Early History of the State of Kentucky:

Between 1784 and 1792, people living in these counties held ten conventions on the question of statehood; on 18 December 1789 Virginia's General Assembly passed an act allowing Kentucky to apply for statehood and on 1 June 1792, those nine counties became a state, with the full consent of Virginia. By the time Kentucky received statehood, it was comprised of nine counties. The records of those counties are housed in Kentucky. Records prior to their formation are located in Virginia records of such counties as Augusta, Montgomery and Botetourt. West Virginia was also a part of Virginia until it ceded to the Union in 1863 and became a state.

The name Kentucky is of American Indian origin and as been attributed to several languages with several possible meanings from "land of tomorrow" to "cane and turkey lands" to "meadow lands." This last may come from the Iroquois name for the Shawnee town Eskippathiki. The name Kentucky referred originally to the Kentucky River and from that came the name of the region.

Then in 1792 Shelby County was created from that part of Jefferson extending to the Ohio River at Eighteen Mile Creek, up the river to the mouth of the Kentucky River, and including all of the present territory of Shelby, Henry, and Trimble, and parts of Carroll, Oldham, Spencer, and Franklin.

1792 Scott County, KY formed from Woodford County.

1793 Harrison County formed from Bourbon County and Scott County.

December 10, 1793 Cynthiana chartered as a town.

1802 Cynthiana was incorporated as a town.

The land west of the Tennessee River was claimed by the Chickasaw Indians, who relinquished the land through a treaty with the United States in 1818. Gov. Isaac Shelby and Gen. Andrew Jackson represented the United States in the negotiations. The Kentucky land became known as the Jackson Purchase.

With the formation of McCreary County in 1912, all of Kentucky's 120 counties were created.

Return to Cynthiana Online Facts and Findings.

Credits:
The Library of Virginia
Signs of History - Georgetown College
Kentucky Historical Society
Kentucky Atlas & Gazetteer
Mercer On Line
Franklin-Simpson County Chamber of Commerce
How It All Began For Trimble County by Dr. Richard A. Edwards
Lexington Herald-Leader 01/01/2000
The Rockbridge County, VAGenWeb Project
Whitley County Kentucky Genealogy
Ralph Eddie Coppage - Harrison County County Clerk
Cynthiana-Harrison County Museum
Thelma Taylor