USA > Kentucky > Historical sketches of Kentucky : embracing its history, antiquities, and natural curiosities, geographical, statistical, and geological descriptions with anecdotes of pioneer life, and more than one hundred biographical sketches of distinguished pioneers, soldiers, statesmen, jurists, lawyers, divines, etc. > Part 51
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339
HARLAN COUNTY.
eye withdrawn from him, reversed his gun with a rapid motion, with the inten- tion of shooting. Hardin caught the gleam of light which was reflected from the polished barrel of the gun, and readily devising its meaning, brought his own rifle to a level, and without raising his piece to his face, gained the first fire, and gave the Indian a mortal wound, who however was only an instant too late, send- ing his ball through Hardin's hair. The rest of the party were marched into camp, and Hardin received the thanks of General Gates. Before he left the army he was offered a Major's commission in a regiment about to be raised : but he declined, alleging that he could be of more service where he then was. In 1219 he resigned and returned home. It appears that in 1780, the year after leaving the army, he was in Kentucky, and located lands on treasury warrants, for him- self and some of his friends. In April 1786, he removed his wife and family to Nelson, afterwards Washington county, in Kentucky. In the same year he vol- unteered under General Clark for the Wabash expedition, and was appointed quartermaster. In 1789. among other depredations, a considerable party of Indians stole all his horses, without leaving him one for the plow. They were pursued, but escaped, by crossing the Ohio. In the course of this year he was appointed county lieutenant with the rank of colonel, which gave him the command of the militia of the county. As the summer advanced he determined to cross the Ohio, and scour the country for some miles out in order to break up anv bands of Indians that might be lurking in the neighborhood. With two hundred mounted men he proceeded across the river, and on one of the branches of the Wabash. fell on a camp of about thirty Shawanees, whom he attacked and defeated, with a loss of two killed and nine wounded. Two of the whites were wounded-none killed or taken. From these Indians Colonel Hardin recovered two of the horses and some colts which had been strlen in the spring; and it is worthy of remark, that no more horses were stolen from that neighborhood during the war. There was no expedition into the Indian country, after Hardin settled in Kentucky, that he was not engaged in; except that of General St. Clair, which he was prevented from joining by an accidental wound received while using a carpenter's adze. In the spring of the year 1792, he was sent by General Wilkinson with overtures of peace to the Indians. He arrived on his route towards the Miami villages attended by his interpreter, at an Indian camp about a day's journey from the spot where Fort Defiance was afterwards built. Here he encamped with the Indians during the night, but in the morning they shot him to death. He was a man of unassuming manners and great gentleness of deportment; yet of singular brm- ness and inflexibility. For several years previous to his death he had been a member of the Methodist church.
In March, 1791, a party of Indians made an incursion into Hardin county, and stole a number of horses. Captain William Hardin, with his usual alaerity, raised a small company and pursued them. The marauders were overtaken, and in the skirmish which ensued, Captain Hardin was wounded. but the Indians dispersed and the horses were recovered.
HARLAN COUNTY.
HARLAN county was formed in 1819, and named after Major SILAS HARLAN. It is situated in the extreme south-eastern part of the state, and lies on the head waters of Cumberland river. It is bounded on the north by Perry ; east and south by Virginia ; and west and northwest by Knox county. Harian is a high, rugged and mountainous county. On the southern border lies the great Stone or Cumberland mountain, surmounted by a stupendous rock, one mile long, and 600 feet high. On the northern border lies the Pine mountain, ranging nearly east and west, and sepa-
340
HARRISON COUNTY.
rates this from Letcher, Perry and Owsley counties. In the eas- tern part of the county lies the Black mountain, which is prob- ably an arm of the Cumberland.
The taxable property of Harlan in 1846, was assessed at $302,245 : number of acres of land in the county, 214,990 ; aver- age value per acre, $1.98 : white males over twenty-one years of age, 593 ; number of children between five and sixteen years old, 1,000 : population in 1840, 3,040.
MOUNT PLEASANT is the county seat and only town of Harlan- one hundred and sixty-eight miles from Frankfort. It.contains a court house and other public buildings, -- (preaching occasionally in the court-house by the Baptists and Methodists),-a tailor, hatter, blacksmith, and a tavern : population about 50. It received its name from the high mound or Indian grave yard on which it is built. From this mound have been taken a large quantity of human bones, pots curiously made of blue earth and muscle shells, and dried in the sun.
Major SILAS HARLAN, in honor of whom this county received its name, was born in Berkley county, Virginia, near the town of Martinsburg. He came to Kentucky in 1774, and took a very active part in the battles and skirmishes with the Indians. He commanded a company of spies under General George Rogers Clark. in the Llinois campaigns in 1779, and proved himself a most active, ener- getic and .Arient officer. General Clark said of him, that " he was one of the bravest and most accomplished soldiers that ever fought by his side." About the year 1779, h- built a stockade fort on Salt river. 7 miles above Harrodsburg, which was called ". Harlan's station." He was a major at the battle of the Blue Lieke, and feil in that memorable contest at the head of the detachment com- manded by him. He was never married. In stature he was about six feet two inches high, of fine personal appearance, and was about thirty years old when he was killed. He was universally regarded as a brave, generous and active man -beloved by his associates, and all who knew him.
HARRISON COUNTY.
HARRISON county was formed in 1793, and named after Colonel BENJAMIN HARRISON. It is situated in the north middle section of the State, lies on both sides of South Lieking river, and is boun- ded on the north by Pendleton ; east by Nicholas ; south by Bour- bon ; and west by Scott county. Main Licking river runs through the northern portion of the county; and the principal creek - are. Cedar, West, Beaver and Richland, emptying into Main Licking; Indian. Lilas. Mill, Twin and Raven, which put into South Lick- ing. The face of the country is irregular. About one half' of' the county is gently undulating, rich and very productive-the other portion hilly and less productive -- but the whole well adap- ted for grazing. Soil based on red elay, with limestone foun- dation. The principal productions are, hemp, corn, wheat, and live stock, consisting of horses, mules, cattle, sheep and hogs. .
The taxable property of Harrison in 1846, was valued at
341
CAPTURE OF RUDDELL'S STATION.
$1576.526; number of acres of land in the county, 202,601; average value of land per acre, $12.80 ; number of white males over twenty-one years old, 2,034; number of children between five and sixteen years old, 2,533. Population in 1830, 13,180- in 1840, 12,472.
The towns and villages of the county are Cynthiana, Broad- well, Claysville, Colemansville, Havelandville and Leesburg. CYNTHIANA, the county seat and chief town, is situated on the right bank of the south fork of Licking, thirty-seven miles from Frankfort. It contains the usual county buildings, three churches, (Methodist, Presbyterian and -- ), five physicians, ten lawyers, thirteen stores, six groceries, two taverns, one academy, two common schools, one drug store, one auction store, one rope walk and bagging factory, one wool factory, one job printing office, two tanneries, one masonic lodge, 30 mechanics' shops, market house, &c., Population about 1,000. Incorporated in 1802, and named after Cynthia and Anna, two daughters of Mr. Robert Harrison, the original proprietor.
Claysville is situated at the mouth of Beaver creek, on Main Licking-contains a Republican church, two taverns, one physi- cian, three stores, one merchant mill, three tobacco factories, one woolen factory and fulling mill, two warehouses, and about finty inhabitants. Formerly called Marysville, but changed in 1821 to its present name, in honor of Henry Clay. Colemonsville is thir- teen miles north-west of Cynthiana-contains four stores and gro- veries, one church, one tavern, four physicians, eight mechanics' shops, and about one hundred inhabitants. Incorporated in (>31, and called after Robert Coleman, the original proprietor. Huce- landville is a small manufacturing town, owned by a gentleman named Haveland, containing a cotton mill, and a large number of small residences. Leesburg is situated ten miles west of Cyn- thiana, and contains three churches (Episcopal, Reformed, and Re- publican), tive stores and groceries, one tavern, one wool factory, seven mechanics' shops, and one bagging factory and rope walk.
In the summer of 1780, a formidable military force, consisting of six hundred Indians and Canadians, under the command of Colonel Byrd, an officer of the British army, accompanied by six pieces of artillery, made an incursion into Ken- tackv. The artillery was brought down the Big Miami, and thence up Licking as far as the present town of Falmouth, at the forks of Licking, where. with that stores and baggage, it was landed, and where Colonel Byrd ordered some Iras ti be constructed, to shelter them from the weather. From this point Colonel Byrd tok up las line of march for Kuddell's station, with one thousand men. Such a fren are impacted by artillery, was resistless to the stockades of Keaton, which were altogether destitute of ordnance. The approach of the enit was vitally audiencered by our people natil, on the 201 of June. 1780, the r port . i one of the field pieces announced their arrival before the station. This is the more extraordinary, as the British party were twelve days in marching from the Olio river to Riddell's station, and had cleared a wagon road the greater part of the way. The station had been settled the previous year. on the easterly bank of the south fork of lacking river. three miles below the junction of Mak to mand Sony's brukes of the same straat. A summons to surrender at discretion to his Britannic majesty's arms, was immediately made by Col. Byl -- to amen demand Captain Rudded answered, that he could not consent to surrender but on
342
HARRISON COUNTY.
certain conditions, one of which was, that the prisoners should be under the pro- tection of the British, and not suffered to be prisoners to the Indians. To these terms Colonel Byrd consented, and immediately the gates were opened to him. No sooner were the gates opened, than the Indians rushed into the station, and each Indian seized the first person they could lay their hands on, and claimed them as their own prisoner. In this way the members of every family were sep- arated from each other; the husband from the wife, and the parents from their children. The piercing screams of the children when torn from their moth- ers-the distracted throes of the mothers when forced from their tender offspring, are indescribable. Ruddell remonstrated with the colonel against this barbarous conduct of the Indians, but to no effect. He confessed that it was out of his power to restrain them, their numbers being so much greater than that of the troops over which he had control, that he himself was completely in their power.
After the people were entirely stripped of all their property, and the prisoners divided among their captors, the Indians proposed to Colonel Byrd to march to and take Martin's station, which was about five miles from Ruddeil's ; but Col. Byrd was so affected by the conduct of the Indians to the prisoners taken, that he peremptorily refused, unless the chiefs would pledge themselves in behalf of the Indians, that all the prisoners taken should be entirely under his control, and that the Indians should only be entitled to the plunder. Upon these propositions being agreed to by the chiefs, the army marched to Martin's station, and took it without opposition. The Indians divided the spoils among themselves, and Colonel Byrd took charge of the prisoners.
The ease with which these two stations were taken, so animated the Indians, that they pressed Colonel Byrd to go forward and assist them to take Bryant's station and Lexington. Byrd declined going, and urged as a reason. the improb- ability of success ; and besides, the impossibility of procuring provisions to sup- port the prisoners they already had, also the impracticability of transporting their artillery by land, to any part of the Ohio river-therefore the necessity of de- scending Licking before the waters fell, which might be expected to take place in a very few days.
Immediately after it was decided not to go forward to Bryant's station, the army commenced their retreat to the forks of Licking, where they had left their boats, and with all possible dispatch got their artillery and military stores on board and moved off. At this place the Indians separated from Byrd, and took with them the whole of the prisoners taken at Ruddell's station. Among the pri- soners was Captain John Hinkston, a brave man and an experienced woodsman. The second night after leaving the forks of Licking, the Indians encamped near the river; every thing was very wet, in consequence of which it was difficult to kindle a fire, and before a fire could be made it was quite dark. A guard was placed over the prisoners, and whilst part of them were employed in kindling the fire, Hinkston sprang fran among them and was immediately out of sight. An alarm was instantly given, and the Indians ran in every direction, not being able to ascertain the course he had taken. Hinkston ran but a short distance before he lay down by the side of a log under the dark shade of a large beech tree. where he remained until the stir occasioned by his escape had subsided, when he moved off as silently as possible. The night was cloudy, and very dark, so that he had no mark to steer by. and after traveling some time towards Lexington, as he thought, he found hunself close to the camp from which he had just before made his escope. In this dilemma he was obliged to tax his skill as a woods- man, to devise a method by which he should be enabled to steer his course with- out light enough to see the moss on the trees, or without the aid of sun, moon, or stars. Captain Hinkston ultimately adopted this method : he dipped his hand in the water, ( which almost covered the whole country), and holding it upwards above his head. he instantly folt one side of his hand cold ; he immediately knew that from that point the wind came -- he therefore ste ered the balance of the night to the cold side of his hand, that bring from the west he knew. and the course best suited to his purpose. After traveling several hours, he sat down at the root of a tree and fell asleep.
A few hours before day, there catar on a very heavy dense fog, so that a man could not be seen at twenty yards distance. This circonstance was of infinity advantage to Hinkston, for as soon as daylight appeared, the howling of wolves,
343
HIGGINS' BLOCK-HOUSE.
the gobbling of turkeys, the bleating of fawns, the cry of owls, and every other wild animal, was heard in almost every direction. Hinkston was too well ae- quainted with the customs of the Indians, not to know that it was Indians, and not beasts and birds that made these sounds-he therefore avoided approaching the places where he heard them, and notwithstanding he was several times within a few yards of them. with the aid of the fog he escaped, and arrived safe at fex- ington, and brought the first news of that event.
The Indians not only collected all the horses belonging to Ruddell's and Mar- tin's stations, but a great many from Bryant's station and. Lexington, and with their booty crossed the Ohio river near the mouth of Licking, and there dispersed. The British descended Licking river to the Ohio, down the Ohio to the mouth of the Big Miami, and up the Miami as far as it was then navigable for their boats, where they hid their artillery, and marched by land to Detroit. The rains having ceased, and the weather being exceeding hot, the waters fell so low, that they were able to ascend the Miami but a short distance by water.
The following account of an adventure at Higgins' block-house, near Cynthi- ana, is from the notes of Mr. E. E. Williams, of Covington, Ky., an actor in the events which he records :
After the battle of the Blue Licks, and in 1786, our family removed to Hig- gins' block-house on Licking river, one and a half miles above Cynthiana. Be- tween those periods my father had been shot by the Indians, and my mother mar- ried Samuel Van Hook. who had been one of the party engaged in the defence at Ruddell's station in 1780, and on its surrender was carned with the rest of the prisoners to Detroit.
Higgins' fort, or block-house. had been built at the bank of Licking, on pre- cipitous rocks. at least thirty feet high. which served to protect us on every side but one. On the morning of the 19th of June, at day light, the fort, which con- sisted of six or seven houses, was attacked by a party of Indians, fifteen or twenty in number. There was a cabin outside, below the fort, where William M'Combs resided, although absent at that time. His son Andrew, and a man hired in the family, named Joseph MeFall. on making their appearance at the door to wash themselves, were both shot down-M'Combs through the knee. and MeFall in the pit of the stomach. McFall ran to the block-house, and M'Combs fell, unable to support himself longer. just after opening the door of his cabin, and was dragged in by his sisters, who barricaded the door instantly. On the level and only accessible side, there was a corn-field, and the season being favor- able, and the soil rich as well as new, the corn was more than breast high. Here the main body of the Indians lay concealed, while three or four who made the at- tack attempted thereby to decoy the whites outside of the defences. Falling in this, they set fire to an old fence and corn-crib, and two stables, both long enough built to be thoroughly combustible. These had previously protected their ap- proach in that direction. Captain Asa Reese was in command of our little fort. " Boys." said he, "some of you must run over to Hinkston's or Harrison's." These were one and a half and two miles off. but in different directions. very man declined. I objected, alleging as my reason, that he would give up the fort before I could bring relief; but on his assuraore that he would hold out. I agreei to go. I jumped off the bank through the thicket of trees, which broke my f .!. while they scratched my face and limbs. I got to the ground with a limb clenched in my hands, which I had grasped unawares in getting through. I mensered from the jar in less than a minute, crossed the Licking, and ran up a con-p the on the opposite side, which the cows from one of those forts had beat down in their visits for water. As soon as I had gained the bark. I shouted, to avere my friends of my safety, and to discourage the enemy. In less than an hour, I was back, with a relief of ten horsemen, well armed, and driving in full che ater the Indians. But they had decamped immediately, upon hearing my sig .. i. well knowing what it meant. and it was deemed imprudent to pursue to I wal so weak a party-the whole free in Higgins' block-house hardly sunliving to gaard the women and children there. MeFall. from whom the ballet ca !! and In ex- tracted, lingered two days and nights in great pain, when he died. as did M'Combs, on the ninth day, mortification then taking place.
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344
HART COUNTY.
This county was named in honor of Colonel BENJAMIN HARRISON, who re- moved to Kentucky from Pennsylvania at an early day. He was a member of the convention which met .at Danville in 1787, from Bourbon county ; was a member of the convention which met the succeeding year (1788) at the same place ; and was also a member, from Bourbon, of the convention which formed the first constitution of Kentucky, and which assembled at Danville in 1792. In the same year, after the adoption of the constitution, he was elected a senatorial elector from Bourbon county. In 1793, he was elected a representative from Bourbon county, being a member of the legislature when the county of Harrison was formed.
HART COUNTY.
HART county was formed in 1819, and named after Captain NATHANIEL HART. It is situated in the south-west middle part of the State, and lies on both sides of Greene river. Bounded on the north by Larue, east by Greene, south by Barren, and west by Grayson and Edmonson. The face of the country, except along the river bottoms, is rolling, and in some parts hilly and broken : but the soil, generally, is very productive. Tobacco, cattle, horses, sheep, and hogs, form the principal articles of exportation ; though corn, wheat, and oats, are raised in great abundance. Greene river is navigable for steamboats as high as Munfordville, during a portion of the year. Nolin river, which borders a portion of the county, is navigable for flat boats in high water, and will afford throughout the year fine water power for any number of manufacturing establishments.
The taxable property of Hart, in 1846, was valued at $1, 122,- 265 ; number of acres of land in the county, 176,564 ; average value of land per acre, $3.15: number of white males over twenty-one years of age, 1,259 ; number of children between five and sixteen years old, 1,692. Population in 1840, 7,031.
The towns of Hart are-MUNFORDVILLE, situated on the north bank of Greene river, 105 miles from Frankfort, and 75 miles from Louisville : contains the usual county buildings, and an academy (the court house and academy used for religious wor- ship), five stores. two taverns, four lawyers, foar physicians, and twelve mechanics shops-population three hundred : named after R. J. Munford, former proprietor. Woodsonville is a small vil- lage on the south side of Greene river, opposite Munfordville, con- taining a Baptist church, two stores. post office, &c .- population about fifty: named after Thomas Woodson, sen. Monroe is a small village, fourteen miles cast of Munfordville-population about thirty : named after President Monroe. Lecstille is a small village, twelve miles north of Munfordville-population about twenty. The Beer Wallow is a very noted place in the Barrens, where there was a great resort of hunters, at an early period. in quest of the bears which were attracted there to wallow and drink at a spring. i tine tavern, with the sign of the " Bear," is all that remains of the place.
345
NATHANIEL G. T. HART.
There are a number of natural curiosities, such as caves, sinks, springs, &r., in Hart county. About three and a half miles from Munfordville, near Greene river, there is a large spring, which possesses this remarkable singularity. A short distance below the head of this spring, a milldam has been erected ; and at certain hours in the day, the water rises to the height of twelve or fifteen inches above its ordinary level, flows over the dam for some time, and then falls to its usual stand, resembling very greatly the ebb and flow of the ocean tides. The flood occurs about the hour of twelve o'clock each day-recurs at the same hour on every day, and is marked by the utmost uniformity in the time occupied in its ebb and flow. Six miles east of Munfordville, in the level barrens, there is a hole in the earth which attracts no little attention. The hole is circular, of some sixty or seventy feet in diameter, and runs down in a funnel shape to the depth of twenty-five or thirty feet, where the diameter is diminished to ten or twelve feet. Below that point it has never been explored, and sinks to an unknown depth. On throwing a rock into this hole or pit, its ring, as it strikes the sides, can be heard for some time. when it gradually dies away, without being heard to strike anything like the bottom. It is supposed that more than a hundred cart loads of rocks have been thrown into this pit, by the persons visiting it. Nix or seven miles north north-east from the county seat, is the " Frenchman's Knob." so called from the circumstance that a Frenchinan was killed and scalped upon it. Near the top of this knob, there is a hole or sink which has been explored to the depth of 275 feet, by means of letting a man down with ropes, without discovering bottom ! There are also a number of caves in the county, from a half to two miles in length ; hut being in the neighborhood of the Mammoth Care, they excite but little attention.
Captain NATHANIEL G. T. HART, (in honor of whom this county received its name,) was the son of Colonel Thomas Hart, who emigrated at an early day from Hagerstown, Maryland, to Lexington, which place became his residerce, and has continued to be that of most of his descendants. Captain Hart was born at Ha- gerstown, and was but a few years old when his father carne to Kentucky. The Hon. Henry Clay and the Hon. James Brown, so long minister at the French court, were his brothers-in-law, having married his sisters. Under the first named gentleman, Captain Hart studied the profession of law, and practiced for some time in Lexington. Shortly before the war of 181?, he had engaged in mercantile pursuirs, and was rapidly making a large fortune. In the year 1512, being then about twenty-seven years of age, he commanded a volunteer company called the "Lexington Light Infantry ;" and Kentucky being in that year called upon for volunteers for the war in the north-west, he, with his company, enrolled them- selves in the service of their country. His command rendezvoused at George- town in the fall of 1912, and from thence proceeded to the seat of war. He served through the winter campaign of 1812-13. a portion of the time as a staff officer. At the battle of Raisin, on the 22d January, 1813, he commanded his company, and received a wound in the leg. When taken prisoner, he found an old acquain- tance among the British officers. This was a Captain Elliott, who had previously been in Lexington, and during a severe illness there remained at the house of Colonel Hart, and was attended by Captain Hart and the family. On meeting Captain Hart he expressed himself delighted at the opportunity to return the kindness he had received, and promised to send his carryall to take Captain Hart to Malden. Captain Hart relied implicitly upon his promise, but the carrvil Was never sent, and he never saw Captain Elliott again. He started from Raisin on horseback nader the care of an Indian, whom he employed to take him to Mal- dea ; but had proceeded only a short distance, when they met other Indians, who had been excited by the hope of a general massacre of the prisoners, and Captain Hart was then tomahawked.
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