State of Kentucky
Kentucky, one of the western United
States, is bounded n. by Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, from which
it is separated by the Ohio River; e. by Virginia; s. by
Tennessee; and w. by the Mississippi, which separates it from
Missouri. It is between 36° 30' and 39° 10' n. lat., and between
81° 50' and 89° 20' w. Ion., and between 5° and 10° w. lon. from
w. Its greatest length is about 400 miles, and breadth 170
miles, containing 40,500 square miles, or 25,920,000 acres. The
population in 1790 was 73,677; in 1800, 220,959; in 1810,
406,511; in 1820, 564,317; in 1830, 683,844; in 1840, 779,828,
of which 182,253 were slaves. Of the free population, 305,323
were white males; 284,930 do. females; 3,761 were colored males;
3,556 do. females. Employed in agriculture, 197,733; in
commerce, 3,448; in manufactures and trades, 23,217; navigating
the ocean, 44; canals, lakes, and rivers, 968; in mining, 331;
learned professions, 2,487.
There are 90 comities in this state,
which with their population in 1840, and their capitals, were as
follows:
County, Population, Capital
Adair, 8,466, Columbia |
Jefferson, 36,346, Louisville |
Allen, 7,329, Scottsville |
Jessamine, 9,396, Nicholasville
|
Barren, 17,288, Glasgow |
Kenton, 7,816, Independence
|
Bath, 9,763, Owingsville |
Knox, 5,722, Barbourville |
Boone, 10,034, Burlington |
Laurel, 3,079, London |
Bourbon, 14,478, Paris |
Lawrence, 4,730, Louisa |
Breathitt, 2,195, Breathitt
|
Lewis, 6,306, Clarksburg |
Bracken, 7,053, Augusta |
Lincoln, 10,187, Stanford |
Breckenridge, 8,944,
Hardingsburg |
Livingston, 9,025, Smithland
|
Bulitt, 6,334, Shepherdsville |
Logan, 13,615, Russelville |
Butler, 3,898, Morgantown |
Madison, 16,355, Richmond |
Caldwell, 10,365, Princeton
|
Marion, 11,032, Lebanon |
Calloway, 9,794, Wadesborough
|
Mason, 15,719, Maysville |
Campbell, 5,214, Newport |
McCracken, 4,745, Paducah |
Carroll, 3,966, Carrollton |
Meade, 5,780, Brandenburg |
Carter, 2,905, Grayson |
Mercer, 18,720, Harrodsburg
|
Casey, 4,939, Liberty |
Monroe, 6,526, Tompkinsville
|
Christian, 15,587, Hopkinsville |
Montgomery, 9,332, Mount
Sterling |
Clark, 10,802, Winchester |
Morgan, 4,603, West Liberty |
Clay, 4,607, Manchester |
Muhlenburg, 6,964, Greenville
|
Clinton, 3,863, Albany |
Nelson, 13,637, Bardstown |
Cumberland, 6,090, Burkesville
|
Nicholas, 8,745, Carlisle |
Davies, 8,331, Owensborough
|
Ohio, 6,592, Hartford |
Edmonston, 2,914, Brownsville
|
Oldham, 7,380, La Grange |
Estill, 5,535, Irvine |
Owen, 8,232, Owenton |
Fayette, 22,194, Lexington |
Pendleton, 4,455, Falmouth |
Fleming, 13,268, Flemingsburg
|
Perry, 3,089, Hazard |
Floyd, 6,302, Prestonburg |
Pike, 3,567, Pikeville |
Franklin, 9,420, Frankfort |
Pulaski, 9,620, Somerset |
Gallatin, 4,003, Warsaw |
Rockcastle, 3,409, Mount Vernon
|
Garrard, 10,480, Lancaster |
Russell, 4,238, Jamestown |
Grant, 4,192, Williamstown |
Scott, 13,668, Georgetown |
Graves, 7,465, Mayfield |
Shelby, 17,768, Shelbyville
|
Grayson, 4,461, Litchfield |
Simpson, 6,537, Franklin |
Greene, 14,212, Greensburg |
Spencer, 6,581, Taylorsville |
Greenup, 6,297, Greenupsburg
|
Todd, 9,991, Elkton |
Hancock, 2,581, Hawesville |
Trigg, 7,716, Cadiz |
Hardin, 16,357, Elizabethtown
|
Trimble, 4,480, Bedford |
Harlan, 3,015, Mt. Pleasant
|
Union, 6,673, Morganfield |
Harrison, 12,472 Cynthiana |
Warren, 15,446, Bowling Green
|
Hart, 7,031, Munfordsville |
Washington, 10,596, Springfield
|
Henderson, 9,548, Henderson
|
Wayne, 7,399, Monticello |
Henry,10,015, New Castle |
Whitley, 4,673, Williamsburg
|
Hickman, 8,968, Clinton |
Woodford, 11,740, Versailles |
Hopkins, 9,171, Madisonville |
... |
Frankfort,
on the e. bank of the Kentucky River, 60 miles above its
entrance into the Ohio, is the seat of government.
The only mountains in this state are the
Cumberland in the s. e. The eastern counties are mountainous. A
tract from 5 to 20 miles wide, along the Ohio River, through the
whole length of the state, is hilly and broken, but has a good
soil. The margin of the Ohio for about a mile in width consists
of bottom lands, which are overflowed when the river is high.
Between this tract of hilly country, the more mountainous
eastern counties, and Green river, is a fertile tract,
frequently denominated the garden of the state. It is about 150
miles long, and from 50 to 100 wide. The soil is excellent; the
surface is gently undulating, and the forest growth, black
walnut, black cherry, buckeye, pawpaw, sugar maple, mulberry,
elm, ash, cotton wood, white thorn, and an abundance of
grapevines. The country in the s. w. part of the state, between
Green and Cumberland rivers, is called "the barrens." In 1800,
the legislature of the state made a gratuitous grant of this
tract to actual settlers, under the idea that it was of little
value; but it proves to be excellent grain land, and also well
adapted to the raising of hogs and cattle. The whole state,
below the mountains, has at the usual depth of 8 feet a bed of
limestone, which has frequent apertures through which the waters
of the rivers sink into the earth, causing some of them to
disappear for a time, and others to be greatly diminished in the
summer season. The banks have generally worn deep channels in
the calcareous rocks over which they flow. The precipices formed
by the Kentucky are in many places stupendous, presenting
perpendicular banks of solid limestone 300 feet high, above
which is a steep and difficult ascent several times as high. In
the s. w. part of the state, between Green and Cumberland
rivers, are several remarkable caves. One called the Mammoth
cave, 130 miles from Lexington on the road to Nashville, is said
to be 8 or 10 miles in length, with many diverging apartments.
The earth at the bottom of it is strongly impregnated with nitre,
which has been, to a considerable extent, manufactured from it.
Wheat, tobacco, and hemp are the staple
productions; but Indian corn, rye, oats, barley, buckwheat,
flax, and potatoes are extensively cultivated. Apples, pears,
peaches, and plums are the most common fruits. Horses, horned
cattle, pork, bacon, and lard are extensively exported.
In this state there were, in 1840,
395,853 horses and mules; 787,098 neat cattle; 1,008,240 sheep;
2,310,533 swine; poultry to the value of $536,439; there were
produced 4,803,152 bushels of wheat; 17,491 of barley; 7,155,974
of oats; 1,321,373 of rye; 8,169 of buckwheat; 39,847,120 of
Indian corn; 1,786,817 pounds of wool; 742 of hops; 38,445 of
wax; 1,055,085 bushels of potatoes; 88,306 tons of hay; 9,992 of
hemp and flax; 53,436,909 pounds of tobacco; 16,376 of rice;
691,456 of cotton; 737 of silk cocoons; 1,377,835 of sugar. The
products of the dairy amounted to $931,363; of the orchard
$434,935; of lumber $130,329. There were made 2,209 gallons of
wine.
Among the mineral productions of
Kentucky, are iron ore, coal, salt, and lime. The salt licks, as
the springs are called, from the fact that cattle and wild
animals have been fond of licking around them, are numerous, and
salt is extensively manufactured, not only for home consumption,
but for exportation. The greater part of the exports of this
state pass down the Mississippi to New Orleans, and its chief
imports are brought in steamboats through the same river and the
Ohio, and other tributaries in this state.
The winters are mild, being only of 2 or
3 months continuance, but the atmosphere at that season is
moist. Spring and autumn are delightful; and on the whole, the
climate is salubrious.
The Ohio, by its various windings,
borders this state on the N. for 637 miles. Cumberland and
Tennessee rivers pass through the western part of this state as
they approach their entrance into the Ohio. Cumberland River,
also, rises in the eastern part of this state. The Big Sandy is
250 miles long, and, for a considerable distance, forms the
boundary between this state and Virginia. It is navigable 50
miles for boats. The Kentucky River rises in the Cumberland
Mountains, and after a course generally through a deep rocky
bed, falls into the Ohio, 77 miles above Louisville. It is
navigable by steamboats 60 miles to Frankfort. Licking, Green,
and Salt, are other considerable rivers. The Mississippi runs on
the western border of the state.
Louisville, on the Ohio, is much the
largest and most commercial place in the state. Lexington, the
oldest town in the state, is distinguished for its beauty and
refinement as well as for its business. Maysville, on the Ohio,
and Frankfort, on the Kentucky, are important places.
There were in the state, in 1840, 5
commercial and 50 commission houses engaged in foreign trade,
with a capital of $620,700; 1,635 retail drygoods and other
stores, with a cap. of $9,411,826; 571 persons employed in the
lumber trade, with a capital of $105,925; 101 persons employed
in internal transportation, who, with 183 butchers, packers, &c,
employed a capital of $183,850.
The amount of homemade or family
manufactures, was $2,622,462; there were 40 woolen
manufactories, employing 200 persons, manufacturing articles to
the amount of $151,246, with a capital of $138,000; 58 cotton
manufactories, with 12,353 spindles, employing 523 persons,
producing articles to the amount of $329,330, with a capital of
$316,113; 17 furnaces, producing 29,206 tons of cast iron, and
13 forges, &c, producing 3,637 tons of bar iron, employing 1,108
persons, and a capital of $449,000; 27 persons produced 2,125
tons of anthracite coal, with a capital of $14,150; 213 persons
produced 588,167 tons of bituminous coal, with a capital of
$76,627; 291 persons produced 219,695 bushels of salt, with a
capital of $163,585; 100 persons produced granite and marble to
the amount of $19,592, with a capital of $6,212; 7 paper mills
employed 47 persons, and produced articles to the amount of
$44,000, employing a capital of $47,500; hats and caps were
produced to the amount of $201,310, and straw bonnets to the
amount of $4,483, employing 194 persons, with a capital of
$118,850; 587 persons manufactured tobacco to the amount of
$413,585, with a capital of $230,400; 387 tanneries employed 978
persons, and a capital of $567,954; 548 other manufactories of
leather, as saddleries, &c, produced articles to the amount of
$732,646, with a capital of $369,835; 1 glass house produced
articles to the amount of $3,000, with a capital of $500; 16
potteries, employing 51 persons, produced articles to the amount
of $24,090, with a capital of $9,670; 11 powder mills employed
58 persons, and produced 232,500 pounds of gunpowder, with a
capital of $42,000; 25 persons produced paints and drugs to the
amount of $26,994, and turpentine and varnish to the amount of
$2,000, with a capital of $16,630; 28 persons produced
confectionery to the amount of $36,050, with a capital of
$14,250; 111 rope walks employed 1,888 persons, and produced
cordage to the amount of $1,292,276, with a capital of
$1,023,130; 6 persons produced musical instruments to the amount
of $4,500, with a capital of $5,000; 149 persons produced
machinery to the amount of $46,074; 30 persons produced hardware
and cutlery to the amount of $22,350; 109 persons produced 2,341
small-arms, with a capital of $19,060; 21 persons manufactured
the precious metals to the amount of $19,060; 657 persons
produced bricks and lime to the amount of $240,919; 516 persons
manufactured 2,282,426 pounds of soap, 563,635 do. of tallow
candles, and 315 pounds of spermaceti or wax candles, with a
capital of $28,765; 839 distilleries produced 1,763,685 gallons,
and 50 breweries produced 214,539 gallons, the whole employing
1,092 persons, and a capital of $315,308; 533 persons produced
carriages and wagons to the amount of $168,724, with a capital
of $79,378; 258 flouring mills produced 273,088 barrels of
flour, and with other mills employed 2,067 persons, producing
articles to the amount of $2,437,937, with a capital of
$1,650,689; 453 persons manufactured furniture to the amount of
$273,350, with a capital of $139,295; 485 stone or brick houses,
and 1,757 wooden houses employed 2,883 persons, and cost
$1,039,172; 34 printing offices, 3 binderies, 5 daily, 7
semiweekly, and 26 weekly newspapers, and 8 periodicals,
employed 226 persons, and a capital of $86,325. The whole amount
of capital employed in manufactures was $5,945,259.
The Transylvania University, at
Lexington, was founded in 1798, and is an important institution.
Centre College, at Danville, was founded in 1822; St. Joseph's
College, at Bardstown, (Catholic,) was founded in 1819; Augusta
College, at Augusta, (Methodist,) was founded in 1825;
Cumberland College, at Princetown, was founded in 1825;
Georgetown College, at Georgetown, (Baptist,) was founded in
1829; Bacon College, at Harrodsburg, was founded in 1836; St.
Mary's College, Marion county, (Catholic,) was founded in 1837.
There is a flourishing medical department connected with the
Transylvania University, and a medical institution at
Louisville. In these institutions there were, in 1840, 1,419
students. There were in the state 116 academies and grammar
schools, with 4,906 students; 952 common and primary schools,
with 24,641 scholars; and 40,010 free white persons, over 20
years of age, who could neither read nor write.
In 1836, the Baptists, the most numerous
denomination, had 500 churches, about 300 ministers, and 35,000
communicants; the Methodists 100 travelling preachers, and
31,369 communicants; the Presbyterians 120 churches and 8 or
10,000 communicants; the Episcopalians 1 bishop and 13
ministers; the Roman Catholics, 1 bishop and 34 ministers. There
is also a considerable number of Cumberland Presbyterians,
Reformed Baptists, 2 societies of Shakers, and 1 of Unitarians.
At the commencement of 1840, this state had 14 banks and
branches, with an aggregate capital of $7,739,003, and a
circulation of $3,476,367. At the close of 1840, the state debt
amounted to $4,665,000.
The first constitution was formed in
1790, and the present one in 1799. The governor is elected for 4
years by the people, and is ineligible for the next seven. A
lieutenant-governor is chosen at the same time, who is president
of the senate, and who, in case of the death or absence of the
governor, succeeds to his duties. The senators are elected for 4
years, one quarter of them being chosen annually. Their number
cannot exceed 33 nor be less than 24. The representatives are
chosen annually, and apportioned every 4 years among the
counties according to the number of electors. Every free white
male citizen who is 21 years of age, and has resided 2 years in
the state, or county in which he offers his vote, one year next
preceding the election, has the right of suffrage. Votes are
given openly, or viva voce, and not by ballot. The judges of the
several courts hold their offices during good behavior.
A short but most important work of
internal improvement is the Louisville and Portland canal, 2£
miles long, around the rapids in the Ohio River at Louisville.
It admits steamboats of the larger class, is excavated 10 feet
deep, in solid limestone, and cost $730,000. The navigation of
Kentucky, Licking, and Green rivers has been extensively
improved by dams and locks. The Lexington and Ohio railroad
extends from Lexington to Frankfort, and is intended to be
continued to Louisville. Several other railroads have been
projected.
This state was first explored by Daniel
Boone, an enterprising hunter, in 1770. The first white family
settled near Lexington in 1775. The first settlers were greatly
annoyed by the Indians, until Gen. Clark took their posts and
broke up their haunts, in 1778. This state originally belonged
to Virginia, and in 1782, was erected into a separate district
by the name of Kentucky. In 1739 it was separated from Virginia,
and in 1792 was admitted into the Union.
Table of Contents
Source: A Complete Descriptive And
Statistical Gazetteer Of The United States Of America, By Daniel
Haskel, A. M and J. Calvin Smith, Published By Sherman & Smith,
1843
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