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Casseday's History of Louisville.
THE
HISTORY OF LOUISVILLE,
FROM ITS
EARLIEST SETTLEMENT
TILL THE YEAR 1852.
BY BEN CASSEDAY
LOUISVILLE, KY.
HULL AND BROTHER.
1852.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852,
BY BEN. CASSEDAY,
In the Clerk's office of the District Court of the United
States for the District of Kentucky.
HULL & BROTHER,
PRINTERS AND BINDERS.
83 & 85 Fourth St., Louisville, Ky.
To My Father,
At whose Instance it was Undertaken.
AND
By whose Assistance it was Completed,
This Book Is
AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED.
PREFACE.
Very little need be said by way of Preface to the present volume. Cities,
like individuals, have ever found the utility of giving publicity to the
advantages they possess. The respective claims to public consideration of
almost all the larger American cities have already been set forth, and no
inconsiderable sagacity has been displayed in the preparation and issue of
these advertisements. It cannot be denied that Louisville has equal claim
upon the community for a fair hearing with many of these cities, and this
may serve as the apology which custom seems to render necessary for the
publication of this volume.
Louisville has attained her present rank and position without having
resorted to any of the factitious means so generally employed to promote
the progress of cities. A singular apathy in this regard has always
pervaded this community, and the present prosperity of the city is the
result only of fortuitous circumstances, of individual and unorganized
effort, or of local causes. The following extract from one of a series of
very able articles, published several years ago in the Louisville Journal,
conveys a very caustic and severe, but, at the same time, a very just and
merited rebuke of this apathetic indifference to political progress which
has been characteristic of this city. The author says: "In the recent book
of Judge Hall entitled "_The West--its commerce and navigation_," it is
stated that "Louisville keeps no account of its business." Such is really
the fact; we have no business organization--no chamber of commerce, no
mercantile clubs--no Exchange, no place "where merchants most do
congregate." Our city Fathers keep no record of our increase or doings,
and it is doubted whether the Mayor or Council, with the Assessors and
Collectors to advise with, can either guess or reckon our present
population within 4,000, or the number of respectable tenements erected
last year within 200 of the truth. There is not a series of our newspapers
or price currents to which a stranger has the right of access; if, indeed,
there be an entire series of either to be found in our city. Occasionally
a Directory is got up and contains a few statistics gathered without
system or concert, and necessarily imperfect, and these even are rarely
set before the public eye. Other cities have had for years the most
skillful trumpeters and gazetteers; their men of influence and wealth have
contributed largely of money and time (more important than money) not only
to make their city attractive but to show off those attractions. Does
anything agitate the public mind, whether religious, political, or
financial--whether it relates to the commerce of the lakes, famine in
Ireland, or an armory or hospital on the western rivers, they seek to be
the first to write and the first to speak; they raise one committee to
gather and another to publish every fact and argument which will make the
excitement enure to their benefit. All this is unobjectionable. Other
cities have great attractions, and there is no reason why these should not
be known; the gospel itself requires publication; but in this _democratic_
country are we to allow any other city to take a higher position than that
to which she is entitled by her skill, strength and capacity? Is it not
high time to advertise the cheapness and goodness of our wares? If
Cincinnati send a special agent to Germany with the cards of her
lot-holders and a map of this country, represented as a narrow strip with
New York at one terminus and Cincinnati at the other, can we not extend
the survey to Louisville, and add the name of this city to the catalogue
published in Europe."
These remarks are hardly less merited now than at the time when they were
published. The last two years, it is true, have awakened new energies and
brought about a greater disposition to prompt and efficient action in
promoting a useful business organization and in setting forth the claims
of Louisville in a properly attractive light. Much time, however, has been
wasted and much valuable material has been lost by the long delay in this
matter. To endeavor to restore this lost time and to replace a part at
least of this valuable material, is one of the prominent objects had in
view in the preparation of this history.
The want of interest which is generally felt in mere statistical details,
even if ever so carefully compiled, coupled with the fact that there is
really much in the history of Louisville which is capable of interesting
the general reader, have induced me to prefer offering to the public a
historical detail of the rise, progress and present position of the city,
instead of following the course which has been pursued by most writers of
local history. It is no part of the design of this volume to eulogize
Louisville beyond its deserts. The greatest care has been taken to prevent
any tendency to exaggeration in all the statistical parts of the work, and
the object constantly had in view has been to present both to citizens and
strangers an authentic and reliable statement of all that is useful or
interesting in the past and present history of the city. It is due to
myself to state, that, as may readily be supposed from what has been said
above, I have found great difficulty in procuring the necessary data for
even this unpretending volume. And if the town reader should find any
errors or omissions in these pages I cannot help but hope for some
leniency at his hands in view of the fact that this is the history of a
city which has never possessed an official record of any kind, and that
even the material which has been procured at divers times and in distant
places has cost no inconsiderable amount both of time and trouble in the
search.
The present statistics of the city were carefully collected by personal
application and investigation; and I desire to express my profoundest
acknowledgments for the kindness and interest with which my wishes were
met and forwarded. With but one single exception, every information which
I could have desired was freely furnished, and many valuable suggestions
were offered which I have since found extremely useful. I also desire to
express my acknowledgments to Mr. R. Harlan, of Frankfort, for his kind
assistance in the tedious and laborious work of examining the census
reports.
In closing a task which has occupied such moments of leisure as I could
reclaim from the more serious pursuits of life for about eighteen months,
I cannot but hope that the result of this tedious labor may really compass
the end for which it was intended. I can claim nothing for the book on the
score of literary merit; the style is one entirely different from anything
which I have heretofore attempted, and the volume does not seek to claim
rank as a literary production. If, however, it will serve to contribute a
moiety to the prosperity of my native city; if it will serve to add one
industrious and enterprising man to the number of her citizens, I shall be
satisfied that this labor has not been in vain, nor this exertion spent
for naught.
BEN. CASSEDAY.
CONTENTS.
Position of Louisville--Falls of the Ohio 15
Advent of Captain Bullitt 16
Bullitt's Interview with the Indians 17
Campbell's and Conally's Patents 21
Advent of General Geo. R. Clark 22
Clark's Expedition to Virginia 23
" Secret orders from Patrick Henry 25
" Arrival at the Falls 28
Account of a social party in 1779 31
Account of life on the Frontier 32
The Hard Winter 43
Act for establishing the town 44
Early surveys of the town 47
Reminiscences of the Ponds 50
Advent of Colonel Geo. Slaughter 53
Incidents of the Indian Wars 54
Division of the State into Counties 58
Building of Fort Nelson 60
Battle of Blue Licks 61
Barge Navigation 62
The Boatwreckers--Colonel Plug 67
The Bargemen--Mike Fink 71
Peace declared 81
First Store in Louisville 83
Tom Paine's book 84
First Kentucky Convention 85
Clark's Treaty at Fort McIntosh 86
" Expedition to Vincennes 89
Mississippi Troubles 90
First newspaper in Kentucky 97
Act in relation to the Trustees--Major Quirey 98
Kentucky erected into a State 102
First Paper Mill--Tax list 103
Office of Falls Pilot created--Fire companies established 104
Acts of Assembly--1800 107
Anecdote 109
Jeffersonville--Shippingport 110
First Canal Company chartered 112
First newspaper in Louisville 115
Second tax list 116
Theater 117
Establishment of a Police 118
Courthouse built--Early Steam Navigation 119
Earthquakes, description of, and table 121
Western Courier (newspaper) established 126
List of Steamboats up to 1819 128
First Catholic Church 134
First Bank--Foundry 135
Paving the Streets 136
First Methodist Church--Portland laid out--New Albany 137
Manifest of Barges--Unhealthiness of Louisville 139
List of Stores &c. 140
Trip of the Enterprize--First boat built 141
Shinplaster currency 142
Hope Distillery 143
Fearon's account of Louisville 144
Branch Bank of the United States 146
First Presbyterian Church built--burned 147
Hospital Company incorporated 148
Dinner to Captain Shreve 150
Death of General Geo. R. Clark 151
Price Current--1818--Commercial Bank--Public Advertiser 152
Dr. McMurtrie's Sketches of Louisville 153
J. J. Audubon--Visit of President 155
Purchase of Fire Engines 159
Tax list and Census for 1821 160
Commonwealth Bank established 162
Issue of Town Notes--Epidemic of 1822 163
First Episcopal Church--Lafayette's Visit 165
Building a Wharf--Louisville and Portland Canal 166
The Focus--Resolutions for a Charter 173
Louisville becomes a City 174
First City Officers 177
Bank Robbery--New Methodist Church--City School 179
Second Presbyterian Church--Daily Journal 182
Bank of Kentucky built--Louisville Lyceum 184
Flood of '32--Unitarian Church--Directory &c. 185
Bank of Louisville chartered--Museum 187
Government Deposites removed 188
Water Works 189
Comical Guards 190
Death of Lafayette 191
Tax List--Table of Exports &c. 1830 192
Bridge over the Ohio--Panic of '37 194
Notice of Amelia's Poems 195
Medical College 197
Portland Railroad 198
Newsletter--Historical Society--Provident Society 199
Visit of America Vespucci 200
Introduction of Gas 202
Great Fire 203
Statistics of '45 205
Opening of Louisville and Frankfort Railroad 206
New Charter 208
Louisville and its environs 209
Society of Louisville 210
Churches, Streets, &c. 216
Public Education 219
Health 225
Markets--Periodicals 227
Table of Occupations 228
Commercial Statistics 230
Louisville as a Market for Tobacco 234
" " " " Cotton 237
" " " " Pork 240
Manufacturing Statistics 241
Conclusion 247
Appendix
HISTORY OF LOUISVILLE.
CHAPTER I.
The utility and profit of the local history of cities is no longer a
matter of doubt. Whether considered solely as objects of interest or
amusement, or as having the still wider utility of making known abroad the
individuality of the places they describe, these records are worthy of
high consideration. And although in a country like ours this department of
history can claim to chronicle no great events, nor to relate any of those
local traditions that make many of the cities of the Old World so famous
in story and song, yet they can fulfil the equal use of directing the
attention of those abroad to the rise, progress and present standing of
places which may fairly claim, in the future, what has made others great
in the past. And in an age when every energy of the whole brotherhood of
man is directed to the future, and when mere utilitarianism has taken the
place of romance, or of deeds of high renown, it is a matter of more than
ordinary interest and value to all, to note the practical advancement, and
so to calculate upon the basis of the past, the probable results of the
future of those cities in the New World, which seem to present advantages,
either social or pecuniary, to that large class of foreigners and others,
who are constantly seeking for homes or means of occupation among us. Nor
is it to these alone, that such local history is of value. The country is
beginning already to possess much unemployed capital seeking for
investment; while many, having already procured the means of living well,
are seeking for homes more congenial to their tastes than the places where
they have lived but for pecuniary profit. To both of these, the history of
individual cities is an invaluable aid in helping the one to discover a
means of advantageously employing his surplus money, and in aiding the
other to find a home possessing those social advantages which will render
him comfortable and happy.
But it is to the emigrant foreigner that local history is of the greatest
benefit. Leaving a country with whose resources, social, moral, and
political, he is intimately acquainted for one of which he knows almost
nothing, such works, carefully and authentically written, are to him what
the guide-books of the Old World are to the wonder-seeking traveler; they
present him at once with a daguerreotype view of the land of his adoption
and point out to him every advantage and disadvantage, every chance of
profit or of pleasure, every means of gain, every hope of gratification
that is anywhere to be afforded.
Impressed with these opinions, it is proposed to present the reader with
an authentic and impartial history of Louisville; one which may be
implicitly relied on in its calculations and statistical details and which
shall present as accurate and faithful a historical survey as can be
obtained from any data known to the writer or attainable by him.
Louisville lies on the Southern bank of the Ohio river at the falls or
rapids of that stream, in longitude 85 deg. 30' west of Greenwich, and
latitude 38 deg. 3' north. Its position is one of peculiar excellence,
situated at a point where the navigation of the stream is naturally
obstructed by the rapids, and where, for six miles above the site of the
city, the river stretches out into a broad, smooth sheet of water a mile
in width, almost without a current, and presents a safe and beautiful
harbor for a great distance along the Kentucky shore; embracing too within
its limits the debouchure of Beargrass Creek, which also affords a
convenient and accessible resting place for barges, keel, and flatboats,
sheltering them from all the dangers to which an open harbor would render
them liable, it presents advantages which at once mark it to the sagacious
eye as a proper location for a town of the greatest importance. Aside from
all these advantages, the immense surface of level country which spreads
out on either side of the rapids for so great a distance, is of itself
worthy of consideration. The term "falls" which has been and is so
commonly applied to the obstruction in the river at this point, is apt to
produce an incorrect idea in the mind of one who does not know exactly how
to apply the term. The falls are not a precipitous descent of water, but
simply "an obstruction in the course of the river caused by a ledge of
limestone rock running obliquely across its bed, with channels or chutes
through the mound, produced or modified by the force of the water." This
however is so serious an obstacle to the navigation of the stream as to
create the necessity, which always exists, except at the highest stage of
the water, for the debarkation and re-shipment of goods above and below
this point, thus affording great commercial advantages to the city
situated beside these rapids.
The peculiar attractions of such a location as this could not long go
unheeded, and accordingly as early as 1770 parties came from Fort Pitt,
now Pittsburgh, probably sent by Lord Dunmore, then Governor of Virginia,
and surveyed the lands adjacent to the falls, with a view of distributing
them as bounty lands. The earliest account, however, which we have of
anything like a settlement here is that of Capt. Thomas Bullitt, who in
1773, deputed by a special commission from William and Mary College in
Virginia, came to survey lands and effect settlements in the then
_territory_ of Kentucky. His practiced eye perceived the advantages of
this port and he moored his traveling barge in the safe and beautiful
harbor of Beargrass, and here established a camp to protect his men from
the weather and to shelter his stores. From this point he made surveys of
much of the adjacent country as far down as Salt river, to which he gave
its present title from his having there found the salt lick still known by
his name. He estimated the advantages of his new settlement at their full
worth, and purposed to return at once to his friends and procure the
means of re-visiting and establishing it. But Death sought him in the
midst of his well laid plans, and it was left for another to complete what
his sagacity and enterprise had commenced.
To show that Bullitt's plans had been well matured, and also to give some
idea of the prudence and intelligence of the man, it is only necessary to
cite, from Marshall's History of Kentucky, the following not uninteresting
facts:
"On his way to Kentucky," says this historian, "Bullitt made a visit to
Chillicothe, a Shawnee town, to hold a friendly talk with those Indians on
the subject of his intended settlement; and for the particular purpose of
obtaining their assent to the measure. He knew they claimed the right of
hunting in the country--a right to them of the utmost importance, and
which they had not relinquished. He also knew they were brave, and
indefatigable; and that if they were so disposed, could greatly annoy the
inhabitants of the intended settlement. It was, therefore, a primary
object in his estimation to obtain their consent to his projected
residence, and cultivation of the lands. To accomplish this, he left his
party on the Ohio and traveled out to the town unattended, and without
announcing his approach by a runner. He was not discovered until he got
into the midst of Chillicothe, when he waved his white flag as a token of
peace. The Indians saw with astonishment a stranger among them in the
character of ambassador, for such he assumed by the flag, and without any
intimation of his intended visit. Some of them collected about him, and
asked him, What news? Was he from the Long Knife? and why, if he was an
ambassador, he had not sent a runner?"
Bullitt, not in the least intimidated, replied that he had no bad news--he
was from the Long Knife--and as the red men and white men were at peace,
he had come among his brothers to have a friendly talk with them about
living on the other side of the Ohio; that he had no runner swifter than
himself, and that he was in haste and could not wait the return of a
runner. 'Would you,' said he, 'if you were very hungry and had killed a
deer, send your squaw to town to tell the news, and wait her return before
you eat?' This put the bystanders in high good humor, and gave them a
favorable opinion of their interlocutor. And upon his desiring that the
warriors should be called together, they were forthwith convened, and he
promptly addressed them in the following speech, extracted from his
journal:
"BROTHERS:
"I am sent by my people, whom I left on the Ohio, to settle the country on
the other side of that river, as low down as the falls. We come from
Virginia. The king of my people has bought from the nations of red men
both north and south all the land; and I am instructed to inform you and
all the warriors of this great country, that the Virginians and the
English are in friendship with you. This friendship is dear to them, and
they intend to keep it sacred. The same friendship they expect from you,
and from all the nations to the lakes. We know that the Shawnees and the
Delawares are to be our nearest neighbors, and we wish them to be our best
friends as we will be theirs.
"Brothers, you did not get any of the money or blankets given for the land
which I and my people are going to settle. This was hard for you. But it
is agreed by the great men who own the land, that they will make a present
both to the Delawares and the Shawnees the next year and the year
following that shall be as good.
"Brothers, I am appointed to settle the country, to live in it, to raise
corn, and to make proper rules and regulations among my people. There will
be some principal men from my country very soon, and then much more will
be said to you. The Governor desires to see you, and will come out this
year or the next. When I come again I will have a belt of wampum. This
time I came in haste and had not one ready.
"My people only want the country to settle and cultivate. They will have
no objection to your hunting and trapping there. I hope you will live by
us as brothers and friends.
"You now know my heart, and as it is single towards you, I expect you will
give me a kind talk; for I shall write to my Governor what you say to me
and he will believe all I write."
This speech was received with attention, and Bullitt was told that the
next day he should be answered.
The Indians are in the habit of proceeding with great deliberation in
matters of importance, and all are such to them which concern their
hunting.
On the morrow, agreeably to promise, they were assembled at the same
place, and Bullitt being present they returned an answer to his speech as
follows:
"OLDEST BROTHER--_The Long Knife_:
"We heard you would be glad to see your brothers, the Shawnees and
Delawares, and talk with them. But we are surprised that you sent no
runner before you, and that you came quite near us through the trees and
grass a hard journey without letting us know until you appeared among us.
"Brother, we have considered your talk carefully, and we are glad to find
nothing bad in it, nor any ill meaning. On the contrary you speak what
seems kind and friendly, and it pleased us well. You mentioned to us your
intention of settling the country on the other side of the Ohio with your
people. And we are particularly pleased that they are not to disturb us in
our hunting. For we must hunt to kill meat for our women and children, and
to have something to buy our powder and lead with, and to get us blankets
and clothing.
"All our young brothers are pleased with what you said. We desire that you
will be strong in fulfilling your promises towards us, as we are
determined to be very straight in advising our young men to be kind and
peaceable to you.
"This spring we saw something wrong on the part of our young men. They
took some horses from the white people. But we have advised them not to do
so again, and have cleared their hearts of all bad intentions. We expect
they will observe our advice as they like what you said."
"This speech, delivered by Girty, was interpreted by Richard Butler, who,
during the stay of Captain Bullitt, had made him his guest and otherwise
treated him in the most friendly manner. But having executed his mission
very much to his own satisfaction, Bullitt took his leave and rejoined his
party, who were much rejoiced to see him return.
"He made report of his progress and success, and his comrades with light
hearts and high expectations launched their keels on the stream which
conveyed them to the shore of Kentucky and the landing before spoken of."
Capt. Bullitt had high testimonials of his eminent fitness for the
position he had assumed. General Washington himself, than whom no one was
at once a better judge and a more valuable authority in such matters,
spoke in the highest terms of his capacity in the exercise of the
multifarious duties of surveyor, navigator and trader. Had not a premature
death taken him away in the midst of his labors, it is certainly to him
that we should have owed the earliest prosperity of the city.
Even previous to the arrival of Capt. Bullitt, however, these lands at the
falls had been patented and were owned, most probably as bounty lands, by
John Campbell and Dr. John Conally. Of Campbell we know little, if
anything; but Conally played a somewhat important part in the early
history of the West. He was the nephew of Colonel Croghan and the friend
of Lord Dunmore, and was by him dispatched in 1774 to assert the claims of
Virginia upon Fort Pitt, where he was arrested, before he had taken more
than the initiatory step in his proceeding, by Arthur St. Clair, the
representative of the proprietors of Pennsylvania in the West, and only
released on his own recognizance. He did not, however, choose to return
into the custody of the law, but, collecting a band of followers, he came
again in March of the same year and took possession, in Lord Dunmore's
name, of Fort Pitt; rebuilt it and called it Fort Dunmore. It was he who
occasioned the bloody fights known in the history of border warfare as
Logan's or Cresap's war. He afterwards, in 1775, formed a plot against the
government, which was discovered, and this notoriously tyrannical and
wicked man was thrown into prison and remained an unpitied captive till
1781. After the revolution he became a Tory and thus his lands, at the
falls and elsewhere, became forfeit to the State of Virginia. It was,
however, for him and Campbell that Bullitt surveyed the lands adjacent to
the falls. The extent of their tract was about 4000 acres.
After Bullitt's expedition had received this final check, the falls were
visited only by a few hunters and traders; and it was not until 1778 that
any new attempt was made toward a permanent settlement on this site. The
enterprising and gallant COL. GEORGE ROGERS CLARK, whose name is so well
known to all readers of the early history of Kentucky or of the West,
comes now to be associated with this history. This city is so deeply
indebted to him, not only for its earlier prosperity, but for its very
existence, that it becomes alike agreeable and useful to inquire something
as to the circumstances of his settlement here. He was born in Albemarle
county, Virginia, and, like our great Washington, was in early life a land
surveyor, and, like him too, a man of unusual talent, discrimination and
forethought. He came first to Kentucky in 1772. But his history becomes
first associated with that of the State in 1774 when he served in
Dunmore's war. In the latter part of 1775, having gained the rank of
Major, he returned to his native State in order to prepare for his
permanent removal to Kentucky, which took place in the Spring following.
Up to this time Kentucky had been held to be a part of Fincastle county,
in Virginia; but its inhabitants had no rights or protection as citizens
of that State. Upon Clark's removal to Kentucky he readily saw the
advantages of the new settlement, but his sagacity at the same time taught
him that a State whose very title was in dispute, and which was so far
beyond the old lines of civilization, and so removed from the protection
of the elder commonwealths would not attract settlers with that rapidity
to which its immensely superior natural advantages entitled it. He
perceived that the future prosperity of his adopted home depended upon its
being under the aid and protection of Virginia, or upon its being made a
separate State. The result of this deliberation and of his promulgation of
these views was that he was chosen a member of the Virginia assembly and
carried to them a petition for admission into their commonwealth. He had
the misfortune, however, after having walked the whole distance, to find
this body adjourned. This did not, however, deter him from prosecuting his
plan for the good of Kentucky. He visited the Governor, Patrick Henry, and
laid his case before that wise and patriotic man. The Governor
acknowledged the justness of his claim, and gave him a letter to the
Executive Council. This body, fearful of exceeding its powers, could or
would do little for him. He demanded powder which they promptly offered
to lend him on his individual security; an offer which Clark peremptorily
refused, and so intimidated them by his dauntless manner and his threats
of consequences that finally the order was issued for the powder to be
supplied to Clark at Fort Pitt. And, on the re-assembling of the
delegates, after much warm discussion, Kentucky was erected into a county
of Virginia. Both these objects accomplished, Clark returned to Pittsburg,
procured the powder and with great difficulty and danger succeeded in
bringing it down to the present site of Maysville, where he carefully
concealed it and then went to the fort at Harrodsburg and sent a convoy
for the buried treasure, where it finally arrived in safety. This slight
outline sketch shows the first of a series of events which led Col. Clark
to the falls of Ohio. The second event which bears upon this point is
alike creditable to him. And here we must be indebted to Mr. Perkins'
Annals of the West for a condensed narration of this affair.
"Clark understood," says this excellent compilation, "the whole game of
the British. He saw that it was through their possession of Detroit,
Vincennes, Kaskaskia and the other western posts--which gave them easy and
constant access to the Indian tribes of the north-east--that the British
hoped to effect such a union of the wild men as would annihilate the
frontier fortresses. He knew that the Delawares were divided in feeling,
and the Shawnees but imperfectly united in favor of England, ever since
the murder of Comstalk. He was convinced that could the British in the
north-west be defeated and expelled, the natives might be easily awed or
bribed into neutrality; and by spies sent for the purpose, and who were
absent from April 20th to June 22d, he had satisfied himself that an
enterprise against the Illinois settlements might easily succeed. Having
made up his mind, on the 1st of October he left Harrodsburg for the East,
and reached the capital of Virginia November the 5th. Opening his mind to
no one he watched with care the state of feeling among those in power,
waiting the proper moment to present his scheme. Fortunately, while he was
upon his road, on the 17th of October, Burgoyne had surrendered, and hope
was again predominant in the American councils. When, therefore, the
western soldier, upon the 10th of December, broke the subject of his
proposed expedition against the forts on the far distant Mississippi to
Patrick Henry, who was still governor, he met with a favorable hearing,
and though doubts and fears arose by degrees, yet so well digested were
his plans, that he was able to meet each objection and remove every
seeming impossibility."
Having thus satisfied the Virginia leaders of the feasibility of his plan,
he received on the 22d of January two sets of instructions--the one open,
authorizing him to enlist seven companies to go to Kentucky, subject to
his orders, and to serve for three months from their arrival in the West;
the other set secret, and drawn as follows:
"_Virginia: Sct. In Council, Williamsburg, Jan. 22d, 1778._
"LIEUTENANT COLONEL GEORGE ROGERS CLARK:
"You are to proceed, with all convenient speed, to raise seven companies of
soldiers, to consist of fifty men each, officered in the usual manner, and
armed most properly for the enterprise; and with this force attack the
British post at Kaskaskia.
"It is conjectured that there are many pieces of cannon and military
stores to a considerable amount at that place, the taking and preservation
of which would be a valuable acquisition to the State. If you are so
fortunate therefore, as to succeed in your expedition, you will take every
possible measure to secure the artillery and stores and whatever may
advantage the State.
"For the transportation of the troops, provisions, &c., down the Ohio, you
are to apply to the commanding officer at Fort Pitt for boats; and during
the whole transaction you are to take especial care to keep the true
destination of your force secret; its success depends upon this. (Orders
are therefore given to Capt. Smith to secure the two men from Kaskaskia.)
Similar conduct will be proper in similar cases.
"It is earnestly desired that you show humanity to such British subjects
and other persons as fall in your hands. If the white inhabitants at that
post and the neighborhood, will give undoubted evidence of their
attachment to this State, (for it is certain they live within its limits,)
by taking the test prescribed by law, and by every other way and means in
their power, let them be treated as fellow citizens, and their persons and
property duly secured. Assistance and protection against all enemies
whatever, shall be afforded them; and the Commonwealth of Virginia is
pledged to accomplish it. But if these people will not accede to these
reasonable demands, they must feel the miseries of war, under the
direction of that humanity that has hitherto distinguished Americans, and
which it is expected you will ever consider as the rule of your conduct,
and from which you are in no instance to depart.
"The corps you are to command are to receive the pay and allowance of
militia, and to act under the laws and regulations of this State, now in
force, as militia. The inhabitants of this post will be informed by you,
that in case they accede to the offers of becoming citizens of this
Commonwealth, a proper garrison will be maintained among them, and every
attention bestowed to render their commerce beneficial; the fairest
prospects being opened to the dominions of both France and Spain.
"It is in contemplation to establish a post near the mouth of the Ohio.
Cannon will be wanted to fortify it. Part of those at Kaskaskia will be
easily brought thither, or otherwise secured, as circumstances will make
necessary.
"You are to apply to General Hand, at Pittsburgh, for powder and lead
necessary for this expedition. If he cannot supply it, the person who has
that which Capt. Lynn brought from New Orleans can. Lead was sent to
Hampshire by my orders, and that may be delivered you. Wishing you
success, I am, Sir, your humble servant.
P. HENRY.
"With these instructions and twelve hundred pounds in the depreciated
currency of the time, Colonel Clark, (for such was now his title,) on the
4th of February started for Pittsburgh. It had been thought best to raise
the troops needed beyond the mountains, as the colonies were in want of
all the soldiers they could muster east of the Alleghanies, to defend
themselves against the British forces. Clark therefore proposed to enlist
men about Pittsburg, while Maj. W. B. Smith, for the same purpose went to
the Holston, and other officers to other points. None, however, succeeded
as they hoped to; at Pittsburg Clark found great opposition to the
intention of carrying men away to defend the outposts in Kentucky, while
their own citadel and the whole region about it was threatened by the
savage allies of England; and Smith, though he nominally succeeded in
raising four companies, was unable essentially to aid his superior officer
after all. With three companies and several private adventurers, Clark at
length commenced his descent of the Ohio, which he navigated as far as the
Falls, where he took possession of and fortified Corn Island, opposite the
spot now occupied by Louisville."
It is only necessary to state here that Clark's success in this expedition
was complete and perfect, and that a more brilliant campaign has probably
never been performed by any general. More than this does not immediately
concern this history.
It is estimated that Col. Clark left in his new fort on this island about
thirteen families, when he proceeded on his journey to Kaskaskia. And so
brave, hardy and resolute were these pioneers, that, notwithstanding they
were separated from the nearest of their countrymen by four hundred miles
of hostile country, filled with savages whose dearest hunting grounds they
were about to occupy; notwithstanding they knew that these relentless
savages were not only inimical on account of the invasion of their
choicest territory, but were aided by all the arts, the presents and the
favors of the British in seeking to destroy their settlements;
notwithstanding all these terrifying circumstances, those dauntless
pioneers went quietly to work, and with the rifle in one hand and the
implements of agriculture in the other, deliberately set about planting,
and actually succeeded in raising a crop of corn on their little island.
It is thus that Corn Island derived its name. And truly so bold and heroic
an act as this of that feeble band deserves a perpetuity beyond what the
mere name of the island will give it. Columns have been reared and statues
erected, festivals have been instituted and commemorations held of deeds
far less worthy of renown than was this little settlement's crop of corn.
But like many other deeds of true heroism, it is forgotten, for there was
wanted the pen and the lyre to make it live forever. The founders of the
parent colony themselves did never greater deeds of heroism than did these
pioneers of Louisville. And yet the very historians of the fact speak of
it without a word of wonder or of admiration. Even in Louisville herself,
now in her palmiest days, the Pilgrim's Landing is commemorated each
returning year, while the equal daring, danger and victory of the Western
Pioneer has sunk into oblivion. But it is ever so. Men may live for a
hundred years within the very roar of Niagara, and yet live uninspired
until the same sound falls upon the ear or the same sight greets the eye
on the far-off shores of the Evelino or the Arno. Erin's Bard has ever
told the praises of the Oriental Clime; the Lord of English verse has
tuned his lyre under a foreign sky; the Mantuan Bard has sung "_arma
virumque Trojae_" and the Poet of Italy has soared even beyond the bounds
of space in search of novelty; so must we wait for a stranger hand to
weave the magic charm around the pioneers of our forest land. Let this
frail record, at least, lend its little quota toward the honorable
preservation of the names of Captain JAMES PATTON, who piloted the first
boat over the falls, RICHARD CHENOWETH, JOHN TUEL, WM. FAITH, and JOHN
MCMANUS, the only names that history or tradition has given us of those
earliest settlers of our native city.
The chief subsistance of this little band had of course to be derived from
the products of the chase, for the Indians would never have allowed them
to attain a sufficiency of food by the slow and laborious processes of
agriculture. Indeed one of the historians of this period roundly states
that Kentucky could never have been settled had the products of the soil
been the only resource of its pioneer inhabitants. Fortunately the woods
of Kentucky so abounded in game, that it was easy for its early settlers
to supply themselves with abundance of food from these sources. But the
difficulty of carrying their game at all seasons of the year and all
stages of the water to their insulated home, and the various annoyances of
their constrained position on the island, united with the encouragement
they derived from the wonderful success of their old commander in
Illinois, soon determined the little colony to remove to the main bank of
the river. And accordingly in the fall of 1778, or more probably in the
spring of 1779, having built a fort on the eastern side of the large
ravine which formerly entered the river at the present termination of
Twelfth Street, they emigrated thither and thus laid the first permanent
foundation of the present city of Louisville.
It was about this time that we have the first record of a social party in
our city now so celebrated for its elegant entertainments and luxurious
repasts. The bill of fare on that memorable occasion had at least the
great and unusual merit of novelty to recommend it. We give the account of
the event in the words of its own historian: "It is related," says he,
"that when the first patch of wheat was raised about this place, after
being ground in a rude and laborious hand-mill, it was sifted through a
_gauze neckerchief_, belonging to the mother of the gallant man who gave
us the information, as the best bolting cloth to be had. It was then
shortened, as the housewife phrases it, with _Raccoon fat_, and the whole
station invited to partake of a sumptuous feast upon a _flour cake_!" How
little of a prophet would he have been accounted who had then predicted
that, in less than sixty years, the inhabitants of the very spot where
they then stood should have at their command all the fruits and viands of
every quarter of the globe!
It may not be inappropriate at this period of our history, and while upon
this subject of parties and feasts, to extract, partly from Mr. Marshall,
and partly from Doddridge and others, some account of the habits of life
among our progenitors here. To many, especially to those who have long
been intimate with Western Frontier Life, a few of the succeeding pages
may present nothing that is either novel or interesting; but to those to
whom the country and its social institutions are alike new, we are sure
that nothing more could be offered likely to excite their interest or to
promote their amusement than this vivid and life-like description of the
manners and customs of the inhabitants of Louisville seventy years ago. We
copy the account in full:--
"Then the women did the offices of the household; milked the cows, cooked
the mess, prepared the flax, spun, wove, and made the garment of linen or
linsey; the men hunted, and brought in the meat; they planted, ploughed,
and gathered the corn; grinding it into meal at a handmill, or pounding it
into hominy in the mortar, was occasionally the work of either, or the
joint labor of both. The men exposed themselves alone to danger; they
fought the Indians, they cleared the land, they reared the hut or built
the fort, in which the women were placed for safety. There might
incidentally be a few articles brought to the country for sale, in a
private way; but there was no store for supply. Wooden vessels, either
_turned_ or _coopered_ were in common use as table furniture. A tin cup
was an article of delicate luxury almost as rare as an iron fork. Every
hunter carried his knife; it was no less the implement of a warrior; not
unfrequently the rest of the family was left with but one or two for the
use of all. A like workmanship composed the table or the stool; a slab
hewed with the axe, and sticks of a similar manufacture, set in for legs,
supported both. When the bed was, by chance or refinement, elevated above
the floor, and given a fixed place, it was often laid on slabs placed
across poles, supported on forks set in the earthen floor; or where the
floor was puncheons, the bedstead was hewed pieces, pinned on upright
posts, or let into them by auger holes. Other utensils and furniture were
of a corresponding description, applicable to the time.
"The food was of the most wholesome and nutritive kind. The richest milk,
the finest butter, and best meat that ever delighted man's palate, were
here eaten with a relish which health and labor only know. These were
shared by friend and stranger in every cabin with profuse hospitality.
"Hats were made of the native fur; and the buffalo wool employed in the
composition of cloth, as was also the bark of the wild nettle.
"There was some paper money in the country, which had not depreciated one
half nor even a fourth as much as it had at the seat of government. If
there was any gold or silver its circulation was suppressed. The price of
a beaver was five hundred dollars.
"The hunting shirt was universally worn. This was a kind of loose frock,
reaching half way down the thighs, with large sleeves, open before, and so
wide as to lap over a foot or more when belted. The cape was large and
sometimes handsomely fringed with a ravelled piece of cloth of a different
color from that of the hunting shirt itself. The bosom of his dress served
as a wallet to hold a chunk of bread, cakes, jerk, tow for wiping the
barrel of his rifle, or any other necessary for the hunter or warrior. The
belt which was always tied behind, answered several purposes besides that
of holding the dress together. In cold weather the mittens, and sometimes
the bullet-bag occupied the front part of it. To the right side was
suspended the tomahawk, and to the left was the scalping knife in its
leathern sheath. The hunting shirt was generally made of linsey, sometimes
of coarse linen, and a few of dressed deer skins. These last were very
cold and uncomfortable in wet weather. The shirt and jacket were of the
common fashion. A pair of drawers or breeches and leggins, were the dress
of the thighs and legs; a pair of moccasins answered for the feet much
better than shoes.--These were made of dressed deer skin. They were mostly
made of a single piece, with a gathering seam along the top of the foot,
and another from the bottom of the heel, without gathers, as high as the
ankle joint or a little higher. Flaps were left on each side to reach some
distance up the legs. These were nicely adapted to the ankles and lower
part of the leg by thongs of deerskin, so that no dust, gravel, or snow,
could get within the moccasin.
"The moccasins in ordinary use cost but a few hours labor to make them.
This was done by an instrument denominated a moccasin awl, which was made
of the back spring of an old clasp knife. This awl with its buck-horn
handle, was an appendage of every shot pouch strap, together with a roll
of buckskin for mending the moccasins. This was the labor of almost every
evening. They were sewed together and patched with deerskin thongs, or
whangs as they were commonly called.
"In cold weather the moccasins were well stuffed with deer's hair, or dry
leaves so as to keep the feet comfortably warm; but in wet weather it was
usually said that wearing them was 'a decent way of going barefooted;'
and such was the fact, owing to the spongy texture of the leather of which
they were made.
"Owing to this defective covering of the feet, more than to any other
circumstance, the greater number of our warriors and hunters were
afflicted with the rheumatism in their limbs. Of this disease they were
all apprehensive in cold or wet weather, and therefore always slept with
their feet to the fire to prevent or cure it as well as they could. This
practice unquestionably had a very salutary effect, and prevented many of
them from becoming confirmed cripples in early life.
"The fort consisted of cabins, blockhouses, and stockades. A range of
cabins commonly formed one side at least of a fort. Divisions, or
partitions of logs, separated the cabins from each other. The walls on the
outside were ten or twelve feet high, the slope of the roof being turned
wholly inward. A very few of these cabins had puncheon floors, the greater
part were earthen.
"The blockhouses were built at the angles of the fort. They projected
about two feet beyond the outer walls of the cabins and stockades. The
upper stories were about eighteen inches every way larger in dimension
than the under one, leaving an opening at the commencement of the second
story to prevent the enemy from making a lodgment under their walls. In
some forts instead of blockhouses, the angles of the fort were furnished
with bastions. A large folding gate, made of thick slabs nearest the
spring closed the fort. The stockades, bastions, cabins and blockhouse
walls were furnished with port holes at proper heights and distances. The
whole of the outside was made completely bullet proof.
"It may be truly said that necessity is the mother of invention; for the
whole of this work was made without the aid of a single nail or spike of
iron; and for this reason, such things were not to be had.
"In some places, less exposed, a single blockhouse, with a cabin or two,
constituted the whole fort.
"For a long time after the first settlement of this country, the
inhabitants in general married young. There was no distinction of rank,
and very little of fortune. On these accounts the first impression of love
resulted in marriage; and a family establishment cost but a little labor
and nothing else.
"In the first years of the settlement of this country, a wedding engaged
the attention of a whole neighborhood, and the frolic was anticipated by
old and young with eager expectation. This is not to be wondered at when
it is told that a wedding was almost the only gathering which was not
accompanied with the labor of reaping, log rolling, building a cabin or
planning some scout or campaign.
"In the morning of the wedding day, the groom and his attendants assembled
at the house of his father for the purpose of reaching the mansion of his
bride by noon, which was the usual time for celebrating the nuptials;
which for certain must take place before dinner.
"Let the reader imagine an assemblage of people, without a store, tailor,
or mantuamaker within a hundred miles; and an assemblage of horses,
without a blacksmith or saddler within an equal distance. The gentlemen
dressed in shoe-packs, moccasins, leather breeches, leggins, linsey
hunting shirts, and all homemade. The ladies dressed in linsey
petticoats, and linsey or linen bed gowns, coarse shoes, stockings,
handkerchiefs and buckskin gloves, if any. If there were any buckles,
rings, buttons or ruffles, they were the relics of old times, family
pieces from parents or grandparents. The horses are caparisoned with old
saddles, old bridles or halters, and pack-saddles, with a bag or blanket
thrown over them; a rope or string as often constituted the girth as a
piece of leather.
"The march in double file, was often interrupted by the narrowness and
obstructions of our horsepaths as they were called, for we had no roads:
and these difficulties were often increased, sometimes by the good and
sometimes by the ill will of neighbors, by falling trees and tying grape
vines across the way. Sometimes an ambuscade was formed by the wayside,
and an unexpected discharge of several guns took place, so as to cover the
wedding party with smoke. Let the reader imagine the scene which followed
this discharge: the sudden spring of the horses, the shrieks of the girls,
and the chivalric bustle of their partners to save them from falling.
Sometimes, in spite of all that could be done to prevent it, some were
thrown to the ground. If a wrist, elbow, or ankle happened to be sprained,
it was tied with a handkerchief, and little more was thought or said about
it.
Another ceremony commonly took place before the party reached the house of
the bride, after the practice of making whisky began, which was at an
early period; when the party were about a mile from the place of their
destination, two young men would single out to run for the bottle; the
worse the path, the more logs, brush, and deep hollows the better, as
these obstacles afforded an opportunity for the greater display of
intrepidity and horsemanship. The English fox chase, in point of danger to
the riders and their horses, is nothing to this race for the bottle. The
start was announced by an Indian yell; logs, brush, muddy hollows, hill
and glen, were speedily passed by the rival ponies. The bottle was always
filled for the occasion, so that there was no use for judges; for the
first who reached the door was presented with the prize, with which he
returned in triumph to the company. On approaching them he announced his
victory over his rival by a shrill whoop. At the head of the troop, he
gave the bottle first to the groom and his attendants, and then to each
pair in succession to the rear of the line, giving each a dram; and then
putting the bottle in the bosom of his hunting shirt, took his station in
the company.
The ceremony of the marriage preceded the dinner, which was a substantial
backwoods feast of beef, pork, fowls, and sometimes venison and bear meat,
roasted and boiled, with plenty of potatoes, cabbage, and other
vegetables. During the dinner the greatest hilarity always prevailed,
although the table might be a large slab of timber, hewed out with a
broad-axe, supported by four sticks set in auger holes, and the furniture
some old pewter dishes and plates, the rest wooden bowls and trenchers; a
few pewter spoons, much battered about the edges, were to be seen at some
tables. The rest were made of horn. If knives were scarce, the deficiency
was made up by the scalping knives which were carried in sheaths
suspended to the belt of the hunting shirt.
After dinner the dancing commenced, and generally lasted till the next
morning. The figures of the dances were three and four handed reels, or
square sets, and jigs. The commencement was always a square four, which
was followed by what was called jigging it off; that is, two of the four
would single out for a jig, and were followed by the remaining couple. The
jigs were often accompanied with what was called cutting out; that is,
when either of the parties became tired of the dance, on intimation the
place was supplied by some one of the company without any interruption of
the dance. In this way a dance was often continued till the musician was
heartily tired of his situation. Toward the latter part of the night, if
any of the company, through weariness, attempted to conceal themselves for
the purpose of sleeping, they were hunted up, paraded on the floor, and
the fiddler ordered to play "Hang on till tomorrow morning."
About nine or ten o'clock a deputation of the young ladies stole off the
bride and put her to bed. In doing this it frequently happened that they
had to ascend a ladder instead of a pair of stairs, leading from the
dining and ball room to the loft, the floor of which was made of
clapboards lying loose and without nails. This ascent, one might think,
would put the bride and her attendants to the blush; but as the foot of
the ladder was commonly behind the door, which was purposely opened for
the occasion, and its rounds at the inner ends were well hung with hunting
shirts, petticoats, and other articles of clothing, the candles being on
the opposite side of the house, the exit of the bride was noticed but by
few. This done, a deputation of young men in like manner stole off the
groom, and placed him snugly by the side of his bride. The dance still
continued; and if seats happened to be scarce, which was often the case,
every young man, when not engaged in the dance, was obliged to offer his
lap as a seat for one of the girls; and the offer was sure to be accepted.
In the midst of this hilarity the bride and groom were not forgotten.
Pretty late in the night some one would remind the company that the new
couple must stand in need of some refreshment; black Betty, which was the
name of the bottle, was called for, and sent up the ladder; but sometimes
black Betty did not go alone. I have many times seen as much bread, beef,
pork and cabbage sent along with her, as would afford a good meal for half
a dozen hungry men. The young couple were compelled to eat and drink more
or less of whatever was offered them.
It often happened that some neighbors or relatives, not being asked to the
wedding, took offense; and the mode of revenge adopted by them on such
occasions was that of cutting off the manes, foretops and tails of the
horses of the wedding company.
I will proceed to state the usual manner of settling a young couple in the
world.
A spot was selected on a piece of land of one of the parents, for their
habitation. A day was appointed, shortly after their marriage, for
commencing the work of building their cabin. The fatigue party consisted
of choppers, whose business it was to fell the trees and cut them off at
proper lengths; a man with a team for hauling them to the place and
arranging them, properly assorted, at the sides and ends of the building;
a carpenter, if such he might be called, whose business it was to search
the woods for a proper tree for making clapboards for the roof. The tree
for this purpose must be straight grained and from three to four feet in
diameter. The boards were split four feet long, with a large frow, and as
wide as the timber would allow. They were used without planeing or
shaving. Another division was employed in getting puncheons for the floor
of the cabin; this was done by splitting trees, about eighteen inches in
diameter, and hewing the faces of them with a broad-axe. They were half
the length of the floor they were intended to make.
The materials for the cabin were mostly prepared on the first day, and
sometimes the foundation laid in the evening. The second day was allotted
for the raising.
In the morning of the next day the neighbors collected for the raising.
The first thing to be done was the election of four corner men, whose
business it was to notch and place the logs. The rest of the company
furnished them with the timbers. In the mean time the boards and puncheons
were collecting for the floor and roof, so that by the time the cabin was
a few rounds high the sleepers and floor began to be laid. The door was
made by sawing or cutting the logs in one side so as to make an opening
about three feet wide. This opening was secured by upright pieces of
timber about three inches thick, through which holes were bored into the
ends of the logs for the purpose of pinning them fast. A similar opening
but wider was made at the end for the chimney. This was built of logs, and
made large to admit of a back and jams of stone. At the square, two end
logs projected a foot or eighteen inches beyond the wall to receive the
butting poles, as they were called, against which the ends of the first
row of clapboards was supported. The roof was formed by making the end log
shorter until a single log formed the comb of the roof; on these logs the
clapboards were placed, the ranges of them lapping some distance over
those next below them, and kept in their places by logs, placed at proper
distances upon them.
"The roof, and sometimes the floor, were finished on the same day of the
raising. A third day was commonly spent by a few carpenters in leveling
off the floor, making a clapboard door and table. This last was made of a
spilt slab, and supported by four round legs set in auger holes. Some
three legged stools were made in the same manner. Some pins stuck in the
logs at the back of the house supported some clapboards which served for
shelves for the table furniture. A single fork, placed with its lower end
in a hole in the floor, and the upper end fastened to a joist, served for
a bedstead, by placing a pole in the fork with one end through a crack
between the logs of the wall. This front pole was crossed by a shorter one
within the fork, with its outer end through another crack. From the front
pole, through a crack between the logs of the end of the house, the boards
were put on, which formed the bottom of the bed. Sometimes other poles,
were pinned to the fork a little distance above these, for the purpose of
supporting the front and foot of the bed, while the walls were the
supports of its back and head. A few pegs around the walls for a display
of the coats of the women, and hunting shirts of the men, and two small
forks or bucks' horns to a joist for the rifle and shot pouch, completed
the carpenter's work.
"The cabin being finished, the ceremony of house-warming took place,
before the young couple were permitted to move into it. The house-warming
was a dance of a whole night's continuance, made up of the relations of
the bride and groom, and their neighbors. On the day following the young
couple took possession of their new mansion."
This mansion, slight, inefficient and hastily erected as it was, must have
afforded but poor shelter against the severity of a season which is
everywhere referred to as one of the coldest ever known. It is asserted
that during the winter of 1779-80, still remembered by some as "_The Hard
Winter_," the wild animals were "starved and frozen in the forests, while
the domestic ones fared no better in the settlements." The rigors of the
season, however, did not prevent the influx of immigration; although
several families were compelled to endure its severity on their route
through the wilderness from Cumberland Gap, and were even delayed in their
march till the opening of the Spring. As soon however as the rivers were
freed from ice and the intense cold had yielded to the softer airs of the
new season, we hear of the arrival of no less than three hundred family
boats at the Falls. The causes which influenced so large an immigration
hither were various, not the least among them being the security insured
at this fort by the presence of Col. Clark. So entire and perfect had been
the success of this gallant officer in every expedition, even against the
most fearful odds, that to be under his command had come to be reckoned as
holding a place among the Invincibles. Let the circumstances be what they
might, it is certain that Louisville with her then population of six
hundred souls, was growing to be a place worthy of high consideration, and
accordingly we find that in May of this year (1780) the legislature of
Virginia passed the following
"_Act for establishing the town of Louisville at the Falls of Ohio._"
"Whereas, sundry inhabitants of the county of Kentucky have, at great
expense and hazard, settled themselves upon certain lands at the falls of
Ohio, said to be the property of John Conally, and have laid off a
considerable part thereof into half acre lots for a town, and having
settled thereon, have prefered petitions to this general assembly to
establish the said town, _Be it therefore enacted_, That one thousand
acres of land, being the forfeited property of said John Conally,
adjoining to the lands of John Campbell and ---- Taylor, be, and the same
is hereby vested in John Todd Jr., Stephen Trigg, George Slaughter, John
Floyd, William Pope, George Merriweather, Andrew Hines, James Sullivan and
Marshall Brashiers, gentlemen, trustees, to be by them or any four of them
laid off into lots of an half acre each, with convenient streets and
public lots, which shall be, and the same is hereby established a town by
the name of Louisville. _And be it further enacted_, That after the said
lands shall be laid off into lots and streets, the said trustees or any
four of them, shall proceed to sell the said lots, or so many of them as
they shall judge expedient, at public auction, for the best price that can
be had, the time and place of sale being advertised two months, at the
court houses of adjacent counties; the purchasers respectively to hold
their said lots subject to the condition of building on each a dwelling
house, sixteen feet by twenty at least, with a brick or stone chimney, to
be finished within two years from the day of sale. And the said trustees
or any four of them shall and they are hereby empowered to convey the said
lots to the purchasers thereof in fee simple, subject to the condition
aforesaid, on payment of the money arising from such sale to the said
trustees for the uses hereafter mentioned, that is to say: If the money
arising from such sale shall amount to Thirty Dollars per acre, the whole
shall be paid by the said trustees into the treasury of this commonwealth,
and the overplus, if any, shall be lodged with the court of the county of
Jefferson to enable them to defray the expenses of erecting the publick
buildings of the said county. _Provided_, That the owners of lots already
drawn shall be entitled to the preference therein, upon paying to the
trustees the sum of thirty dollars for such half acre lot, and shall be
thereafter subject to the same obligations of settling as other lot
holders within the said town. _And be it further enacted_, That the said
trustees or the major part of them shall have power, from time to time, to
settle and determine all disputes concerning the bounds of the said lots,
to settle such rules and orders for the regular building thereon as to
them shall seem best and most convenient. And in case of death or removal
from the county of any of the said trustees, the remaining trustees shall
supply such vacancies by electing of others from time to time, who shall
be vested with the same powers as those already mentioned.--_And be it
further enacted_, That the purchasers of the lots in the said town, so
soon as they shall have saved the same according to their respective deeds
of conveyance, shall have and enjoy all the rights, privileges and
immunities, which the freeholders and inhabitants of other towns in this
state, not incorporated by charter, have, hold and enjoy.
"_And be it further enacted_, That if the purchaser of any lot shall fail
to build thereon within the time before limited, the said trustees or a
major part of them, may thereupon enter into such lot, and may either sell
the same again and apply the money towards repairing the streets, or in
any other way for the benefit of the said town, or appropriate such lot to
publick uses for the benefit of said town. _Provided_, That nothing herein
contained shall extend to affect or injure the title of lands claimed by
John Campbell, gentleman, or those persons whose lots have been laid off
on his lands, but their titles be and remain suspended until the said John
Campbell shall be released from his captivity."[1]
The survey of the town under this act, as also the second survey made by
Peyton and Sullivan, have been in some unaccountable manner destroyed. It
is believed, however, that the spirit of these surveys is preserved in
Jared Brooke's plat, which was adopted in 1812. Previous to this the
absence of any official document of this kind produced much annoyance,
dispute and litigation, in regard to titles and boundaries. The out
courses of this survey, as represented by Dr. McMurtrie, are "from 35
poles above the mouth of Beargrass Creek, on the bank of the Ohio river,
S. 83, W. 35 poles to the mouth of the creek, thence N. 87, W. 120 poles,
N. 50, W. 110 poles to a heap of stones and a square hole cut in the flat
rock, thence (the division line) S. 88, E. 769 to a white oak, poplar and
beech, N. 37, W. 390 to the beginning; no variation." This was divided
into six streets, running East and West, and twelve streets crossing these
others at right angles. The squares so made were, up to Green Street,
divided into lots of a little more than half an acre, and South of that
into five, ten and twenty acre lots. In all the earlier proceedings of the
legislature in regard to the new town we find constant mention made of
public squares and grounds; and in the original plat, a slip of 180 feet
South of Green Street, and running from First to Twelfth Streets, was
reserved for a public promenade and pleasure ground. It is a matter of
great regret that this reservation was not really made. An immense common
like this, with the forest trees which were then upon it left standing,
would now be an invaluable addition to the town, and would enable us to
boast of having the most beautiful city in America. We cannot help but
wonder that the early inhabitants of the city should have permitted those
in authority to commit this gross outrage upon taste and propriety. Had
this slip continued in reserve, how beautiful might it now have become! As
taste, aided by wealth, began to have its hold among the citizens, it
would have been upon the fronts of this great artery that those beautiful
churches, public buildings and dwellings, now scattered over so large a
space, would have been erected. Here for a distance of more than a mile
would have been placed a continuous range of palace-like structures; and
here, under the shade of trees "the growth of quite a century" would the
gay, the brave and the fair have sat, walked or rode. What a picture would
have been presented here on a midsummer night, or at the close of an
autumn day! Groups of merry children disporting around, gaily dressed
ladies and dashing beaux, a throng of proud equipages and horsemen, the
sound of the infant's prattle, girlhood's ringing laugh, the mingling of
joyous voices, and above all and beyond all the tall and sombre forms of
majestic trees raised in relief against the sky, the green carpeted earth
and smiling little flowers, and all this in the very heart of a great
city--all forms a picture upon which the fancy loves to dwell, and a
picture which might readily have been realized had not that inordinate and
purely American worship of Gain blotted it from the canvass almost before
the designer had expressed it with his pencil.
Nor was a flagrant want of taste the worst feature in this. The whole of
the present site of the city at that early day was intersected with ponds
of stagnant water. The second bank had something of a descent towards the
interior, and the soil, though alluvious, was of sufficient tenacity to
retain the water which fell in rain. The result was that the whole of this
valley from Beargrass to Salt river was filled with these ponds; and, as a
necessary consequence, miasmata were bred, which produced a great deal of
sickness, more especially with strangers. So great indeed was the
influence thus induced that acclimation was then considered as necessary
here as it now is in New Orleans or on the coast of Africa. Many of the
present citizens of Louisville will be surprised to know that this very
city, now so celebrated for its healthiness as to make its salubrity an
inducement to immigration from all parts of the country, was once known as
"the Graveyard of the Ohio." The city worthies who took upon themselves to
sell "the Slip" in lots, had at that time no data to induce them to
believe in the future healthfulness of their place and yet they must have
perceived the increasing prosperity of the town; hence it became almost
criminal in them to put away what then seemed the only barrier to disease,
and almost to invite its approaches by allowing the city to be compactly
built without room for the pure and wholesome circulation of air, but
shutting up, as it were, disease and death within their very walls. As the
value of property began to increase, however, these gentlemen, actuated
only by a desire for present gain, put aside all these considerations and,
having divided the slip into four parts exposed it for sale. It comprised
all that part of the city now embraced between the north side of Green and
the south side of Grayson Streets, but extended, as before said, up to
First Street. It is true that great blame was attached to the trustees
for their action in this matter at the time, and some movement was made
toward trying to destroy the sale by legal means, this however was never
actually resorted to, and possession has long since confirmed the titles
to all lots lying within its limits. Thus was lost to the city one of the
most valuable, if not the very most valuable of all its possessions. The
earliest purchasers of this property were Messrs. Johnson, Croghan,
Anderson and Campbell.
As we have already referred to the numerous ponds scattered throughout the
city, it may not be improper at this point to recall the site of some of
them, if only to show how completely the natural disadvantages of the
place have been overcome by the energy of its inhabitants. The first and
most important of these was called the "Long Pond." It commenced at the
present corner of Sixth and Market Streets, and inclining a little toward
the South-West, extended as far as the old Hope Distillery, on or near
Sixteenth Streets. The indentation in the ground, still observable, in the
alley which commences at Seventh Street and lies between Market and
Jefferson Streets, was the former bed of this pond. In the winter, when it
was frozen over, this little lake was the scene of many a merry party. On
the moonlight evenings, numbers of ladies and gentlemen were to be seen
skimming over its surface, the gentlemen on skates and the ladies in
chairs, the backs of which were laid upon the ice and the chairs fastened
by ropes to the waists of the skaters. And thus they dashed along at
furious speed over the glassy surface; beaux and belles, with loud voices
and ringing laugh--and the merriment of the occasion was only increased
when some dashing fellow, in his endeavors to surpass in agility and
daring all his compeers, fell prostrate to the ice, or broke through it
into the water beneath.
The next in importance to the one above referred to, was known as
Gwathmey's or Grayson's Pond. It began on Centre Street just in the rear
of the First Presbyterian church, and extended Westwardly half way to
Seventh Street. Its form was that of a long elipse; and it was carefully
kept by its owners for fish.--Its margin was surrounded by lofty trees and
the turf grew to the very edge of the water, which, fed by some internal
spring, was always clear and pure. This pond was really a beautiful spot
and formed a delightful lounging-place for the idle or the meditative, and
one which neither of these classes neglected. It was the scene of all the
baptisms performed here in an early day, and no place could be better
adapted for this purpose. Its grassy edges afforded an agreeable
resting-place for the spectators, while its shape allowed every one to
see, hear and partake in the exercises.
Beside these two principal lakes, there were innumerable others, some
containing water only after heavy rains and others standing full at all
times. Market Street from the corner of Third down was the site of one of
these; Third Street between Jefferson and Green of another; Jefferson
Street near the corner of Fourth of another, and so on almost _ad
infinitum_. A map of the city as it was sixty or even thirty years ago,
would present somewhat the appearance of an archipelago, a sea full of
little islands. Whereas now, from the Woodland Garden to the foot of
Fifteenth Street, a distance of nearly three miles, not one of these lakes
is to be seen. It is not to be wondered at that, as the trees were removed
from the surface and the face of these ponds exposed to the burning sun,
they should spread the seeds of death all around them. As long as life was
precarious from a hundred other causes, this one remained unnoticed, but
as soon as the settlements began to be relieved from other fears for life
and property, this was taken up, and in 1805 the Legislature authorised
the Trustees to remove "those nuisances in such a manner as the majority
of them should prescribe." But the means in the treasury being incompetent
to this purpose, any efficient action in relation to it was delayed until
after the fearful epidemics of 1822 and 1823, of which we shall have
occasion to speak hereafter, when the Board of Health appointed to examine
into the causes of the diseases and the means of removing the same, urged
the prompt and immediate removal of these ponds. The Legislature during
the latter year also authorised the raising of $40,000 by lottery to be
applied to draining not only the ponds in Louisville, but also all those
between the town and the mouth of Salt River. Under this act these ponds
were drained, but those below the city were then left untouched. Many of
them however have been since removed under a recent renewal of the act.
But we have been led beyond the era of which we were speaking, and must
now return, in another chapter, to the history of the town from its
establishment by law in 1780.