The Richmond climax. (Richmond, Ky.) 1897-1914, 1910-09-14

In placing before the thousands of
persons-who will undoubtedly read
this Industrial edition. brief history
of Richmond. Kentucky. it appears to
the writer that it should be preceded by
few events in the annals of Madison
county which lead TO the establishment
and organization of Richmond, the judi
cial seat and most important city in the
county.
In the beginning let me say that of all
the counties that have ever written a
history of, have yet to find one that
can compare with Madison, historically,
and especially is this true in this State.
Madison county is the most historical
county in the State. The first settle
ment made in Kentucky was made at
Boonesboro, Madison county, in the
spring of l775, by a party of sturdy
North Carolinians and Virginians, under
the command of Col. Daniel Boone.
This company of adventures had
entered into Kentucky in the spring of
1875 for the purpose of hunting homes
for themselves, and some of them
raised crops of corn that year within the
limits of the present county of Madison.
When the land commissioners of Vir-
ginia held their session at Fit. Boones-
boro, in December. 1779, the land on
which Richmond was afterwards To-
Gated was claimed by Thomas Johnson
as a settlement and afterwards pre-
emptiOn right, and this claim of john
son was allowed by the commissioners.
The right of johnson had been previous
" assigned to Col. William Hoy, the
founder of Fort Hoy at Foxtown and was
subsequently transferred to Capt. Jno.
Miller and William Miller. No town
was established here until much later
period, and no cabins built, or settlement
made, until 1854 The land around the
present site of Richmond and its vicinity
seemed TO have been quite attractive to
many prominent and leading settlers of
the county of Madison and the State of
Kentucky. The county and survey
books of James French and John Crooke,
the earliest surveyors of Madison, show
that presumption and settlement lands
of Daniel Boone, Squire Boone, Richard
Galloway, Jesse Benton, James Estill.
Nathaniel Hart, John Boyle and many
others, clustered around Richmond and
adjoining country between Fort Estill aud
Silver Creek. On the first of August,
1855, the county of Madison was sepa-
rated from Lincoln, and in February,
1887, by order of the Court of Quarter
Session of Madison county, Milford was
made our first county seat. That place
was not then town, but it was estab-
lished as such by act of the Virginia
Legislature in 1889. This town was
named Milford by Capt. John Kincaid.
one of its earliest settlers, and was built
upon little hill on branch of Taylor's
Fork of Silver Creek.
In 179S, owing to the division of the
county, and the extension of the settle
ments on the frontiers of Madison, the
town of Milford became inconvenient as
a county seat. An act was passed by
the Kentucky Legislature allowing the
county seat to be changed by majority
vote of the magistrates of the county.
provided the citizens of Milford were
paid for their improvement. On the
sixth of March, 1898, the magistrates of
the county ordered that the county seat
be moved to the center Of the population.
and ordered that the ridge near John
Miller's barn be appointed as the seat Of