makers were Thomas Foley and Stephen Guy, and thcv made wool hats in a house on the lot now occupied by the hemp factory of E. R. Sparks, and on the corner lot of Dr. Talbert, John l>itzlen carried on the making of silk and fur hats. It was with him that Robert Young learned this business of manufacturing silk and fur hats and opened a factory in Nicholasville, in 1825.

John La h'evers, of French Ilugtienot extraction, had a pottery establishment on the lot of the late Mrs. Eve. His daughter, Nancy La Fevers, was the first person to open a school m Nicholasville, in 1802.

Lexington and Danville turnpike in 1831 and '32, helped to dig" the land down oti a level with the pike where the court house now stands. He worked with James Gooch, who had undertaken to build a section of the pike running through Nicholasville. two miles each way from the town. Air. Greenwood afterwards became one of the most distinguished men in the business world at Cincinnati.

The postmasters of Nicholasville have, some of them, held unusually long terms. Benjamin Netherland held the office from 1801 to 1822; Dr. Archibald Yoimg from 1822 to 1826, and ^^'m. Rainey. from 1826 to 1835. He was succeeded by Jas. Lusk; he by James A. Welch, he by David P. Watson, and he by Jas. A. A\'elch. In 1848 D. P. \\'atson was again appointed postmaster, and was succeeded by R. A. Gibney, who held the office until 1856, when he was succeeded by Joseph Fritzeen. After him, Thos. Payton held the office for eight years, then H. C. Rodenbaugh, who remained postmaster for eight years. Then followed W. J. Denman ; he was succeeded by Samuel AI. Anderson who held the office for eight years, and was succeeded by John B. Smithers, who held it for four years, and he gave place to W. L. Buford, who now holds the place.

The first court liouse erected in X'icholasville was Ijuilt in 1823. In earliest times the (|uarter session judges who represented the Circuit Cotu"t held their sessions in sheds or stables, or in parlors of their private homes. Judge ^^'illiam Shreve. the last of the (juarter session judges, often held court in a shed attached to a large stable on the ground where the Jessamine Female Institute is now built. The court house of 1823 was a lirick building and was used until 1878. It had thus served the people fiftyfive years. It was erected by Thompson Howard, who removed to AJissouri, and died there in 1836. It was inconvenient and uncomfortable, but it served well in its day, and the men of the present generation have many delightful and pleasing memories connected w ith the old red brick edifice in which they have often listened to the great men who made Kentucky liistory, for the half-century following 1820.

The first work on the present court house was done September 5, 1878. The new Iniilding cost $38,385, and is a superb structure of modern st}le. The magistrates composing the County Court, when the question of either repairing the old court house or putting up a new one was first advocated by Hon. W. H. Phillips, the present County Judge, were : Dudley Portwood, John J. Cobbman, E. J. Young, Charles McDavitt. Mordecai Crutchfield, Richmond Plunter, George T. Nave, K. j. Scott, Isaac Pourne and Ednnmd E. Horine. A commission had been appointed, consisting of G. B. Bryant, J. L. Logan and W. G. Woods, to examine the old court house. They reported that it could not l)e repaired. Thereupon the construction of a new -court house was undertaken. It may stand for a hundred years as a monument to the public spirit and wisdom of the officers wdio laid before the people the necessity and the advantages of a new structure, which in all its appointments is credital)le to a great

It has all modern appliances and conveniences. Jt was provided for by taxation and the obligations of the county have long since been paid off. It was opened for the public in 1878. The ministers resident ttf the town of Xicholasville. were invited Ijy County Judge Phillips to dedicate the structure with religious ceremonies, which occurred at nine o'clock on Monday morning. The following ministers were present : Rev. A. D. Rash, Baptist; W. F. Taylor, Methodist Episco])al, vSouth : T. F. Farrell, Methodist l'4)iscopal ; Rev. Russell Cecil. Presl)yterian ; also the venerable John T. Hendricks, of Paducah, who died only a few months since in Texas.

Judge I'hillips first spoke in the new building. 1 le announced the purpose of the meeting. After the reading of scripture. Dr. Hendricks took the ten commandments as the basis of his address on "The Law Which Should Govern Men and States." The members of the bar at the opening of the court liouse in 1878 were: George S. Shanklin. Penj. P. Campl)ell, J. S. I'.ronaugh, H. A. Anderson, T. I \ Wood, M. T. Lowry, A. L. McAfee, W. S. Holloway, George R. Pryor, L. 1). Baldwin. P C. Wickliffe. W.

H. Crow, G. Ij. Letcher, Benjamin A. Crutcher. On the same dav Circuit Court met. Honorable Joseph D. Hunt. Judge of the court, arrived at noon and at one o'clock opened court, with Charles J. iJronston, Connnonwealth Attorney, who had been recently elected to that position.

Xicholasville in its earliest days had distinguislied men as proprietors of its hotels. In those times keeping- hotel was a much more important Imsiness than in later years, hnmediately after the cessation of the Indian raids in Kentucky, there was such a tremendous influx of travelers that almost everv gentleman took out tavern license. The prices were not very extravagant, but it was more to accommodate friends and to sho\\' hospitality than to make profits. The uniform ]:)rice was, for each meal of victuals, 25 cents : for lodging and a l)ed at night. 12 1-2 cents : horse. 121-2 cents ; horse with corn and fodder at night. 18 3-4 cents. Whisky and brandy were plentiful, as tlie ])rices show at this time. The price was, for whisky or peach brandy. t8 3-4 cents per pint, apple brandy and cherr\- botmce, 4 pence a drink.

Joshua Brown was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. He married Margaret r^Iansel. He was in the siege of Yorktown, and served for six months tmder the innnediate supervision of General \\'ashingti)n. lie came from Baltimore, Marylaml, and landed in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1789. He had four sons: C»)l. W'ashington Brown, Preston Brown, Samuel Brown, ami Col. Thomas Jefferson Brown. The twi:) latter were both graduates of the Transylvania Cniversit}-. Washington studied and i)racticcd law. He married Gen. Hugh Chrisman's daughter .Matilda; ( leneral Chrisman then lived on Hickman creek, at the old stone house, the last building erected by Gov. Thomas Mett'alf in tlie count \. Col. Geo. W. Brown settled in .Xicholasville in 1825. 1 Ic twice represented the county in the legislature. He was an enterprising citizen and a successful niainn'acturer of heni]). He left Kentucky in 1837 and moved to Charleston, South CaroHna, where he died in 1862. Alexander Campbell said of him that he was the most perfect and courtly gentleman that he had ever met. The names of these two sons, Washington and Thomas Jefferson, evinced a high degree of patriotism ; one being named for George Washington and the other for Thomas Jefferson.

Thomas Jefferson Brown came to Nicholasville and took charge of the hotel in 1836. He was a man of splendid appearance, six feet two inches in height, and on count}- militia days, in his fine uniform, and on his thoroughbred horse, in a suit of blue, with a red silk sash and golden epaulets, he impressed all who saw him with his superb physique. He studied medicine, but did not practice. He married ]\Iiss Mary J. Wallace, of Jessamine, and settled in Xich()las\'ille, taking charge of the Central Hotel, where he died in 1849. He was reckoned as one of the most courteous men of the county. His kindly heart prompted him to many generous deeds and his helpfulness to the struggling and deserving left him manv grateful and sincere mourners. He first urged the necessity of a public cemetery in Nicholasville, helped to lay off Maple Grove cemetery, and was the first person buried there. He and his Avife dispensed kindly hospitality. They were charitable and humane, and created pleasing impressions on all who visited Nicholasville. They left a family wdio have always been prominent in county affairs. ^Nliss Henrietta Brown, Mrs. Virginia Noland, and Mrs. Victoria Mitchell were daughters of Col. Brown.

The P'ublic Well on the corner of Main and Maincross streets in Nicholasville is one of the most remarkable in Kentucky. Twice during the Civil War and in very dry seasons it had its capacity tested to the fullest extent. The Ninth Army Corps, commanded by General Burnside, encamped for three wrecks around the town and the entire division used the w^ater from this well night and day. Several thousand of General Bragg's armv also encamped near Nicholasville and used water from the well in Septeml)er. 1862. and even these were unable to reduce the strength and power of its flow. This well is iBo feet deep and was bored by John W. Charlotter, a blind man. The well was put down in the year 1846, and after blasting- down to the unusual dei)lh c^f 180 feet a stream of water was struck. It gushed up ten feet high and from that time to this has furnished all who demanded of it, clear, cool, refreshing drink. No drouth and no call upon its resources has ever lessened its flow, and after more than half a century of usefulness it is yet the pride and comfort of the citizens of the town.

The Legislature of A'irginia in 1780 set apart 8.000 acres of land for the establishment of schools in Kentucky. The Kentucky Methodists early took measures to secure part of the land appropriated to this purpose. Bishops Coke and Asbury attended a conference held at AIcKnight's, on the Yadkin river, North Carolina, in 1789. Here the Kentucky Methodists, by letter and messenger, requested direction. The response to this petition was that during the next year Bishop Asbury would visit Kentucky, .and if the petitioners could secure a grant of 5,000 acres of land from the state or individuals, a college shoidd be completed within ten years. Early the next spring Bishop Asbury. accompanied by his friend, Richard Whatcoat, who was himself afterwards made a liisho]). came through from X'irginia on horseback to Kentuck}'. 1'hey sto])ped on their \va_\- in Southwestern \'irginia, and tliere waited for an escort from the friends in Kentucky. The Kentucky guards did not appear as soon as had been expected. l)ut en a certain Afonday morning Bishop Asbury related to Mr. Whatcoat ilial the night before in a dream he had seen the friends f(^r whom they had been waiting. After breakfast they retired to the banks of a small stream nearby for prayet and meditation. W liile engaged in these services he saw approaching over the hills two men. He felt at once that these were the Kentuckians coming for him. This proved to be the fact. These men were Peter Massie, afterwards known in Kentucky as the "Weeping Prophet," and John Clark. They delivered the Bishops their credentials and told them that they had left a guard of eight men in the vallev below, rcadv to start for Kentucky, as

They left Southwestern A'irginia early in May, 1790. with sixteen men and thirteen g-uns. They were to make a journey of more than 200 miles through a wilderness constantly waylaid with savages. Three times a day they halted to feed and refresh themselves, and each lime they sought God's protection and guidance in prayer. The first day they rode 35 miles, the second 45 and the third 50. This rapid travel proved a little inconvenient to the Bishop, who complained that he could neither sleep nor eat. He says : "While in camp some were on guard, while others rested." They frequently passed the graves of those who had been slain by the savages. In one camp he saw 24 graves.

They arrived in Lexington on the T2th of May. On that day the Bishop preached and then held a conference in the house of Richard Masterson. Constant services were held ; ministers were ordained. Francis Poythress. the Bishop declared, was much alive to God, and they arranged for a school to be known a& Bethel Academy.

They rode to the land of Thomas Lewis, at the bend of the Kentucky river, near High Bridge, and ]Mr. Lewis there offered the Bishop a hundred acres of land as a site for Bethel Academy. The Bishop remained in the vicinity nearly two weeks. i)reaching ever\- dav, making accpiaintances and many friends for the projected scheme.

His ])rincipal asislants in estaljHshing I'.elhcl Academy were Rev. Francis Poythress and Rev. John Metcalf. .\ brief sketch of Mr. Poythress will not l)e out of place.

He belonged to an old and distinguished family of \'irginia. He sought tlie instructions of a minister of the church of T*".ng> land, and in 1773 lie was led to the Saviour and connected himself with the ^Methodist chm\-li.

In North Carolina. .Maryland, Tennessee and \'irginia he did splendid work for tlic clun-cli to which lie liad made his allegiance. Whenever there was danger he was always ready to go where duty called. \\'lu'nc\er tliere was a difticult commission he would sav : "llere am I, send me." He traveled over a large part of these states, preaching under tlie trees and hi cabins, enduring- all the hardships of the settlers in their wilderness homes. A man of some scholarshi]^, he was easily enlisted in the work of building Bethel Academy, in which he was not altogether successful and was unjustly censured. His health failed and his mind gave w-ay. He removed from Kentucky afterwards to North Carcjlina. He never entirely recovered either his spirits or his health or his energy. He returned to Kentucky in 1801, but no work was assigned to him. He made his home in Nicholasville. Tn 1810 Bishop Asbury saw him and was deeply distressed at liis condition.

Tn I7Q2 Bishop Asbury made his second visit to Kentucky and he entered in his journal: "I wrote an address on behalf of Bethel School," and later on he says, "I find it necessary to change the plan of the house to make it more comfortable for the scholars." Rev. Thomas Hinde. a contemporary of Bishop Asbury, makes this entry: "Bethel Academy. Our conference for T7g7 was held at Bethel School, a large three-story building erected by Mr. Poythress on the bank of the Kentucky river, in Jessamine county."

The work of Iniilding had progressed so that in the year 1794 a school was opened. The following letter from Rev. Jno. Metcalf. will be interesting:

I have lately received from you two of your kind letters and would have answered them before now, but I have taken charge of Bethel Academy and I have been so confined for the last two weeks in fitting up suitable places of abode for some of my pupils that T have greatly neglected my private affairs, especially that portion of it which you are attending to in Lexington.

The Kentucky conference of the Methodist church in 1797 met in Bethel Academy. The Rev. Mr. Metcalf was principal until 1803. For a while Bethel School was a competitor of

Transylvania Academy, at Lexing^ton. tlicn under control of Presbyterians. The orip^inal site oi Bethel Academy was chosen for its wonderful lieauty and ior its adaptability for a village. The lines of travel and lines of settlement could not then be determined. It oui^ht naturally to have been the county seat of the count}-.

In J7(J9 Rev. X'alentinc Cook took charge of the literary department with Rev. Francis Poythress as assistant. Mr. Cook was a man of scholarly attainments aud a distinguished graduate of Cokesburg College, at Abbington, Md. He remained with the school one year. His anti-slavery views induced his removal.

In 1803 Rev. John Aletcalf moved to Xicholasville and opened in his own house a school which he called Bethel .Academy, Mr. Harris maintaining Bethel School on the Kentucky river as a neighborhood school until 1805. In 1798 Mr. ^yletcalf purchased several lots in the village of Nicholasville and erected a good log house, which still stands and is the property of his grandson, John Metcalf. At this house Bethel Academy was continued until 1820. when a new brick building was built and the school was continued in it under the name of Bethel Academ\-.

Chap. Xxxi

I. Be it enacted by the Ceneral Assein])ly. thai llie Reverend iM-ancis Poythress, John Knobler, Xathaniel Harris. John Metcalf, Barnabas McHenry, James Crutcher, James Hord and Richard Masterson, shall l)e, and the\ are hereby, constituted a body politic and corporate, to I>e known by the name of trustees of Bethel Academy, and by that name shall have perpetual succession, and a conunon seal, with i)ower to change the same at pleasure : and as such shall be authorized to execute all powers and ])rivile_2:es tliat are enjoyed l)y trustees, governors or visitors of any college or university within this state, not herein limited or otherwise directed.

For five \ears from 1841 Professor A. R. Xurthup, .\. M.. a graduate of the Wesleyan L'niversit}-, was at its head, lie was succeeded by Charles F. Smith. In the early part of the century a grant of 6.000 acres of land was made by the state of Kentucky to Bethel Academy. In 1876 l^rofessor A. ]M. Gordon was elected principal. He was the ablest teacher ever in charge of tlie school. In 1877 the ])roperty of the academy was leased to Professor Gordon for ten years. Professor (Gordon introducing the condition that five indigent, sprightly boys should attend the academv each vear free of charge for tuition.

Under the direction of Professor Gordon Bethel Academy attained high rank as a school. The buildings as uiodernized are in the middle of five acres of ground, and they are large and elegant, and were erected in 1878 at a cost of $7,000. After the abandonment of the site on the Kentucky river the one hundred acres of land given b\- Mr. Lewis re\erte(l to his estate, but portions of the material of the building were taken to Xicholasville and used in erecting a school building there. At the end of 105 years Bethel .Academ\- has been turned over to Xicholasville. and is now a graded school, it is used for the public benefit. It ha^ lost its denominational control, and is part of the great system of the general education of the masses in the State of Kentucky.

The first site of Bethel Academy is still easily found. ( )n the splendid eminence overlooking tlie mighty banks of the Kentucky, one can stand on the ruins of the ancient building, in which was begun tlie life of this school, and for miles around can see what a hun(h"ed years of cultivation and growth have wrought. The school is gone. The structure, then palatial as an educalional home, has cruml)led and decayed, but as tlie e_\c takes in the ])icttu'esque and charming landscape, covering parts of Garrard. Jessamine, Woodford and Mercer counties, with fertile farms, happy homes, large families, loyal and true citizens, all contented in their abiding places and all busy and satisfied with tlieir places in life, the saddening- memoiries of the old school, are hushed by admiration for the prosperity, peace and industry which rise up to tell that the work of a century is not lost, but that the grandsons and great-grandsons of these educational pioneers are not unworthy of the founders of this ancient school, in which were centered the hopes and aims of the brave and liberal men who gave it a name and being in the wilds of a wilderness.

One of the most important and successful of all the enterprises in the county has l^een Jessamine Female Institute. In 1854 an act of the Legislature was passed allowing the organization of a company for the purpose of conducting a female school of a high character ; such as would attract patronage from abroad, as w^ell as give the highest facility for education in the town. The capital stoick was fixed at $2,500 in shares of $100 each. The articles of incorporation under this act were signed by Alexander Lyle, Thos. E. West, L. H. Chrisman. J. D. Hili, R. E. Woodson, Hervey Scott, Robt. Young, D. B. IVice, J. A. Scrogin, J. P. Letcher, \\'. C. Letcher, M. T. Lowry, G. ]\I. Barkley, Isaac Barkley, J. I'\ Barkley, C. F. Smith, A. L. McAfee, M. T. Young. Samuel AIcDowell. \\m. McDowell, Jas. H. .AlcCampbeU.

After this, in 1855, the school was reorganized, and Rev. ^l. Branch Price, a Presbyterian minister, was elected principal. After some years of successful administration he was removed by death, and was succeeded by Mrs. Jj;Cob I'rice, wife of the Rev. Jacob Price, a Presbyterian minister. In 1857 she was succeeded l:)y Rev. Mr. Frazee, a Presbyterian divine, and he in turn, bv Mrs. Browning, who presided one year.

In i860 Rev. Joseph McDowell Matthews, of Hillsboro. Ohio, rented the ground and building and conducted the school under the name of the Jessamine Female College. The incorporators of this collge were J. C. Wilmore, Henry M. Chrisman, J. B. Cook, T. J. Cas'seil, Moreau Brown, S. S. Mizner, J. S. Bronaugh, J. W. Olds, R. M. Messick, John ^IcMurtry, P. H. Smith, ^^^ R. \\'elch, Wva. Brown, Thos. B. Crutcher and J. S. Mitchell.

In February, 1866, tlie Legislature of Kentucky granted a charter for the Jessamine County Female Institute, with the following incorporators: Robert Young, George Brown, Dr. Joseph P. Letcher, T. B. Crutcher and J. S. Bronaugh. Under this charter the school was to be non-sectarian. In 1881 the school was closed for want of patronage and in September of that year Miss AI. F. Hewitt took charge of it as principal. Under her management it was highly successful for twelve years. In the very beginning of her administration the number of pupils was largely increased, and it became necessary to erect new and more commodious buildings.

In 1 881 the Board of Trustees determined to erect the present building, at a cost of $20,000. This money was almost altogether subscribed by the citizens of the town and county.

There have l^een a large number of graduates from the school ; several hundred, all of whom occupy either as teachers or in society, most prominent and distinguished positions.

Miss Hewitt was compelled to resign her position as principal by reason of declining health, and in 1893 Mrs. B. W. Vineyard, the present principal, assumed control of the institution. Under lier conduct the reputation of the school has not declined and the condition of the l)uildings has been greatly improved. It now stands as one of the leading institutions in the state, has a large patronage from all parts of Kentuck\ and tlie .'-^onth. Tlie curriculum is wide enough and broad enough for all ])Urposes and the patronage has met tlie expectations of all connected with the management and control of the institution.

Ihere are two ncwsjiapers published in Jessamine countv; the Jessamine jounial and the Xicholasville Democrat. The Jessamine Journal was founded by J. M. Parish, who came from Mt. vSterling in 1872. and was its editor and owner. For several years it was printed on a Washington liand-press and had a hard struggle for its existence. It changed owners seven or eight times, and the office was destroyed by fire in 1886. At the time of this fire it was well equipped with a large power press and a firstclass outfit of type. J. M. Kerr, who |)urchase(l the plant from C. W. Metcalf after the fire. i<in it on a small scale for a short time and in 1887 sold it to Col. II. M. McCarty, who was one of the most successful and distinguished journalists in Kentucky. He was secretary of state un<lcr Tiovernor Knott, and held other

-\t this time its editorials were (juoted ver\- largely throughout the state. At the death of Col. AlcCarty in 1891 his interest was sold to T. 11. Morris, who was connected with the paper until 1894, wiien he disposed of his interest to J. W. Stears.

The Nicholasville Democrat, an eig-ht column folio, was established in June. 1888. At that time it was the property of Louis Pilcher, the present editor and proprietor, and his brother Thomas Fielding- Pilcher. After a short time a job printing- plant was established. For eight years its office was in the old historic building erected l)y Judge Wake.

Thomas F. Pilcher and his brother, Louis Pilcher, assumed the management of the paper. The former assisted in establishing the Lexington Argonaut. Tie did his first newspaper work on the Lyceum Debater, afterward on the Central Courier, and was for five years the correspondent of the Cincinnati and Louisville dailies. He was one of the promoters of the Lexington Advertiser. Later he edited the Nichola.sville Star. In 1895 he established "The Coming Nation," which absorbed the Illustrated Kentuckian. and these two were merged into the Argonaut. He afterward founded the Plue Grass World and then returned to his present position as editor and proprietor of the Nicholasville Democrat.

Mr. Pilcher has had a wide experience as a newspaper man. In the Cleveland campaign, he did work on the Louisville Courier- Journal, paragraphing and producing comic articles wdth Donald Padman. He was born in Nicholasville, July 11, 1855, opposite where the newspaper office now stands.

The first paper published in Nicholasville of political character was the Nicholasville Democrat, in 1857 to i860. It was stronglv anti-slavery, and the office was raided and the type pied and dumped in the streets. Samuel Leffingwell and the late Dr. Jno. C. Welch were its editors. For a while, from 1871 to 1875. Nicholasville was without a paper. The Central Courier was established l)y Samuel ( )wens in 1875 and subsequently consolidated with the Jessamine Journal, and was known as the Journal-Courier. In 1875 the late L. D. lialdwin purchased a plant in Frankfort and edited a i)aper for one week. He sold it to W. T. Jones, who never printed an issue. At this time Col. McCartv came to Nicholasville and secured the necessary meana to establish the Jessamine Journal.

In 1895 the third paper was staiied. with Al. E. Wilhoit as editor. It was printed in Lexington. This paper passed into the hands of T- T. Farrow and shortlv afterward suspended. The

Xicholasville News was published in 1878 b\ A. W. lluggins for a brief ])eriod. The first paper ever pubhshed in Xicholas- \ille was a reh^ions ])iibHcation under Presbyterian auspices and was founded in early years, it is said. ( )thers deny the whole story.

Sulphur W ell. about h\c miles from Xicholasville in the south- -eastern part of the county, was for many years a prosperous village. The discovery of a well of sulphtir water gave this town its name. For a long time many persons fre(|uente(l the ])lace to have the benefit of the waters, which were supposed to have medicinal value. It is on the main road from Xicholasville to Hickman creek. The first settler in the village was John Walters, a l>aptist minister, and he succeeded in having a Baptist church built there in 18 [3. Mr. Walters and Robert Ashurst preached to the church for several years.

Of late years, the village has had its name changed to Ambrose. It is imj -roved very nuicli, and the buildings in the village are neat and tasteful, and the people kmd and hospitable.

The following liistory of the ambitious and thriving citv of Wilmore was prepared by A\'m. (i. AV'ilhite, and it is inserted as \vritten by him :

The village of Wilmore, the second in population in Tessamine county, is situated on the Cincinnati Southern railwav, five uiiles southwest of Xicholasville and about the saiue distance north of the celebrated High Uridge, where the railway crosses the Ketitucky river. 276 feet above the water. Although bui eight years old, it contains a population of aboitt 600, and is proibabl}' growing more rapidly than any little town in Central Kentucky. A steady and constant increase, without any inflation or boom methods, lias made a stable j)opulation of healthy growth. There is not a vacant house in the town today, and as fast as built a house is occupied. Its existence practically began with the foundation of Asbury College, which started September 2, 1890, in four rooms, with two teachers and eleven pupils.. Tts growth has been, to a large extent, coexistent with the growth of this college, both in 1)uilding and increase of faculty and students.

In the first year there were enrolled 70 pupils. In the second year, 120. The highest number enrolled in any year was 160. In the eight years of its existence there have been over 1,000 students enrolled and 25 graduates. Sixty ministers of the gospel have also been sent out from this school to various parts of the country in this time. Students from 20 states and from Canada, England, Japan and Persia have attended here, and its influence has been widespread and is growing.

Organized just 100 years after the founding of Bethel Academy, the second chartered institution of American Methodism, and within four miles of the original site; it has renewed the work of its venerable predecessor with vigor and grown into a power.

There are now six buildings, with the president's house, and a large cliapel, on six acres of campus. The co'llege has a capacity for teaching 300 students and boarding 100, w^ith a faculty of eight teachers.

This remarkable growth is due in a large measure to the energy, ability, and foresight of Rev. [. \\\ Hughes, the founder and president since its organization, whose constant labors have made Asbury College a strong and worthy monument to himself, and a power for good in the conmumity and abroad. * *

Business

Its nine business houses, carrying almost everything in stock that is needed or used, draw a trade far beyond its limits, and frorri three counties. Two drug stores and three doctors, insure the continuance of a healthy coimnnniity: three l)lacksmith and carriage repair shops, find profitable employment ; one leather and harness shop is kept busy supplying everything in its line, from a buckle to a buggy top ; two butcher shops, and three large stores of clothing, dry goods, general merchandise and hardware supply the general needs of the outer and inner man.

The Glass ^Milling Company was established here on July 1, T891. Its mill, wliicli ground 60,000 bushels of wheat last year, with a capacity of sixty l)arrels of flour per day, is one mile from the railwav station. Its offices and warehouses, in Wilmore,, were l)uilt I'cbruary, I'f^^)'/, and since then all its business has been transacted from this point. This company also deals in coal and lumber, and since its establishment, in the town, has handled over 2,000 tons of coal.

Tlu. Saegerser iNlill Company has a grist mill in the town, run bv a gasoline engine, and does general grinding, and deals in meal. fccfl-stufTs, etc.

Wilmorc is an important shipping point (^n the railwa}', as evidenced \)\ the amount of freight received and forwarded. The receipts to the railway companies amount to about $25,000 per annum for freight and about $3,000 for passengers. Large aiUMaiits of grain, cattle, hogs, produce, etc., are both shipped from and received here, in addition to merchandise, coal, lumber and articles of domestic consumption.

It is essentially a moral and religious community, and the influence of its churches and missionary work is felt widely beyond the limits of Jessamine county.

The Presbyterian church, with a handsome place of worship, and a membership of 150, presided over by Rev. Dr. E. O. Guerrant, himself a noted preacher and evangelist, in addition to handsomely supporting itself and him. keeps at its own expense, five missionary ministers in the mountains of Kentucky, a record not equalled by any church in Central Kentucky. In addition it has educated two young men for the ministry, keeps up a pennanent contribution to an orphan asylum in South Carolina, and giv 's largely ^o charity and foreign and home missions. Its record for liberality and quick response to worthy appeals is noted in its presbytery. Its pastor is a man celebrated throughout the South and East as a powerful and successful evangelist, both in the large cities and in the most remote mountains.