Scott County, Kentucky - The whole text, 1905 (part 1 of 10)

If You Please

IN the month of June, 1774, CoJ. John Floyd, accompanied by Col James Douglass, came through this country, which was then Fincastie county, Virginia, making military surveys, and stopped at the Big Spring, a stream of water that attracted the attention of pioneers and caused a settlement to be made, which has since become the Belle of the Blue Grass - Georgetown, Scott county, Kentucky.

In the month of April, 1775, John, Ales, and Wm. McClelland, Col. Robert Patterson, Wm. McConnell and Stephen Lowry came from Pittsburg, Pa., by boat and erected a fort near

THE mint that once grew so profusely around this spring, combined with its cool water and some of " Rev. Elijah Craig's Best," helped no little to inspire the pioneers of those days of trouble. We are sure that the sentiment of the pioneers then has not changed with the sentiment of the Kentucky Colonels now.

THE best information we have been able to get is that the fort was built on a lot now owned by John Hunt, in Elley's alley, a few hundred yards from the spring. The fort was a rough shack about 12 feet wide by 70 feet long. It was built of logs pinned together and the space between the logs was chinked with rock and daubed with mud. For many years an old negro named Elley lived in this fort and it has only been in recent years that the old building was torn away. Those who have passed the old hut could hardly escape noticing the old building.

IN' 1770 the same party built a block house of one room and added it to the fort. On the 29th of December, 1776, this fort was attacked by Indians, under the Mingo Chief, Plugzy. The attack only lasted a brief time because the powder was exhausted. Col. Edward Worthington was mortally wounded and Pluggy was killed. The remains of Pluggy were said to be buried on top of the bluff over the head of the Big Spring. This was said to be the first settlement made by white people in Kentucky. A few weeks after the attack by the Indians on the fort, John McClellan brought his family here, a mention of which appears in the Kinkead History of Kentucky and is as follows :

In November of this year, John Mc- Clellan brought his family into Kentucky, and, in company with Colonel Robert Patterson, built a station whith was named McClellan's. Here, fifteen years later, the town of Georgetown was incorporated. With the coming of the women, home life began in the wilderness, with all of its hardships, its perils, and its inspiring adventures. The women stood side by side with the men, and suffered and grew strong, labored and prospered with them. Today we look back to their lives of unselfish devotion, and are thrilled by admiration for their courage. There are no wild beasts for us to fight, no Indians, no dangers from hunger and cold. But if we would be true children of brave ancesters. there is a battle to enter far harder and more worthy of victorv than any they were called upon towage - a battle for the honor and purity of our own lives and of the State

From this time on the members of the Pittsburg party, who erected the fort, kept coming in until the settlement grew to a population of nearly 300. From 1776 to 1780 the settlement was called McClellan Fort, so named by the settlers. Prior to this time it was called " The Elkhorn Country," so named by the Indians. From 1780 to 1784 it was called McClellan Station. Then it was that the Craigs located here, and the Johnsons, at Buffalo Crossingss. The Craig family was headed by the noted preacher, Elijah Craig, and the Johnson family by the distinguished Robert Johnson. Rev. Craig was a thrifty business man. Besides being a preacher, a school teacher, a founder of a college and a professor, he was a land buyer, stock dealer, manufacturer of whisky, rope, paper, flour, meal, linsies, bridge builder and contractor, a politician, a Gentleman Justice and a merchant. It was claimed that he was the proprietor of

Lebanon Station

Georgetown and that he owned the Big Spring and that lie gave the spring to the town. No human being on earth ever owned the Big Spring and the records, as we will show in this history, will bear us out in this statement.

While the town was called Lebanon Station a number of houses were erected. The street now called Broadway was then the main street of Lebanon Station and the principal thoroughfare. It was. afterwards called Main Cross street. Among the first houses erected between 1784 to 1790 and still standing are: The one on College street, owned by

Miss Jennie Halpin; the one of Mrs. John T. Sinclair, on South Broadway; the old rock house on the corner of Hamilton and Washington streets, called Daughter's shop, and possibly a few others. The old house of the late Mrs. Agnes Gaines on South Broadway, which was burned in 1887, was among the first dwellings built and was occupied by the first jailer, James Crawford. It was built of logs. The first brick business house erected was the old " Bull'seye," that stood on the corner of Main and Broadway, and which was torn away in 1894. The brick house built by Wm. Brown, in 1809, on South Broadway, and owned by Miss Anna Grissim, is almost as good as the day it was built. It is no doubt the oldest brick house now standing in Georgetown.

Col. Eobert Johnson having been an Elector in the Firs Convention from Woodford, out of which a portion of Scott was formed, and a Delegate to the Second Convention, had located at Buffalo Crossings and was preparing to establish a Baptist church there, which he did do. Craig, through the heirs of Col. John Floyd, came into possession of the lands adjoining this spring, known as Keene Kichards' Hill, and now owned by H. P. Montgomery. Colonel Floyd was killed by the Indians in 1783 and he was given a preemption of 1,000 acres of land for his services as a military surveyor by the State of Virvinia. Some rivalry began to exist between Kev, Craig and Col. Johnson over Johnson establishing the church and Craig claiming the spring. In 1784 the Virginia Legislature incorporated what was then known as McClellan Station and named it Lebanon Station. In 1787 Elijah Craig gave notice that a school would be opened in January of 1788 by Jones and Worley at the Koyal Spring in Lebanon, Fayette county, Virginia. The laws of Virginia on springs were the same as on mill sites, or on rock quarries. Property could be condemned for mill sites and persons owning such would receive pay for it. Land for rock quarries is condemned now. Damages are paid by the county, but the property is still maintained by its owner.

It was thought for many years, between 1784 and 1790, that Great Crossings would be the County Seat and it would have been done had Col. Johnson so desired. After 1790 Eev. Craig laid no claim to the ownership of the spring and the Legislature changed the name of Lebanon Station to that of George Town at the request of a delegation headed by Col. Johnson. The town was supposed to have been named after George Washington, and no doubt it was. Many people, though, say it was named by a girl, who was at that time the belle of the town, and being the daughter of a wealthy pioneer, was given the honor and she named the place for her sweetheart. This is all hearsay and we take no stock in the fable, because it is a well established fact it was named for George Washington at the solicitation of Eobert Johnson. The name of the town for years and years was spelled in two words - George Town - but since 1846 it has been used as one word - Georgetown.

It was not but a year afterwards until a party from Georgetown registered a kick against Washington's foreign and domestic policy. They demanded the use of the Hisisssippi, and they were right. Collins' History says :

Democratic societies, on the model of one at Philadelphia, established at Georgetown, Paris and Lexington; they are opposed to the foreign and domestic policy of Washington's administration. That at Lexington resolves "that the right of the people on the waters of the Mississippi, to its navigation, is undoubted, and ought to he peremptorily demanded of Spain, by the United States government. - In Collins' Annals.

THE first session of the Scott County Court was held in the residence of George Boswell in George Town on Tuesday, September 25th, 1792. The Governor, Isaac Shelby, had previously appointed Toliver Craig, John Payne and Elijah Kutty, Gentlemen Justices, and John Flournoy, Sheriff. At this session the Gentlemen Justices appointed Elijah Kutty, Presiding Justice; John Hawkins, County Clerk; John Payne, Surveyor; Job Stevenson, Constable. Samuel Shepard was admitted to the bar and licensed to practice law.

First Court Proceedings Of First Session

The first session of the Scott County Court was held in the residence of George Boswell, in George Town, Tuesday, Sept. 25, 1792. The proceedings were as follows :

John Payne, Toliver Craig and Elijah Kutty, sworn Justices of said County Court, on Tuesday, Sept- 25, 1792, in George Town, at the residence of George Boswell, the said Justices met agreeably to law, having taken the several oaths to Government and of office, accordingly as a Court; John Hawkins appointed Clerk pro tern, and thereupon took the several oaths of office and to Government.

John Flourney, being commissioned by the Governor to the office of Sheriff, agreeably to the Constitution, was qualified agreeably to law and entered into bond with John Grant and David Flourney, his securities, for the faithful performance of his office.

Toliver Craig, Jr-, produced a certificate from Robert Johnson and Robert Stubbs of his being qualified to act as Deputy Surveyor, who thereupon took the several oaths of office and to Government.

William Henderson and James Daugherty being licensed, having taken the several oaths bf office and to Government, to practice law in this Court-

Thomas Marshall, being licensed, is allowed the practice of the law in this Court, and appointed State Attorney for the county, whereupon he took the oath of office and the several oaths to Government.

Ordered that the Seat of Justice for this county be fixed at George Town, and that the Court House be erected on the acre of land set apart by Mr- Elijah ' Craig for that purpose, and known by the name of the Public Square, for which said acre of land the said Elijah Craig is allowed the sum of six pounds.

Israel Grant is appointed to erect a Stray Pound. 60x30 feet, well posted and railed, and finished by the next Court, at the northeast corner of the Public Square, for which he is allowed the sum of six pounds.

On the motion of Robert Sanders he is allowed to keep a tavern at his house in the county, whereupon he entered into bond with security agreeably to law.

THERE is not one living citizen in Scott yU county who has had the pleasure of reading the proceedings of the first session of the 'gnfBj Scott county Court, believing that the tfcSff records were burned in the County Clerk's office in 1814, and in the old Court House n ry which was burned on August 9th, 1837. The U ]/ records were nearly all burned in the two ** sr fires, and those that were not were badly disfiured and equally as miserably re-copied that it is a hard matter to get information correct, and it required many days' hard work searching the old records, and when found some of the most important orders where recopied were incomplete. This then required study, as there are no citizens living in Scott county who could give us information of things that transpired 113 years ago. The readers will notice on pages 9 and 10 of this history a surmise of the erection of a Clerk's office, when the reason for it was the fact of it having been burned and being replaced. It would be but a repetition for the writer to go into detail of the Court Houses and Jails that have been erected in Georgetown, as complete accounts of them can be found on pages 9, 10, 11 and 12 in this history as we show from records when and where the first Court House was built and when George Town was made the County Seat. This information has been conveyed to us by Mrs. Eliza Thompson.

Mrs- Eliza Thompson in her brief history of Georgetown states that "the first Court House stood on the corner of Mrs. James E. Cantrill's yard on Main street. It was an old onestory frame building, with very small windows and had been painted red."

Mrs. Mary Hawkins, who was the mother of John Hawkins, the first County Clerk, and who died in 1870 in her 92nd year, left the manuscript of a history of Georgetown with the late Dr- Paul Rankins, who died in 1872. She states that "the first Court House in Georgetown was near the site of the present one, but it was afterwards moved up Main street to where Charles Cullen lived, the lot on which Dr. Henry Craig's house now stands and which is now owned by Mrs. James E. Cantrill-"

Dr. S- F. Gano states in his history written of the town in 1882 that "the first Court House stood on the Public Square where the Court House now stands. It was pulled down in 1816, the framework removed upon the north side of Main street, near the lot occupied by Dr. Craig's late residence, and converted into an oil factory by Charles Cullen."

. "The Commissioners appointed to sell the present Court House reported that they had sold the same to the Institute of the Rittenhouse Academy for $155, and returned the bond of said Trustees with M. W. Henry their security, payable, etc."

The proceedings of the first session can be found on page 2 of Order Book A, establishing the County Seat at George Town and purchasing the site - one acre of land - from Elijah Craig for the sum of six pounds, for the first Court House. The residence of George Boswell, in which sessions of the County Court were held until the Court House was built, might have been located on Main street, the place now owned by Mrs. Cantrill, instead of where the Wellington now stands, and no doubt it was, and if such was the case, then Mrs. Hawkins and Mrs. Thompson are correct so far as the place where the first sessions of the County Court were held.

George W. Boswell produces in open Court a commission from His Excellency, James Garrard, Governor of Kentucky, appointing him Sheriff for this county, whereupon he took the oath of office and the several oaths to Government and entered into and acknowledged his bond with Wm. L. Curry and Robert Sanders, his security agreeably to law-

At a time of the County Court in 1792 Bartlett Collins, Wm. Henry and John Mosley were appointed a Committee to draw a plan for a Court House for for Scott County. The Committee made its report and the contract, according to the plans, were let to

John Garnett for 319 pounds (in United States money - $1,600). It was erected where the present Court House now stands in 1792 and completed in 1793.

At a term of the Court held in 1801 the following order was made: "Ordered that John Hawkins be appointed to employ some person to make hand rails to the steps and in front of the Court House and report a settlement thereof to the Court."

The first fence around the Court House was an old post and rail, built in 1806. At a term of the County Court held in that year, a committee composed of Samuel Shepard, William Story and Wrn. Warren, was appointed to have a post and rail fence put around the Court House.

A Committee, composed of Josiah Pitts and John Hawkins, was appointed at a session of the Court in 1814 to ascertain the cost of placing a Franklin stove in the Court House. The report of the Committee was burned in the old Court House.

At a term of Court held on Monday, December 3rd, 1806, it was ordered that Job Stevenson. Jno. Branham, Elijah Craig and Asa Smith be appointed Commissioners to have the floor of the Court House supported by pillars and report their proceedings to this Court.

Other Court Houses were built, torn down and burned, accounts of which are given on pages 9 and 10 of this history and it would be but a repetition to reproduce it. A likeness of the present Court House will be found below :

The Present Court House Tavern Rates Fixed

THE first tavern keeper in GeorgeTown was Josiah Pitts. He was granted license to keep a tavern at the June term of the County Court in 1793. "The order was as follows: On motion Josiah Pitts be and is alallowed to keep an Ordinary in George Town whereupon he together with Elijah Craig his security entered into bond as the law directs." Cider was a great drink with the pioneers, but after it became so intoxicating, the Court liscensing the sale of it just like other liquors.

. The first election held in Scott county was in 1793. It was held for the purpose of electing a Representative. There was only one voting precinct and that at the County Seat - George Town. Wm. Henry was elected.

Elijah Kutty, Toliver Craig and John Hawkins were the election officers appointed by the County Court. Kutty and Craig were the Judges and Hawkins the Clerk. The election was held for two days and the officers were allowed twelve shillings for two days' attendance each.

At a Court held for Georgetown at the Court House on Monday, the 22nd day of April, 1799, present John McHatten, James M. McCrosby, John A. Miller, Jas. Johnson and John Payne, Gentlemen Justices, ordered that John Hunter, William Warner, Samuel Shepherd and William Story be appointed Trustees of George Town.

The following is the order of the Court in 1800: " The appointment of Trustees for George Town was made at the April Court and confirmed, except George Boswell, who declines serving, and Toliver Craig, who has resigned his appointment."

In February, 1804, the County Court ordered the County Court Clerk, John Hawkins, to give notice to the citizens of the town that an election would be held on March 10th, 1804, for the purpose of electing a Board of Trustees. The Trustees prior to this time had been appointed by the Court, and not elected by the qualified voters.

Those who were elected as the Board of Trustees were Wm. Storey, Samuel Shephard, John Branham, John Hawkins, R. M. Gano, Lynn West and Robert Hunter.

A Brief Of The Place

If the town was ever surveyed and laid off and its limits established prior to 1804 the records fail to show it. In 1792 the Cincinnati pike was made the dividing line. All the creek on the east side was South Elkhorn and all on the west side was North Elkliorn. The street now called Broadway was the Main street of Georgetown from 1792 to 1804. Nearly all of the houses were of log and brick that were erected from 1777 to 1798, and were built in the squares from Jackson to Jefferson between Broadway and Water streets, along the Big Spring. If the town had been laid off prior to or after 1804 there was no mention of it in the act passed by the Legislature in 1816.

First Child Born In George Town William Tompkins Shepard

Was born in Georgetown in 1793 in a bouse on Broadway that stood where the old Catholic church stood. He was the son of Samuel Shepard, who was one of the most distinguished pioneers in county and State.

For a number of years land was not taxed. All levies made for several years were those of head tax, or what is now known as poll tax. In 1793 the Court laid the levy for head tax at four shillings and six pence, or $1.00, based on Virginia value of old English money at that time. The Court made the following order :

George Town was the sixth town out of twentynine towns showing a census report in 1800, when it had a population of 350. The population of Georgetown from 1800 to 1816 is shown below :

The Old Building Erected

SEEKING information concerning the City of Georgetown, its citizens and tile buildings erected one hundred and twelve years ago, with nothing but old burned records, badly copied and miserably juggled, is an interesting task to one that assumes it.

From Judge Kelly, the oldest member of the Scott County Bar and one of the ablest lawyers in the State and who has served as a member of the City Council a number of times, and a citizen who has done more for the town and received less for his services as an attorney, while looking over the old records in Scott and in Woodford counties for some record as to the Big Spring, says that while searching the old records he found that the town was laid off in thirty-seven town lots by Elijah Craig in 1792. First Trustees of Georgetown.

And that the first Trustees were Robin Johnson, Wm. Cox, Rhodes Thompson, Toliver Craig, John Grant, Archibald Campbell and Win. Henry. This was very valuable information, because the statement made on the preceding page "that if the town was ever surveyed and laid off and limits established prior to 1801, the records failed to show it.

Rev. Elijah Craig laid off the town and owned the land along the Spring from the head to the culverts. He sold an acre of ground to the county for the location of the Court House for twenty dollars. The little frame Court House was erected and completed in 1793. A post and rail fence was erected around it and this building served as the Temple of Justice until 181(5, when it was sold to the Trustees of Rittenhouse Academy and moved to Science Hill. The College campus was then called Science Hill and this old Court House was moved from the Public Square there and stood where the Academy now stands and used as a school building.

First Brick Dwelling Now Owned By Miss Anna Grissum

There are very few of the first brick dwellings erected in Georgetown now standing, but it is a fact and the I i ken esses of l hose that are standing compare favorable wi III those that have been and are being erected at present in both architecture and durability. The likeness above is of a two-story brick house erected by Wm. Brown in 1809 and which now stands on South Broadway and belongs to Miss Anna (iris- sum. With a few exceptions it is as good as the day it was built. A stone was placed in the north side of the house on which was cut the year "1809" - in which it was built.

Another Old Dwelling The Home Of Mrs. Ben F. Bradley

HIS house was erected by Job Stevenson / | between 1807 and 1812. Mr. Stevenson was a very successful business man until he began to engage in politics and by going securities he lost his fortune as well as his mind. Mr. Stevenson was a very valuable citizen to Georgetown, even up to the time of his death. The above is a splendid likeness of his home, which is now the property of Mrs. Bradley, and whilst it has been built for almost a century it is today a house of comfort, with its large front yard and the tall trees make it one of beauty.

At a term of the court held in 1805 the following order was made : "John Hawkins and Martin Hawkins he and they are hereby appointed Commissioners to meet the Commissioners appointed by the Trustees of Georgetown in order to consult and fix on a place on the public ground for sinking a well, and report to the court their proceedings therein."

At another meeting of the County Court held in the same year (I8O5) this order was made: "Win. Warren is appointed a Commissioner in the room of Martin Hawkins, who is about to meet the Commissioners on the part of the Trustees of Georgetown in order to fix a place on tbe grounds of the Public Square for sinking a well."

A Place Selected in Stray Pen- The well was finally made. The place the Commissioners agreed upon was where the City Building now stands. It was then the stray pen. The Commissioners gave as their reason for having the well sunk there that it would furnish water to the stock in the stray pen and would be as convenient to the public and to the Are department as it would if located at any other place on the Public Square.

In 1799, at the corner of North Broadway and Court streets to the line of t he Stray Pen and Prison, Capt James H. Mahoney erected a frame building and conducted a tavern. Several years later he purchased the grounds where the Stray Pen and Prison stood, removed the frame building and erected a two-story brick, extending from North Broadway along Court street to Market alley, where he conducted a tavern on a much larger scale. After his death this property was sold to General Pratt.

Became A General In The War Of 1812

General Pratt for many years conducted the Pratt Motel in Georgetown. Me never had but two photos made in his life, and the above is a likeness of him made from one of those.

One of the most noted taverns in the Stale from 1825 to 1870. It stood on the corner of Court and Broadway, where the Garter Moore block now stands.

The Pratt Hotel

AFTER the death of Captain Janies Mahoney this hotel property was purchased by John Pratt, who was a General in the War of 1812 and was in the Battle of the Thames in October, 1813, at the time Col- Dick Johnson killed Tecumseh. The General was noted for his hospitality and he conducted this hotel in such a way that it was one of the most popular hotels in Kentucky. After 1878 his wife died and age began to to tell on him and the hotel began to go down. Mrs. Pratt had charge of the servants and looked after the meals and the serving of them. The General died in 1885 and the property changed owners a number of times. Mr. Carter Moore purchased the property and for a number of years rented the rooms, and has since torn the old building entirely away and erected a handsome brick business block.

In 1895 he sold the lot and part of the old hotel building at the corner of Court street and Market alley to the town for the City Jail (on which the new City Hall now stands). This portion of the old hotel building had been used as a hotel bar. Prior to the time the hotel was erected, this corner was used as a Prison and Stray Pen, and, strange to say, but nevertheless it is a fact, that the place where the pioneers of Georgetown selected a location for a Prison more than one hundred years ago is today where the Prison now stands.

The Old City Building

The above is a likeness of the portion of the old hotel as purchased from Mr. Moore and converted into a City Building, Jail and Fire Department by the town. This old building served as such until 1899. when it was torn away and the elegant new City Building erected. The likeness of the old building was made from a photograph taken just as the work of tearing it down was commenced. The old well as sunk in the Stray Pen is now under the vault of the new building. When this old well was discovered one of the newspapers of the time made this mention of it:

''In excavating for the new City Building an artesian well, 117 feet deep, was found. It was just in the rear of the building purchased from C. D. Moore, and the opening was covered with earth- There is a pipe in it: which the workmen were not able to remove. No use can be made of the well, as it will be just underneath the vault of the new building." Some Interesting Orders of the Court.

Below will be found several orders of the County Court in 1807, which are evidence of the fact that the location for a Prison and Engine House as selected by the officers of Scott county nearly one hundred years ago, is the same location where the new City Building now stands and serves that purpose:

"At a session of the County Court in 1807 an order was made allowing Elijah Craig, Samuel Sheppard and Job Stevenson $200 for a Fire Engine."

In the same year the County Court made this order: "The Commissioners appointed to have the floor of the Court House propped up areauthorized to have any repairs made in any part of the House that they may deem best and report to the Court: also, have built on the Public Square an Engine House and report to the Court."

George Town

The old Bull's-Eye," that stood on the corner of West Main and South Broadway, was the first brick business house erected in Georgetown. It was built in 1799 and 1800 by Wm. Brown, who built the brick residence, now owned by Miss Annie Grissum, on South Broailway, in 1809. In the early history of the town it was a noted place and for many years was a house of public entertainment. It was the birth place of Rev. John A. Gano and the late Dr. S. F. Gano and possibly Gen. Richard Gano. Rev. Gano was born in this old building in 1805, and Dr. Gano in 1807. Their mother died in it in 1812. The old building was used for many purposes, from that of a dwelling to a place of entertainment, a meeting house and a factory. In the last eighty years it was used mostly by dealers in groceries. Among those who kept groceries in the old building were Jimmy Haun, Elijah Snell, Robt. Snell, Jimmie Kelly, Newton Stone, S. S. Jones, Kinzeal Stone and many others. Fires have occurred time and again! around and even burned buildings adjoining it, but none of J| these many flames ever fazed the old ' Bull's-Eye."

It was a two-story brick house and was torn away in 1894 I and a new two-story block erected in its place by Victor F.I Bradley. A likeness of the old "Bull's-Eye" is shown on thisll page, made from a photograph of it while Col. Kinzea Stone used! the first floor of it for his grocery and the second floor for the! manufacture of "Maud S." tobacco. Along the side of this build-|| ing on Broadway Col. Stone kept a number of salt barrels, a most inviting place for all the old darkies to sit around and talk. Thell old darkies would sit on these salt barrels in the broiling hot stinl all the livelong day, but they were not loud and boisterous and if they had not been there it would not have been the old|| "Bull's-Eye." They are shown in the likeness of the old build-1 ing. Old "Uncle Elly," the old water hauler, spent the happiest] days of his life basking in the sunshine on the salt barrels at thq old "Bull's-Eye."

At a Court held in ISOo Samuel Shephard was appointed to have the sidewalks around the Public Square paved with rock and to have the post and rail fence around the Court House repaired.

At a term of Court held on Monday, December 3rd, 1811, it was ordered that Job Stevenson, Jno. Branham, Elijah Craig and Asa Smith be appointed Commissioners to have the floor of the Court House supported by pillars and report their proceedings to this Court.

The first prison and stocks were erected in 1792 on the ground where the City Hall now stands. Israel Grant was appointed to erect them. The stocks were very important. There were no fences at that time, and all stock such as horses and cattle wore bells. All stock was marked. The order of the Court was as follows :

Israel Grant is appointed to erect a prison and stocks, 60 feet by 50 feet, to be well posted and railed and finished by the next Court, at the northeast corner of the Public Square, for which he is allowed the sum of six pounds.

In 1794 the Court appointed Commissioners to view a place to erect a new prison. The Commissioners made their report, but the building was delayed by John Hunter claiming the ground that had been selected, which claim he refused to give up until the Court gave him a ten years' lease. For the boundaries of ground selected to erect prisons see County Court Orders under head of Early Courts of 1797 and 1799 in this history.

A solid rock fence, 12 feet high, was built around the jail in 1811. At a session of the Court held in September, 1811, the following order was made:

"Ordered that Richard M. Gano, John Thomson, Thomas Hawkins, William H. Richardson and Cary Clarke, or any of them, be appointed to let the building of a wall around the jail, of stone or brick, to extend entirely around and to be 12 feet high, and the same commissioners are appointed to let the repairs of the jail and the roof and windows of the Court House and such new repairs as they may think necessary; to be paid out of the next levy."

The Trustees of the town many years ago purchased a little two-story brick building on Court alley for a city prison. This house was used for years as a prison. It was called "Old Watch House." The prisoners were kept on the lower floor and the upper floor was used for holding courts. The town sold this house to Dr. Geo. O. Brown, and he sold it to Ford Bros., for a law office.

And City Jail Erected In 1899 At A Cost Of Sio.Oco

It is a structure two aiul a half stories high, the front elevation being of free stone and the rear portions of the building of brick. It contains not only offices for all of the city (ffieiils, but a place for the Fire Department as well. In the basement of the building are placed the cells for the prisoners who are arraigned in police court, the court room being on the first floor of -the building.

The building is located on the east side of the Court House, on the corner of Court street and Public. Square. It stands where the first stocks and stay pen stood, which were erected in 1792. The east corner of the lower floor is taken up in the room for t lie fire department. This room is about twenty-five feet by forty-five feet and is well fitted out for the needs of the department. A cement roadway is built in front of the double doors leading from this room. Back of the fire department are offices for the Chief of Police and City Judge. The front room on the west side of the building is used as an office for tbe City Solicitor and the City Clerk Just back of these offices is the large room for holding City Court. There is a stairway leading down from this room into the basement that the prisoners may be brought up from their cells directly into the court room.

On the second floor is located the Council Chamber, a large room thirty-six feet square on the west side of the building. On the eastern side of the dividing hallway are the offices of the Mayor and City Attorney. The rear part of the building is taken up with a large room for the Odd Fellows' Lodge. This portion of the building is really divided for the present into two large rooms by means of a stud partition, but in case of a need for larger quarters for the lodge this can be taken down and the two rooms thrown into one, with hut little trouble and expense. The upper story consists of a large garret and what is known as the chemical room. This room is in the tower and is used for the storage of the batteries used in the fire alarm system.

Georgetown has the Gamwell system and has located in various parts of the town about nine fire alarm boxes. The attic room will be finished off as the other rooms, when needed, so that it can be used in case of necessity. In the lofty tower above the eastern part of the building will be placed some day a town clock and it is probable that a bell will be selected to be placed there for the purpose of tolling the hours. The building is neatly finished throuhout, and is a structure to which the citizens of Georgetown can point with pride when showing strangers over tne city.

At the end of the spire of the tower, which is something like 125 feet high from the sidewalk, floating over the building, is a large American flag, presented to the city by the Elks' Lodge in 1900, when the building wrs dedicated.

HE pioneers of Georgetown were men of £1, brains, excellent minds, great in thought, liberal in views, wonderful in talent and quick to grasp opportunities. They at once saw the advantages of Scott county, with its many large streams of water, and realized it as a place for factories, and consequently paper mills, woolen mills, tanneries and many other factories were started and successfully conducted and Georgetown was known as a manufacturing center. For many years Georgetown furnished to Ohio and Indiana all the paper they used. Later larger concerns drove them out of business. The manufacturers had no outlets to a market other than by wagons over rough roads and in a new country. Hats by the wagon load were hauled to adjoining towns and sold. Still it is a problem that has never been solved and which is talked about from year to year, that is, in trying to convince capitalists to locate factories here that were located and successfully conducted here over one hundred years ago. It does seem that if the pioneers over one hundred years ago saw the advantages of Georgetown as a manufacturing place and did locate factories and conducted them successfully, that the present and progressive generation should see and grasp the opportunities.

The first rope walk in Georgetown was established by Elijah Craig in 1793 on the land now owned by H. P. Montgomery, and known as Keene Richards' Hill. This land lies west along the Big Spring Branch from College street to West Main at the bridge of the Frankfort pike. Craig came in possession of this land, having purchased it from the heirs of John Floyd, who received 1,000 acres for his services as a Surveyor. Oliver Gaines, Sr., John Steadman and many' others established rope walks several years later. Gaines established a rope walk and conducted it for a number of years on the land now owned by James Harvey Moore, on South Broadway. He sold this walk to Steadman.

A number of factories were established in Georgetown for manufacturing paper, hats, shoes, nails and firearms. Elkhorn was simply dotted with grist and woolen mills. In 1798 Elijah Craig was granted a mill site on Elkhorn. The location and plat as it appears in Order Book A will be found on following page of this history.

At a Court held for Scott county, at the Court House, on Monday, the 25th day of June, 1798. Present : John McHatton, John Rogers and Robert

We, the subscribers, being duly qualified according to law, and being charged by the Sheriff on the ground of Elijah Craig, on North Elkhorn, where lhe proposed to erect a mill dapi,/an_d one-acre of ground Jfie property of the heirs of Win. Miller, deceased, and John Stewett, being laid off in proper metes and bounds, we are of opinion that said acre of land is worth five pounds, Kentucky currency, to be paid to each party, to-wit: The heirs of Miller, deceased, and John Stewett, agreeably to an apportionment Which shall be rendered by the surveyor of the said land. We have also viewed the land above and below, and find that no damage will accrue to any person by the overflowing qf; water occasioned by the erection of the said dam, and so say we all.

Craig'S Mill Seat

Which report is ordered to be recorded, and the mill seat established agreeably thereto; and the following plat of the acre of ground therein mentioned is also ordered to be recorded and condemned, agreeably to law for the use of said mill :

Surveyed for Elijah Craig, one acre of land which is divided in two parts, one 70 pole, the other 90 pole. The said 70 pole is part of J. Stewett's tract of land, and is bounded as follows, to-wit : Beginning at Elijah Craig's abutment on the North side of North Elkhorn, thence North 82 West 1 pole to a stake, thence South 25 West 14 34 poles to a white ash hickory and elm, thence South 8 West 7*4 poles to a white ash and boulder on the bank of the creek, thence North 52 East 6 poles to a hickory and boulder, thence North 14 East 13)4 poles to a buckeye, thence North 4 poles to the beginning.

The above mentioned 90 poles is part of a tract belonging to the heirs of Wm. Miller, deceased, and is bounded as follows : Beginning at the figure 3, white ash hickory and gum, thence South 45 West 8 poles to a stake and elm at the figure 4, thence South 60 West 16 poles to hickory and elm, thence South 30 East4^ poles to an ironwood and elm, thence North 67 E 10 poles to figure 7, two buckeyes, thence North 52 East 9 poles to a box elder and ash at the dotted line, thence along the dotted line North 8East7j4 poles to the beginning. JAMES JOHNSON.

This was not the mill where Rev. Craig manufactured paper, but was, no doubt, a grist mill. Some say it was built below the place called DeGaris' Mill, which was once Prewitt's. Others say it was built on the Bull Head, about a quarter of a mile from the city limits on the Frankfort pike, where there is a turn in the road to Thompson's mill.

The old paper mill was on the Big Spring and was a plain, old box house. It burned in 1835. Another mill was built by the late Captain Lair. He died in 1895 and the mill was purchased by Richard Wolfe and Ben Stone. Mr. Stone disposed of his interest in 1905. It burned in 1897. In the same year the firm erected the mill, a likeness of which appears above, near where the old paper mill stood. A picture of the old box house in which paper was made in 1794, just 101 years ago, would not compare favorably to the three-story brick mill with three large iron elevators in which thousands of bushels of wheat are stored.

The Blazed Roads

Among the first roads established was the one from Georgetown to Great Crossings, known as the Frankfort road. At a session of the County Court held in 1798 Commissioners were appointed to view the best way for this road and their report was as follows :

The viewers appointed to view the best way for a road from Georgetown to Frankfort as far as the county line, this day make their report in these words: We, the subscribers, in pursuance to an order from the Court of Scott county, appointed to view and mark a way tor a road from Georgetown as far as the county line towards Frankfort, say that the best way we are acquainted with will begin above the head of the Great Spring and pass through Elijah Craig's rope walk, or passing that end through nearest to his house, thence through his plantation to a box elder near his fence, thence crossing a branch just above the forks, thence on the South side of a hollow and through the plantation of John Rogers, leaving said Rogers' house to the North about 50 yards, thence along the ridge to strike the present Frankfort road where Calhoun's road leaves the same, thence along the old road to a sugar tree, thence a marked way through Wm. Johnson's land and Robert Johnson's land to Jas- Suggett's land, thence through his meadow and by the lower end of his kitchen, thence along a blazed way to Wm. Suggett's land, thence through John Hawkins' land and John Peak's land, and thence through Scott's land to the road from Bartlett Collins to Frankfort at Quinn's fence along said road to blazed way on Hugh Shannon's line, thence along to a line dividing the lands of Martin Nall, thence along through his meadow and a small corner of his peach orchard, thence to Williams' Still House, thence up a ridge a marked way through a corner of John Price s meadow, and intersecting the county line at a sugar tree and buckeye in a lane. Joseph Rogers, James Suggett and John Hawkins object; William Johnson and Robert Johnson have no objections. The rest of the people whose lands it passes through, we do not know whether they consent or not-

"Ordered that Wm. Johnson be appointed to apportion the hands that are alloted to work on the road leading from Georgetown to Great Crossings towards Charles Williams' and report to the Court-"

There was plenty of work in those days. Laborers could be found in numbers. Money wus scarce, which was due to the scarcity of coin. A laborer who received two shillings (33 cents) a day felt that he had been well paid for his time. The great number of slaves brought into the State was another reason for the cheapness of labor.

A fine system of road traverses Georgetown, diverging from every direction, to the Lexington, Georgetown and Cincinnati pike running north and south, and the Frankfort, Georgetown and Paris pike east and west, centering the city.

Along The Cincinnati Pike Near Cardome, Leading Into Town

The roads are all macadamized, and radiate from this point in every direction. The crushed limestone, which can be taken from the excavations of almost every road bed, contributes to make the finest highways in the world. These roads pass through the best portions of the county, rendering the town of easy access to the farmers. They are a source of continued wonderment to residents of less favored localities, owing to the smooth surface they1 present to the traveler.

The First Bridge Built In Georgetown

The first bridge built in Georgetown was over the Big Spring Branch, on West Main street, where the Frankfort pike crosses the spring. It was poorly constructed of rock and logs. The building of the bridge was an order by the County Court letting it to the lowest bidder. Elijah Craig received the contract. At a term of the Court held later in the year (1793), after the bridge was completed, the Court made this order :

Ordered that Elijah Craig, the builder of the two bridges on Elkhorn - the one leading to Cincinnati, the other to Bourbon - be, also, the undertaker of the Bridge across the Spring Branch: be subpoenaed to appear at the next Court to show, if any, he has, why they are not kept in repair. (Order Book A, page 219-)

No records or no resident could be found in which any information could be gained as to the time the walls were built along the Big Spring, or when the old culverts on West Main street, under the road leading to Frankfort, were made. In searching the old records we were fortunate enough to find this valuable information. And while the orders are incomplete, still there is enough of them to ascertain the fact that no individual or individuals ever owned the spring, or ever spent a cent towards the keeping of the same, but the city of Georgetown- Able lawyers have been employed, and hundreds of pages of briefs have been written, printed, tiled and read in the various courts in the county, district and State, but in all nothing as to when or by whom this famous spring was walled and bridged could ever be found. The old records which were burned in the old Court House were of great value, not only to the city of Georgetown and the countv of Scott, but by many of the people who haye been Put , to enormous cost and a great worry as to their holdings in the county. We were certainly fortunate in finding these orders. At a session of the court held in 1795 the Commissioners appointed by the Court to draw a plan for a bridge over the spring made this report :

"In obedience to an order of the Worshipful Court of Scott County, we. the subscribers, have -viewed the Spring Branch where the road to Frankfort crosses it, and do recommend that a bridge be built in the following manner, to-wit : The bulk-heads to be raised six feet high with stone, sixteen feet apart, and then to extend with side- walls until the level will put into the opposite hills, the space between the sidewalls to be tilled up with dirt and stone and to be sixteen feet wide, a frame from bulk-head to bulk-head laid with plank,

Culvert Over Spring

Which report is ordered to be recorded, and John Payne, Elijah Kutty and Janies Lemon are appointed to let to the lowest bidder, at eighteen months credit, the building of the

Second Royal Spring Bridge Showing Vehicles On Frankfort Road

The Commissioners appointed to inspect the bridges over the Spring Branch at Georgetown this day made their report, which is ordered to be recorded, and it in the words and figures following, to-wit:

"We, the undersigned, come appointed by the Scott County Court for the purpose of inspecting the manner in which Rodes Thomas has finished the bridge over the Spring Branch, do report that we have examined the same and the original contract and are of the opinion that although the manner has been varied from the original, yet we think that as much work has been bestowed on the same as was required and to equal advantage to the public.

The Old Culverts Where The Water Passes Under Road

This famous and no doubt the grandest spring in the world furnished water to the first settlers of the Red Men and wild beasts, and then to the lirst settlers of white people. As coldly mysterious as the dark regions from which this dear old spring, the spring that has furnished the water for our forefathers, mothers, sisters and brothers, could speak, what a story would it tell of huts and cabins and rude wood forts of pioneers and Red Men's hellish deeds, of the little settlement grown and since become one of the finest counties in "God's Country," with "The Belle of the Blue Grass" its county seat.

Scott county is truly "the garden spot of heaven." If it was not, the Big Spring would not be here. If the old spring could speak, could it settle the vexed question, "Whence came our blue grass?" and tell when first it came creeping up to crown in emerald bright the crest from which the waters flowed. It could say whether tradition tells the truth when it says that tied up in the handkerchief of an English woman who had come with other hardy pioneers under Daniel Boone to the settlement of Boonesborough, was the seed which grew the grass that has made this country more than famous, which cast into a garden by the careful hands of a fugal woman who could see nothing go to waste, had spread until it became obnoxious and was pulled up and thrown aside over the garden fence, to sweep over the surrounding counties like an ever increasing array of grass-hoppers, pass through the counties of Fayette. Bourbon and Woodford, and lay its tribute at the purling waters of the Big Spring. Or should the question be shouted down into the voiceless waters of the Big Spring, would the echo answer from the stream and say, "traditions lie," or would this crystal sphinx tell that when the virgin forests fell away beneath the axes of the pioneers, and the sun streamed in upon the rich, black loam beneath the brown carpeting of the fallen leaves, the golden rays worked wonders in the soil, and there sprang up this grass, which gleamed upon the rolling surface of the land, a first tribute to its richness.

The Big Spring

Perhaps back in the virgin past the forests that the white men saw grew not upon the surface of the land and the country was the rolling, dipping plain that we look upon today. And the men that walked upon it, not those of the warwhoop and the tomahawk, but those other men with skin of white, who held the country before the Indian came, men who have left to us their tombs in the mounds that they have built, hurl defiance at our learning with the unspoken taunt "solve it if you can." Did they walk about the margins of the spring or sip its cooling waters? Did they mirror their faces in its placid depths as they stooped to drink? Ask the Big Spring. Did the Bed Men cluster here and pitch their tepees on the spot? Did they build their camp fires on the site and roast their fresh killed venison, spoils of the recent chase? Ask the Big Spring.

Was the place always of the "dark and bloodly ground," or in the distant past did not one tribe lay claim unto the ground and the women hold their places, and the dimpled papooses play in the brook that flowed away fed by the waters of the spring?

Ask the Big Spring the question. Yes, and ask on, and perhaps the waters will smile darkly from their shady depths beneath the limestone rock which covers it, but never a word will it say. The Big Spring has seen it, the Big Spring has heard it all - all that the past has ^YTidone - and holds within its bosom all that has been mirrored in its surface. The Big Spring has heard the rain drops patter on the forest leaves and seen those trees felled to the ground, the Big Spring has bruished the carmine tints of war from off the Indian warrior's tawny check as he knelt and bent his face into the waters and drank deep and long, the Big Spring has heard the dreadful whoop of the war strike terror as it lingered on the still night air, and, intently listening, just made out the faint clicking of the rifles of the pioneers risen from their beds to battle with the foe; the Big Spring has seen fierce struggles on its banks, and has tasted human blood and sickened with its drink, and just as silent it flows on in the everlasting present, and men come and look upon it, lost in wonder at what the Big Spring has seen, wliat the Big Spring knows now; but the Big Spring only listens and speaks not. One hundred years from now some will wonder what the Big Spring saw to-day and so on will it go for centuries. Never failing, like a faithful friend, the Big Spring has stood and freely given the blessing of a refreshing drink to your grandfather and to mine, and to our children and their children's children in the past, present and future. Once the virgin soil stood about it; now upon its banks have risen strange buildings of brick and stone, within which there are turning wheels and queer devices which the spring knows not of; and two long arms of iron pipe have stretched out from those walls of brick and seem as if they would suck the life blood of the spring, that the people of the town might hear the soothing tinkle of the ice against the brim of the glass, and smell the mint which lies bruised on the side, and pour the witching Bourbon on it in the heated day of summer. Protection from fire, from thirst, from heat it gives, and the people hless it for its deeds. The capital of Scott county, Georgetown, "The Belle of the Blue Grass," made so by the Big Spring, would be nothing without the Big Spring. Why is it here? "The spring." And why does the Big Spring continue? Again the answer comes, "The Big Spring." With the exception of a few changes the above appeared in the Lexington Herald in 1900.

Land Adjoining Big Spring

The land adjoining the spring has had many owners. The Big Spring Branch runs along the western portion of the town for five-eighths of a mile, emptying in Elkhorn. The lands on the western border are owned by Mrs. H. P. Montgomery and Judge Jas. Y. Kelly. On its eastern border the land for three squares, beginning at College and running to Jefferson streets, is known as the "Commons" and belongs to Georgetown. This spring passes four of the streets of Georgetown - College, Main, Washington and Jefferson - but only one crosses it, that of West Main and is known as the Frankfort pike. The lands around this spring, it is said, were given to < Col. John Floyd by Virginia in payment for his services as a military surveyor. He was killed in 1783 by the Indians. Elijah Craig, it is said, purchased a : 400-acre tract of this land west of and along this spring to the Frankfort road. The land from the ; Frankfort pike to Elkhorn west of and along this spring was owned by Gen. John Payne. Neither i one of these gentlemen claimed this spring, unless it was Craig, and the fact of the County Court having the spring in charge and the paying for the improvements of it, and employing Craig to make some of these improvements, are sufficient evidence to show that the spring did belong to the town and if Craig ever claimed it he released the claim. Mr. Craig ; died in 1808. Josiah Pitts, having married a daughter of Rev. Craig, came into possession of this land by his wife's inheritance. Some time between : 1808 and 1813 a cross-wall was placed in the head of the spring for the purpose of Pitts getting stock water and securing a place for a milk house. A new survey was made for the town and a line was run with the cross-wall in the head of the spring, as is shown in the picture in this history under the head of "The Historical Spring - 1775," In 1813 the land was sold by the Sheriff to satisfy Pitts' creditors, to W. B. Keene. He willed it to Keene Richards, and if Mr. Richards died without a male heir the land was to go back to W. B. Keene's heirs, which was the case, and J. A. Grimstead became the owner.

Win. Payne then bought it and it was while he owned it that the wall mentioned above was taken out of the head of the spring and an opening made a few hundred yards north for Mr. Payne to get stock water. This improvement was made by order of the Board of Trustees and at the expense of the town. J. D. Grover purchased the land in 1888 and afterwards sold it to his sister, Mrs. H. P. Montgomery.

Where Governor Desha Died Home Of Judge Jas. Y. Kelly

The land along the west side of the spring, beginning at the Frankfort road, or West Main street, to where the spring empties into Elkhorn, is owned bv Judge James Y Kelly. This land was first owned by Gen. John Payne. He built the old colonial house in which Judge Kelly and family reside, a likeness of which appears above. In 1824 General Payne sold this land to Ben Smith. In 1841 Smith sold it to Gov. Joseph Desha. The Governor and his wife resided there until their death. Their remains were interred on the high hill just overlooking the town. The State erected a monument at his grave, of which mention has already been made. In 1850 the Desha heirs sold the land to John Hall and he willed it to Elizabeth and Orroniah Adams, and they conveyed it in 1873 to L. L. Herndon, and he then sold it to Judge Kelly, its present owner.

yg|^ RS. MARY SHIPP HAWKINS, one of the ¥ II j oldest women in Georgetown, at her death died here in December, 1870, in the 92nd year of her age. She was born in Fauquier county, Va., in 1779, and came to this county, then a howling wilderness as it were, when six years of age. Some time previous to her death she left with the late Dr. Paul Rankins a manuscript of personal reminiscences (touching her own history and of Georgetown and vicinity), which we reproduce, knowing that they will prove of interest to many of the readers of this book : reached Kentucky with my father and mother in April, landing at Maysville. I don't think there was a building there. We dug steps up the river bank. We found a few houses at Washington. My uncle, Laban Shipp, came to Kentucky the year previous and built a fort near Haun's Mill. Colonel Johnson, the progenitor of the present race of Johnsons, came the year before Laban Shipp did and erected the fort at Great Crossing. As I passed the Blue Licks I remember well that the ground was covered with the bleached bones of the slain in the battle that was fought at that place. We went to the fort near Harm's Mill and remained there until my father built a log cabin near the spring on the farm owned by Rhodes Estill. Flourney, Bellows and Hall- I lived there nearly sixteen years. For about three years after I came there was not a stick -amiss where Georgetown now stands. The remains of a fort were to be seen at the head of the Big Springs Branch, and we used to go to church at the Great Crossing by a blazed road. On returning one Sunday from church, I was riding behind my mother, when the sudden discharge of firearms alarmed us, and we kept up a brisk gait until we reached home, never looking behind. Indian depredations were of frequent, almost of daily, occurrence in the neighborhood. My father died seven years after we reached here. I was married on the farm named, and in the first hewed log house that was covered with shingles in Fayette county. The first brick house that I remember was -built by old Robert Sanders, near the Cane Run bridge, and now occupied by Prewitt. [The house referred to is the one now occupied by Wm. H- Graves-1 The Caplinger house [where Church Blackburn now lives] was the first residence. It was a weather- boarded house, to which some additions have since "been made. Elijah Craig built the first part of the Keene Richards' house. Josiah Pitts, who married his daughter, afterwards came into possession of the property, but he wasted his means and had to sell it, when it was purchased by.Dr. Keene at a low price, $5,000, subject to redemption. The first Court House in Georgetown was near the site of the present one, but it was afterwards moved up Main street to where Charles Cullen lived, the lot on which Dr- Henry Craig's house now stands- My husband and Captain Hawkins, who were then merchandising together, owned most of the ground from where the Particular Baptist church now stands to the present site of the Court Plouse. After living in Georgetown about eighteen years I moved to the Smarr farm, where I lived nearly twenty years (till 1836) when the farm was sold to Dr. Keene, who afterwards sold it to Thomas Smarr. I lived a year in a log cabin where the barn and stables now stand. My husband afterwards built the brick residence on the farm. The principal families living in town at the time were Captain Gano's, Josiah Pitts', Henry Herndon's, Peter Mason's, Dr. Richardson's, Wm. Warren's, Captain Hawkins', Dr. Stites' (grandfather of Judge Stites), Cary L. Clarke's, Lynn West's, Applegate's, Caplinger's, Adams', Wm. Brown's, Eckles' and Hannah's- In the neighborhood lived Jonathan Robinson, the father of Governor Jas. F. Robinson, and a number of Craigs. Tully Craig, grandfather of Dr. Henry Craig, and Elijah Craig once owned the greater portion of the land in and around Georgetown. Deeds are on record to hundreds of acres of land for the trifling consideration of a cow, an old gun or a lame horse."

The Gano History

On the following page will be found a likeness of Dr- S. F. Gano and an interesting account of some of the early setters of Georgetown from 1782 to 1816.

I (pj ELOW will be found the interesting history of Georgetown, as written by one of its old- I -* est citizens, Dr. S. F. Gano, and appeared in the History of Bourbon, Scott, Harrison and Nicholasville Counties, published in 1882. Dr. Gano was a useful citizen, a fine physician and, we are told, did more charitable work than was ever done by another physician in the county. He was born in the Old Bull-Eye House in 1807, and died in 1901 in his 94tli year. The "Old Bull-Eye" was one of the first brick business houses built in the town of which mention is made elsewhere.

I (XT famous Blue Grass Region twelve miles north of Lexington, and some sixty-six miles south of Cincinnati by the Southern railroad, It is beautifully situated on high, undulating table land, on the south side of North Elkliorn, a considerable stream; on its western border is the large Spring Branch bursting from a limestone bluff, with a volume of water capable of turning a flouring mill a few hundred yards from its source-

Great, Royal, Republican, Big Feature

In very early times this spring was known as Floyd's Royal Spring, in later times as the Republican, and in more modern times as the Big Spring- It is a great Royal, Republican, Big feature in the make-up of Georgetown; big with blessings to thousands, of coolness, cleanliness and comfort, and free to all, both man and beast. On the bluff above where this stream -bursts forth the first settlement or station was made by white men. In October, 1776, Col. Patterson, with the two McClellands, Ben and John, with other persons from the neighboring stations, erected a fort or station called Mc- Clelland's Fort.

Enraged At The Enroachments Attacked On Christmas Day

In 1776, the Indians, enraged at the enroachments upon their favorite hunting grounds, and urged on by the British, made frequent incursions into Kentucky, and became so troublesome that the weaker stations were abandoned ATTACKED ON CHRISTMAS DAY.

Rogers Clark having prevailed upon the Virginia Legislature to afford the pioneers some assistance, arriving in company with a lawyer named Jones at the Three Islands late in the winter, with a considerable quantity of powder and lead. They consealed it on the lower island and proceeded to McClelland's Station in order to obtain a party to bring it off to the settlements. McClelland's Station being too weak to furnish a sufficient escort, Clark, piloted by Kenton, set out for ITarrodsburg. Unfortunately, during their absence, .Tones prevailed on ten men to accompany him to the place where the ammunition was consealed- They set out, and on Christmas day, 1776, they were encountered by the Indian Chief Pluggy, with his men, and defeated. Jones and William Grayson were killed, and two of the party taken prisoners; the remainder escaped into the station. Clark and Kenton soon afterward arrived with some men from Harrodsburg, having immediately returned on the news of the disaster. On the morning of January 1, 1777, Pluggy and his warriors appeared before the fort. McClelland and his men sallied out, and were repulsed by the Indians. McClelland and two of his men being killed and four wounded, the Indians immediately withdrew. The station was soon afterward abandoned, and the settlers returned to Harrod's Station.

The Noted Elijah Craig

In 1782, Elijah Craig, one of the famous family of that name, emigrated from Virginia after the close of the Revolutionary war, and settled on the lands on which Lebanon Town, afterward Georgetown, was located.

Named For Washington

In 1790, Georgetown was incorporated by the Legislature °f Virginia and named in honor of George Washington. On March 10, 1792, the Indians stole ten or twelve horses from near Grant's mill, on North Elkhorn, and on Tuesday night following, they burned a dwelling house, together with all the household furniture, belonging to the proprietors, who had left their house late in the evening. This was about the last incursion of Indians in the neighborhood of Georgetown.

Elijah Craig, named above as the proprietor and founder of Georgetown, was a Baptist preacher, and one of three brothers - Joseph, Lewis and Elijah - who were made famous ; in Virginia by religious intolerance and persecution. They all removed to Kentucky, and Elijah settled here. He was a man of decided character, a good speaker, an acceptable preacher, and of very considerable business qualifications, accumulating a large property. He built and owned the upper mill, now DeGarris, the lower mill, known as Grant's mill, and with Mr. Parker, of Lexington, the paper mill on Royal Spring branch, were Capt. Lair's mill now stands. This was j the first paper mill, and manufactured nearly all the paper used for printing or wrapping purposes, for Lexington, Lou- i isville, Cincinnati, and the villages around, for many years, i This paper mill was built in 1795, and burnt down in 1832. It was tbe first paper mill and the only one for many years west of the mountains. [DeGarris' mill has since been destroyed by fire].

The house erected by Mr. Craig for his residence stood on j the hill, on the west side of "Floyd's Royal Spring Branch," j as it was then called. Col. Floyd, a soldier of the Revolution, j had a military land warrant for a thousand acres; this survey | was on the south side -of North Elkhorn, and includes the land on which the town was laid out, and the Spring Branch, j and running west, and known as Floyd's survey, and patented I in 1779.

The First Brick House

One of the first brick houses in the town was erected by Mr. Craig, and in which he resided for many years, was the house owned by the late Col. A. K. Richards and destroyed by fire some years since. Mr. Craig also erected a factory for the manufacture of hemp, north of his dwelling, and on the opposite side of the road, The first settlements made in the town were mostly on the bluff, east of Spring Branch, and were, no doubt, located with a view as much to comfort and convenience as for safety, in supplying themselves with water. The first settlers of the town were largely from Nirginia, some from Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina and Massachusetts. They were enterprising, intelligent, and many of them educated men and women. The town is claimed to have been surveyed and laid out by Fielding Bradford, a very competent surveyor, and afterward Judge of the county, assisted by John Payne, the first County Surveyor, and a Brigadier General in the war of 1812. Elijah Craig erect- ed and owned the framed hotel that stood on the northwest corner of Main and Main Cross streets, on the site of the Georgetown Hotel, and since destroyed by fire, It was first occupied as a hotel by his son-in-law, Capt. Grant, who was killed by the Indians in 1794, on the Ohio river below the mouth of Licking River, he with others haviug pursued the Indians, who had made an incursion and carried off some horses from the neighborhood of Georgetown. In 1780, the Virginia Legislature granted lands to Kentucky for educational purposes, and the citizens of Georgetown very early availed themselves of the grant, and built what was known as Rittenhouse Academy; the first house erected for that purpose was of hewed logs, and stood on the north side of what is now called College street, not far from the head of the Spring Branch, and is occupied at present as a private residence.

Indispensable Household Article

Firearms were a necessary household article in these early times, and in 1784 Mr. Edward West, from Fredericksburg, Va., settled in Georgetown as -a gunsmith. He erected a log house near the Spring Branch, where he manufactured rifles chiefly, for which there was great demand. He also invented a mold for casting or molding pewter into plates and basins, then in great request and almost indispensable to evers housekeeper.

The First Clerk

Capt. John Hawkins and his brother Martin, emigrated from Virginia and settled in Georgetown about the year 1790. They were merchants. Capt. Hawkins erected a brick and frame building which he occupied as a residence on the corner of Main and Hamilton streets. Capt. Hawkins was a prominent citizen, and in 1792 was the first clerk of Scott county Court. He removed to Hopkinsville, Christian County, about the year 1820, and died there at an advahced age.

An Old Citizen

Mr. Martin Hawkins was a citizen of Georgetown for many years, and a successful merchant; he erected one of the first brick houses in the town- It stood on the south side of Main street, and wTas built with the gable to the street, and had an elevator for lifting to the second story; this was a wholesale house, and Mr. Hawkins did a large business. His residence, a frame building, stood upon the alley just in the rear of the Fitzgerald drug store, and fronting on Main street. About 1813, he removed to the beautiful blue grass farm south of town, afterward by Mr, Thomas Smarr, and at present occupied by Mrs. A. K- Richards. He married Miss Mary Shipp of Fayette county, about the year 1800. Mr, Hawkins died in 1824 or 1825. Mrs. Hawkins survived him many years, and died in Georgetown, They left five sons and three daughters, all of whom are dead except Mr. Richard Hawkins, who still resides in the town at an advanced age.

Very Prominent Man

Abram Scott was here as early as 1794-95. He lived in a log house very much after the style of a fort, with port-holes on all sides and projecting the roof; it stood on the east side of the Spring Branch. He carried on blacksmithing. Mr. Scott was a prominent man in the municipal affairs of the town, often elected a member of the Board of Trustees, and on many of its important committees, an industrious and useful citizen.

A Great Race Horse Man

Capt. Lynn West was born in Virginia in 1775, and came to Georgetown with his uncle, Edward West, in 1784, and worked with him in the gunsmith business until 1797, when he returned to Prince William county, Va., and while there married Miss Susan Jackson. Before going to Virginia, he had erected a dwelling on the corner of Hamilton and what is now called Bourbon street. He returned to Georgetown and continued the manufacture of guns and other implements. In 1812 he volunterred as Captain of an independent company. First battalion, First regiment of Scott's command. He died in 1836. Capt, West was an energetic, industrious and high-toned man. He was fond of fine blooded horses, of he raised and ran a good many. He left a family of nine children. Mrs- Susan West survived her husband many years, and died in 1860, an excellent, devoted and pious lady, a member of the Baptist Church.

First Lawyer

Among the earliest settlers of Georgetown and the first professional lawyer was Mr. Samuel Shephard, he was born in Massachusetts, Middlesex county, October 19, 1765, and, with his brother, Zenas Shephard, removed to Kentucky about 1790; he was married to Miss Fannie Barlow', of Scott county, in 1792, and was living in Georgetown in 1792, and was living in Georgetown in 1795, practicing law and keeping a house of entertainment. The house was a log and framed house and stood on the east side of Main Cross street, near where the present Catholic Church stands. Some years after ward he built a large brich house on the lot south of the town and which formed a part of the Female Seminary. He practiced law many years and died in Ohio in 1839, Mrs. Shephard survived him many years. He left four sons, all of whom are dead.

The Story Brothers

William and Thomas Story emigrated from Pennsylania, and settled in Georgetown about 1790. They sank and carried on a large tannery; it was in the valley on the east side of Main street, and north of the Pratt property. They worked a large number of hands and furnished a great portion of the leather for home manufacture.

Mr. William Story was a prominent citizen of the town, often a men ber of the Board of Trustees, He married Miss Eliza, sister of John, editor of the old Kentucky Gazette. She was an intelligent and excellent lady, and died in 1833. Mr. Story survived her a few years.

Capt. Thomas Story conducted the business of tanning for several years- Volunteered in the war of 1812, the First Lieutenant, Capt. West's company, First regiment, Scott's brigade; served out his time of enlistment and removed to Missouri in 1820.

One Of The First Physicians

One of the first physicians who settled in Georgetown was Dr. John Sites, born in New Jersey and educated in New York. He emigrated to Kentucky and settled in Georgetown about 1795. He was an educated man, and eminent in his profession. He was the grandfather of Judge Sites, now of Louisville. He died in Georgetown in 1811-

Warren Practices Law

William B. Warren emigrated from Virginia and settled in Georgetown about 1794. He practiced law for many years and was successful in his profession. He was Judge of Quarter Sessions Court, a man of fine personal appearance, quiet and retiring. He erected and occupied a frame house on the south side of Main street, on the site now occupied by the Farmers' Bank. He afterward removed to a brick residence that now forms a part of Warrendale, and where he resided at the time of his death. He married Miss Maria Fauntleroy. who survived him several years. He died in 1824. They left two sons and three daughters, Mrs. Margaret Johnson, widow of Col. T. F. Johnson alone surviving.

A Famous Old House

Capt. William Theobalds came from Virginia and settled in Georgetown about 1790. Fie built and occupied a large frame building on the south side of Main street, near the site of the present residence of Mr. William 0. Thompson. This was a famous old hotel. Capt. Theobalds was an admirable hotel keeper, and so good was his cheer that many of the farmers of that day, like the boys of the present, after the arduous labors of County Court day were over, got left, Capt. Theobalds married Miss Brown, sister of Judge William 0. Brown, of Harrison county. They raised a large family of children. He moved to a farm near the ''Stamping Ground" in Scott county about 1820, where he died.

A Member Of The Board Of Trustees

Capt. Robert Hunter settled in Georgetown about the year 1794. He moved from Virginia. He owned and occupied the red frame house north of and adjoining Pratt's hotel. Capt. Hunter was often a member of the Board of Trustees, and a prominent citizen of the town.

Early Settlers

Hezekiah Ford, Alexander McKoy, Thomas Johnston and Adam Johnson were all early settlers from 1790 to 1809, Alex. McKoy was the first Commissioner and Tax Collector for many years of the town; a soldier of the war of 1812. He has one daughter living in the county, the mother of Dr. Ford and Rev. C- Ford, of Stamping Ground.

Capt. Mahoney Was Very Popular

Capt. James FI. Mahoney removed from Maryland and settled in Georgetown in 1798 or 1799. He erected a frame building on the east side of Main Cross street, and the site accupied by the Pratt House; here he conducted a hotel for many years. About the year 1820 he removed the frame and erected a brick house in its stead. He was a popular and successful landlord, fully identified with the prosperity of the town, and one of its prominent citizens. He lived to an advanced age, and died in 183-, leaving two daughters - Mrs. Lewis West and Mrs. Chambers.

Heeded 5,900 Acres Of Land

Bartlett Collins, the two McClungs, John and David, Bernard Moore, James Bell, John and James Lemon were very early settlers of Georgetown. Berdard Moore, for many years carried on saddlery and harness making under the old Court House. In 1799, James Garrard, then Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, under an act of the General Assembly of Kentucky, deeded unto Robert Johnson, Bartlett Collins, John Hawkins, John Hunter, Elijah Craig, Toliver Craig, William Henry, John Payne, Samuel Shepard, Wm. Warren and Abraham Buford, Trustees to the Rittenhouse Academy, a certain tract or parcel of land containing 5,900 acres of land lying and being in the county of Christian and on the Cumberland River, for the purpose of establishing and endowing an Academy, - S. F. Gano.

E have endeavored to trace the decade of Georgetown from the first insignificant and straggling village of Lebanon, lying along the margin of the stream that glides along its western border, to the more imposing town, with its broad Main and Main Cross streets, wutli here and there a substantial residence or business house, with a Court House and its necessary adjunct, a jail, erected ou the public square, conveniently located at the intersection of the above streets, with an endowment of nearly 6,000 acres of land for educational purposes, with schools, the preaching of the gospel; with an intelligent, enterprising and industrious community of mechanics and business men; with a county territory extending north to the Ohio river, for Cincinnati then (Fort Washington) a village on our border, just across the river, traded with Georgetown, Capt. Daniel Gano, a Captain of artillery in the United States army, and stationed at Frankfort, with a corps of men had blazed a road from Georgetown to the Ohio river, at the mouth of Licking. This road was along the Dry Ridge along the way pioneered by the buffalo and Indians - the buffalo in quest of the Big Bone Lick, and the Indians in quest of game and scalps of their invaders, Georgetown grew rapidly from 1800.

Laid Out The Town

Richard M. Gano settled here in that year; he wras born in the city of New York July 7, i775. and removed to Kentucky with his father' the Rev. John Gano, and settled at Frankfort in 1789. Married Miss Elizabeth Ewing, of Bedford county. Va.. in 1797. and soon after removed to this place. He was a merchant for several years; volunteered in the war of 1812 as Major of Scott's regiment, First Battalion; commanded the regiment at the battle of the Thames, and was brevetted a Brigadier General. He built several houses in town and sold goods for many years in the house on the southwest corner of Main and Cross streets, now occupied by Kinzea Stone, as a grocery. He removed to the property known now as the Stedman (Mill property, soon after the war. He was one of the proprietors of the city of Covington, with his brother, Gen. John S. Gano, and Major D. Carneal, having purchased the Kennedy farm and laid out the town in 1814-15. He died at his home October 22, 1815, in the full vigor of his manhood His first wife died April 9, 1812, and his second wife, Mrs. D Goforth, survived him, and afterward was Mrs. Joel Scott, of Frankfort.

A Man Of Great Energy

Gen. Gano was a man of great energy and will, and of enlarged benevolence, and aided materially in building the first Baptist Church and promoting education in the town. Six children of his first wife survived him, four of whom are still living - Mrs. M. H. Ewing, Mrs. C. Y, Henry, Elder John A

Gano History Of Georgetown Circuit Judge And Conducted A Nail Factory

Judge Cary L. Clarke came to Georgetown with his wife, Mrs. Eliza Clarke, about the year 1802; he was a lawyer by profession, a man of culture and intelligence. They removed here from the city of New York. Their residence stood on the southeastern corner of the large lot now being very rapidly built up. The house stood on the site of the building recently owned and erected by Mr- W- S- Elgin, on the corner of Hamilton and Bourbon streets. It was a plain, substantial two-story frame house, with large grounds and comfortable surroundings. It was burned down a few years since. Judge Clarke was a Judge of the Circuit Court and for many years Clerk of the Circuit and County Courts. He was a prominent and influential citizen. He had a nail factory in connection with Moses L. Miller for several years after the war of 1812. He died July 23, 1819. His widow survived him many years; she died August 23, 1854. a most excellent and devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They left five children, one son. Dr. James Clarke, of New Orleans, and four daughters, only two of whom are living, Mrs. Kate Applegate, of Louisville, and Mrs. Charlotte Hollingsworth, of Hannibal, Missouri,

Real Live Place

John Mosby and John Thomson, gentlemen, are appointed Judges to superintend the election for Trustees for the town of Georgetown for the present year, and John Hawkins, Clerk pro tern., agreeable to an act of the General Assembly.

The said Judges having previously advertised the citizens of Georgetown that an election for their Trustees would be held at the Court House on this day, to-wit, the 10th day of March, 1804, met agreeable thereto and received the votes, as follows in the polls below:

The' Candidates The Voters

We being appointed Judges to the above election for Trustees of Georgetown, do proclaim that Wm. Story. Samuel Shepard, John Branham, John Hawkins, It. M. Gano, Lynn West and Robert Hunter are duly elected agreeable to the above poll. John Mosby.

From the above election, it appears, there were forty-six voters, residents of the town. It might be assumed that there were from 250 to 300 citizens in the place

Job Stevenson was born in Baltimore county, Md., in 1773, and, with his father, Thomas Stevenson, removed to Kentucky ih 1790. They were conveyed down the Ohio river on fiat boats, to Limestone, (now Maysville) thence on their pack horses to Washington, which was then a fort, defended by Simon Kenton and others.

It was not long after this that Capt. Hubble descended the Ohio river on a flat boat with a pariy of immigrants, was fiercely attacked by a large party of Indians, who, after a desperate fight, were repulsed. Thomas Stevenson, with Kenton and others, met this gallant band at Maysville, aided them in landing and burying their dead. Thomas Stevenson settled on a tract of land at Fort Washington. Job Stevenson labored on bis father's farm, until, in bis sixteenth year.be learned . the saddler's trade in Washington. In 1803 or 1804 be started out on a "tramp" as a "journeyman saddler,'' and, by the merest accident be reached Georgetown, where be soon found employment and worked for several years, until be commenced business for himself. He was an industrious and energetic man,, working at ins bench night and day, rather than disappoint a customer. His business increased so rapidly that he was soon enabled to give employment to as many as twenty-five band, many of these men of families, who derived their support from bis establishment. He manufactured a very large quantity of all kinds of work in the harness and saddlery business. Carrying on a large trade in lumber, salt, iron castings, machinery, stock of all kinds, extending his trading operations, through the mountain regions of Kentucky and to Cincinnati, Ohio. Having two or three farms, and giving employment to a large number of men in his many departments of business. He accumulated a large property, built houses, etc. The house destroyed by tire owned by A. W. Forward, he occupied as a shop for many years. The house owned and occupied by Maj. B. F. Bradley, was built by him for his residence, and many other houses in town. After more than half a century spent in close application to business and by his industry, and attention having amassed a large property, he embarked in politics, representing his county in the Legislature several terms. Neglecting his business or leaving it in the hands of others, he became involved in surety, his mind lost its balance and he took his own life in 1837. He was a magistrate of the county for many years, and it was proverbial of him that when litigated or troublesome cases came before him he split the difference, or like Solomon, divided the child in dispute. In 1807 he married Miss Mary Jones, daughter of Mrs. Tomlinson, a lady of rare excellence and piety, and a school teacher in Georgetown!. Mrs. Tomlinson, formerly Mrs- Jones, was an intelligent lady, a pioneer and leading member of the M. E. Church, and her house was the home of the Methodist preacher for many years. ' Squire Stevenson married his second wife, Mrs. Honeycutt (nee Blair), sister of Hon. Preston Blair, formerly of Frankfort, Ky., in 1835. His first wife left three sons - Rev. Evan Stevenson, Edward and Hiram, only one of the last is living in Illinois.

Cabinet Maker

In 1806, Joseph II- Norris came from Maryland and settled in Georgetown, He lived on Hamilton, near the residence of Judge Rhoton, and conducted a cabinet maker's shop, manufacturing furniture, etc. He was often elected a member of the Board of Trustees, and served as County Surveyor for a great many years, and died on his farm two miles north of Georgetown-

Boot And Shoe Maker

Thomas Offutt, from Maryland, was living in Georgetown in 1807: he was a hoot and shoe maker, and lived on the corner of Main Cross street and Jefferson, on the site now occupied by Judge Payne's residence. He was Overseer of the streets and Tax Collector of the town for some time. He died on his place on the Cincinnati pike some ten miles north of the town at an advanced age.

The Jailer

James B. Crawford settled in Georgetown in 1807. He v'as fora great many years the Jailer of Scott county, while the jail wras on the public square his residence was in the house on Main Cross street, west side, later occupied by Mrs- Oliver Gaines; after the new jail was built he occupied the house of the Jailer on the Spring Branch. Mr. Crawford was often a member of the Board of Trustees. He married a daughter of Mrs, Miller, of the county, the first wife of the late Benjamin Osborn, of this county. Mrs. Craw'ford w'as a most devoted and pious member of the (Methodist Church, a highly intelligent and gifted lady.

Manufactured Hats

William Brown came to Georgetown to reside about the year 1806, He carried on the manufacture of hats, fur and wool, on a large scale, employing from eight to ten hands, and trading largely with the neighboring counties. He accumulated quite a large property by his industry and enterprise. He built and owned the two-story brick house on the east side of Main Cross street, now occupied by Mrs. Dr, Grissim; he likewise built and resided in the house just south of

First Postmaster

Dr. John HolroydandTheodoric Bouhvare taught a school in the Rittenhouse Academy; Dr. Holroyd was a graduate of Brown University, they both afterward became Baptist ministers,

Female School

In 1809, Mrs. De Charmes and her daughter. Miss Sarah, with her son James, settled in Georgetown. They .were an English family, and moved from New York. Mrs. De Charmes established a female school of a high grade, where, in addition to the usual branches, music, drawing and other accomplishments were added. This school had a fine reputation. Scholars were drawn from Lexington, Frankfort, Louisville, and the teachers were refined and cultivated ladies. The building stood on Water street, the same house erected by Mr Craig in j 1789. When the war came on, the school was suspended, and | the ladies removed to Frankfort, where a British officer, a | prisoner at Frankfort on patrol, captured Miss Sarah, and af- | ter the war carried them back to England.

Practice Of Medicine

In 1809 Dr. Alex Montgomery settled for the practice of | medicine; he volunteered in the war of 1812, and was killed at 1 the disastrous defeat of River Raisin. He was highly esteemed by all wdio knew him.

Fight With Knives

He was succeeded by Capt. Mahoney, who kept this house for a short time, It was here, for the first time in the history of the town, the first manslaughter was committed, and great was the sensation it produced. For years it was the theme of conversation in its terrible particulars. Duly killed Holland in an encounter with knives. A conflict was expected on their meeting - both were prepared. They had been friends - young men from the same neighborhood. They had been trading down the river, quarreled about a settlement; both anticipated the meeting, and although Holland was regardecfas the more dang rous of the two men, Duly killed him in the first onset. The excitement was very great. Hon. John Rowan, regarded then as the ablest criminal lawyer in the State, was brought to Georgetown to defend Duly. He was found guilty and sent to the penitentiary for many years. In the present days of lax law and loose justice, it might have been called a case of self defense.

Telegraph First Newspaper

In 1811 the first newspaper, the Telegraph, was established in Georgetown; it was published and edited by Shadrach Penn. From its appearance it was printed on paper n anufactured at the paper mill that stood on the Spring Branch. It is well printed and very readable. A publication of the by-laws for the government of Georgetown, signed by John Branham, Chairman, and William Shepard, Clerk, would be very good reading for the present board. John R. Mahan informed the i public that he continues the saddling business in all its various branches. Pitts, Cowan & Co., Commission Merchants, Natches, Miss., kept every description of Kentucky produce.

J. W. Hawkins wants those who are indebted to him for merchandise to bring in their hemp, and would like to purchase twelve or fifteen thousand gallons of whicky.

Mr- Penn's paper is tilled with good reading matter. After the paper was discontinued Mr. Penn married Miss M. George, daughter of Mr. Leonard George, who kept the corner hotel on Main and Cross streets.

the Advertiser, ;i leading democratic paper in the State- Mr- Penn was an able journalist and ready writer, and George DPrentice as editor of the Journal, encountered no abler or worthier foe than Shadrach Penn.