of
Henderson County, Kentucky
GEORGE WASHINGTON BICENTENNIAL INFOLINE
May 1999
George Washington had many ties to our state of Kentucky. Since Washington was born in Virginia, he was connected with us from his birth because Kentucky was originally a county in the colony of Virginia. This connection was strengthened by the surveying trips Washington made, starting in 1748, to the then "western" frontier. Washington was in a surveying party for Lord Fairfax at the very early age of 16 and made many other surveying forays after that. On these trips, Washington came to know the beauty and wealth of the frontier. He could truly appreciate the future role these lands could play in the building of a nation. According to Lewis Collins, an early Kentucky historian, there is evidence that Washington actually surveyed lands which are within the boundaries of Kentucky. Collins states that in 1772, the Crown of Great Britain issued a land patent to John Fry for 2084 acres of land, which included land on the Virginia side of the Big Sandy River as well as acreage in the present county of Lawrence, Kentucky. Interestingly, the survey upon which the patent was issued was made by George Washington between 1767 and 1770, inclusive. He is said to have marked the beginning corner of that survey by carving his initials on it. Collins states that Washington also performed another survey for Fry on Little Sandy River, eleven miles from its mouth in the present county of Greenup. Whether Washington actually made these surveys in person remains in doubt as no mention of them is made in his journals.
George Washington actually owned land within our Commonwealth! After the Revolution, the state and federal governments, which had very little money and lots of land, paid their soldiers by granting them tracts of land on the frontier. George Washington was one of the soldiers who received large grants of land; however, none of these were in Kentucky. He did purchase 5000 acres of land on the southern shores of Rough river from Henry Lee, a fellow Virginian, who held the original land grant. This land is in Grayson County, Kentucky. While Washington did not live long enough to develop this acreage, it is interesting to know that he once owned land so near to us.
Throughout the United States, the name of Washington has been given to one state, 31 counties, 131 cities, 257 townships, 7 mountains, 9 colleges and countless lakes and streams. Our state has honored Washington by naming both a county and a town after him. The first county formed by Kentucky's first legislature when it met in 1792 was Washington County. Springfield, the county seat of Washington County, was laid out in 1793.
The city of Washington, Kentucky, founded in 1785, was located in northern Mason County, about 3 miles south of Maysville. Prior to its founding, this area had played host to many frontier explorers, including Christopher Gist, a man who had accompanied George Washington on several of his trips to the western frontier.
Other counties and cities in Kentucky have been named in honor of men who served with General George Washington. Grayson, the county seat of Carter County was named in honor of Colonel William Grayson, Washington's Aide de Camp. Grayson was a Virginian and a member of the Continental Congress. He was granted a patent for 70,000 acres of land by our first governor, Isaac Shelby. The town of Grayson was later founded on this property. Grayson County, Kentucky was also named to honor this patriot.
Livingston County, Kentucky was named in honor of Robert R. Livingston of New York. Livingston was an active revolutionary. He was a member of the Continental Congress and served on the committee responsible for drafting the Declaration of Independence. He served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 1781-1783 and was an ambassador to France during the Jefferson administration. We remember Livingston in connection with Washington because he administered the Oath of Office to our first President in 1789.
The cemetery at Three Forks Baptist Church in Hammondsville, Hart County, Kentucky is the final resting place of Sergeant Joseph Timberlake, one of George Washington's bodyguards. Timberlake, born in Virginia, settled in Kentucky after the Revolution and died here in 1841.
It is interesting to note that Washington supported the cause of education in the Commonwealth. According to the historian Lewis Collins, Reverend James Blythe, D.D. and Father David Rice, representing a faction of frontier Presbyterians, solicited funds in the eastern states in 1795 for the founding of the Kentucky Academy, a rival to the then existing Transylvania Seminary. Among the people they called on were President Washington and Vice-president Adams, both of whom donated one hundred dollars. It is said that Washington received the men with great courtesy and inquired as to the state of literature in Kentucky. The new academy was successful; by 1798, it was merged with the Transylvania Seminary to become Transylvania University.
We only have to travel about 80 miles south of here to be reminded of Washington.
In the city of Fairview, just a few miles east of Hopkinsville, Kentucky,
stands an obelisk monument, reminiscent of the Washington Monument in Washington
D.C. It was erected from 1917 to 1924 to honor the memory of Jefferson
Davis, who was born in Fairview. Davis went on to become the President
of the Confederate States of America. The Fairview monument is much
smaller than the Washington monument, 351 feet versus 555 feet, 5 and 1/2
inches and is made from cast concrete, compared to the granite and marble
materials used in the Washington Monument. While the Washington Monument
is the tallest masonry structure in the world that contains no metal structural
supports, the obelisk in Fairview is one of the tallest cast-concrete structures
in the United States.
Perhaps the dearest connection of George Washington to Kentucky for members of our DAR chapter, is the relationship of George Washington to General Samuel Hopkins. Hopkins was a Captain in 1776 when he entered military service during the Revolutionary War. He served under George Washington and was on the General's staff. One Hopkins family tradition holds that Washington introduced one of his young aides as "my handsome aide" and then, turning to Hopkins, referred to him as "my brave aide", an appellation Hopkins preferred. Hopkins served in many early battles of the war including Trenton, Princeton, Monmouth, Brandywine and Germantown. He was wounded at Germantown and was taken prisoner at Charleston. He was an original member of the Sons of Cincinnati. In the presidential election of 1809, Hopkins served in the Electoral College and was able to cast his vote for his cousin, James Madison, who became our 6th President. Hopkins is honored by having a county and the city of Hopkinsville named for him.
As you can see, George Washington has many links to our Commonwealth. Further research would probably provide even more interesting connections. However, it is safe to assume that the greatest connection Washington has with Kentucky is found in the hearts of her people who have honored him from 1789 to date as the "Father of Our Country."
REFERENCES
Lewis Collins and Richard H. Collins, History of Kentucky
Vol II (Frankfort, Kentucky: Kentucky Historical Society [reprint
of 1874 edition], 1966).
Hopkins Family File, Henderson County Public Library, Henderson, Kentucky.
John E. Kleber, editor, The Kentucky Encyclopedia (Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky, 1992).
Charles Mayfield Meacham, A History of Christian County: from Oxcar to Airplane (Nashville, Tennesee: Marshall and Bruce Co., 1930).
Willard Sterne Randall, George Washington: A Life (New York: Henry Holt, 1997).
The Kentucky Historical Society, Guide to Kentucky Historical Markers
(Frankfort, Kentucky, 1969).