Graham’s station--Brush Creek--A family
travelling on a visit--Fine scenery--Massey’s
island--Manchester--Brookes’s--Madison--Maysville--Failure of three
towns, and an intended glass house.
At eight o’clock we proceeded to drop down the river. The hills on each
side still continued broken, separate, and pointed, and the bottoms
narrow. The appearance of the timber since we passed Little Sandy,
indicated the soil to be not so rich as above that river, it being of a
much smaller growth.
About eight miles from Salt Lick we passed on the left a fine
settlement of several large farms and good farm houses, called
Graham’s station on Kennedy’s bottom, and three miles further on the
right the new town of Adamsville, with one very good house and three
or four small ones, finely situated at {146} the mouth of Brush creek,
which is a charming little river about thirty-five yards wide.
From hence we observed several good farm houses in fine situations, on
the left, and an extensive bottom, well settled, on the right, the Ohio
being about half a mile wide between.
At Sycamore creek, which is very small, on the left, two miles below
Brush creek, is a good house, finely situated, with a ferry for the
Ohio. Here we spoke a man of the name of May, who with his wife
and child, and an aged mother, had been seven weeks descending the
Mississippi and ascending the Ohio in a skiff; bound from St. Louis in
upper Louisiana, to Pittsburgh, a distance of thirteen hundred miles,
on a visit to two of his brothers residing there. They had just landed
to cook their dinner. I mention this merely to give some idea how
little the inhabitants of this country think of journies which would
seem impracticable to the stationary residents of Europe.
Since passing Brush creek, I observed the river hills to be lower,
their tops flatter, and the country less broken: the river too had
widened to the breadth of three quarters of a mile, and Pennaway’s
handsome brick house on a fine farm, separated by Donaldson’s creek
from the widow Smith’s farm house, the latter decorated with a balcony
and piazza, and beautifully situated, with the wooded hills rising
gradually behind, formed altogether imagery worthy a good landscape
painter. From hence there is also a charming view down the river,
through a vista formed by Massey’s island and the high right bank on
which the town of Manchester is placed.
Four miles and a half below Sycamore creek, instead of going through
the vista which was open to the eye, we kept over to the left shore
in the main channel, to the left of a small island, which is joined
at low water by a semicircular sand bar to Massey’s {147} island, a
fine harbour being formed by the bar between the islands except in
inundations of the river.
Massey’s island is about two miles long, but it is very narrow. It
belongs to two owners, it is very fertile and partly cultivated.
At four o’clock we passed the lower end of Massey’s island, rowed over
to the right shore, and landed at Manchester, a quarter of a mile lower
down.
This town has been settled twelve years, but contains only ten dwelling
houses, most delightfully situated on a high plain, commanding charming
prospects of the river both above and below. It is a post town, and is
only three miles distant from the great state road through the state of
Ohio to Lexington in Kentucky; but it is a poor place, and not likely
to improve, as its vicinity to Maysville, which is only twelve miles
lower where the road crosses the river, prevents its being frequented
by travellers.
We delayed but a few minutes at Manchester, and then proceeding, we
passed Isaac creek with a wooden bridge over it, on the right, a mile
below. A mile lower we saw on the left a very handsome farm house, an
orchard and a fine farm; opposite to which on the right, the river
hills approach close to the bank.
Two miles further we passed Crooked creek on the left, the hills now
approaching on that side, and receding on the right, leaving a fine
extensive bottom between them and the river.
Cabin creek on the left is a mile and a half below Crooked creek, and
has a good farm and handsome farm house at its mouth.
Three miles lower, on the left, is William Brookes’s creek, below which
is a floating mill, and Brookes’s good house and fine farm on a very
pleasant point, where a bottom commences, which extends to Limestone,
while the same ridge of hills which we passed below Isaac creek, after
semicircularly {148} bounding a deep, long and well settled bottom,
again approach the right bank of the Ohio opposite Brookes’s.
It may be proper to remark here, that in general, when the river hills
approach the river on one side, they recede on the other, so that hills
on one side are opposite to bottoms on the other.
From just below Brookes’s, we had a fine view down a reach, about three
miles, with Limestone or Maysville in sight at the end of it, and
passing the straggling but pleasant village of Madison on the left,
Limestone creek, and two gun boats at anchor, we landed there a little
before eight o’clock.
We got a good supper and beds at Mr. S. January’s, who keeps an
excellent house, and is a polite, well informed and attentive landlord.
Next morning Thursday the 30th July, we walked, accompanied by our host
to the scite of a formerly intended glass house, on the bank about
three quarters of a mile above the town; which failed of being erected
in consequence of the glass blowers who were engaged not having arrived
to perform their contract.
During our walk, we were shewn the scites of no less than three
projected towns, on the different properties of Messrs. Martin,
Brookes, and Coburn, at any of which, the situations were better than
at Maysville, both in point of room for building, and communication
with the interior of the country. They however all failed, in favour
of Maysville;[112] but those attempts to establish towns on their
estates, will serve to give some idea of the ambitious and enterprising
spirit which actuates the landholders in this country.
Maysville is the greatest shipping port on the Ohio, below Pittsburgh,
but it is merely such, not being a place of much business itself, but
only serving as the principal port for the north eastern part of the
state {149} of Kentucky, as Louisville does for the south western. It
has not increased any for several years, and contains only about sixty
houses. It is closely hemmed in by the river hills, over which the most
direct road from Philadelphia through Pittsburgh and Chilicothe leads
to Lexington, and thence through the state of Tennessee to New Orleans.
Several vessels of all sizes from four hundred tons downwards, have
been built here, but as none are now going forward, I presume the
builders did not find that business answerable to their expectations.
It is a post town, the mails from both east and west arriving on
Wednesdays and Saturdays. Its situation causing it to be much resorted
by travellers, that gives it an appearance of liveliness and bustle,
which might induce a stranger to think it a place of more consequence
in itself than it really is.
After breakfasting with our host, I delivered a letter of introduction
to Mr. George Gallagher, one of the principal merchants, who received
me very politely; then leaving our boat with our landlord to be
disposed of, we set out on foot for Lexington, at half past eleven
o’clock.
FOOTNOTES:
[112] The town on the property of Thomas Brooks--one of the early
pioneers who came to Kentucky before 1776--was called “Rittersville;”
that of John Coburn was first designated as “Madison,” but later as
“Liberty.”
Judge John Coburn was a Philadelphian who came to Kentucky (1784) on
the advice of Luther Martin, living at Lexington until 1794, when he
removed to Mason County, and was made judge of its courts. A prominent
Democrat, he declined the position of judge in the territory of
Michigan; but later accepted the same for that of Orleans, holding
court at St. Louis. Coburn was an ardent friend of Daniel Boone, and
the act appropriating land for the latter in his old age was passed at
his instance. He also served as commissioner (1796) to run the boundary
between Virginia and Kentucky; and after holding many offices of trust,
died in 1823.--ED.