During the summer of 1775, a small group of settlers from Fort Harrod established a camp near a large spring, along the banks of Middle Branch (now Town Branch) of Elkhorn Creek. They named the camp Lexington, in honor of the first battle of the American Revolution.
In December 1776, the Kentucky Colony of Virginia was established by the Virginia General Assembly, with Harrodsburg as the County seat. The act defined the new county as "to the south and westward of a line beginning on the Ohio at the mouth of Great Sandy creek and running up the same and the main, or northeasterly, branch thereof to the Great Laurel Ridge of Cumberland Mountain, then south westerly along the said mountain to the line of North Carolina."
In April 1779, Ensign Robert Patterson, with a company of 25 men, established a permanent settlement near the site and built a stockade fort. In January 1780, the settlers laid out the future town of Lexington, with 87 in-lots and 65 out-lots. The city centered on Main Cross and Main Streets.
On March 20, 1780, the town trustees appropriated “the sum of thirty pounds gold and granted one acre of ground to build a courthouse, prison and office, provided that court was to be held in Lexington.” The trustees later set aside Lot No. 11[1], located on the northwest corner of Main Cross and Main Streets, for use as a “temple of justice” where the county court was held. This lot measured 18 by 36 feet.[i]
On November 1, 1780, the Virginia Legislature approved an act that subdivided Kentucky County into Fayette[2], Jefferson and Lincoln Counties. Fayette County was named for the Marquis de Lafayette, a major-general in the Continental Army under George Washington. The act specified that the County Court for Fayette County, would meet at Lexington, on the second Tuesday of the month.[ii]
On May 6, 1782, the Virginia General Assembly passed an act to establish the Town of Lexington. The act granted 710[3] acres surround the public square to the town’s Trustees. These trustees were John Todd, Robert Patterson, William Mitchell, Andrew Steel, William Henderson, William McCownald and William Steel. The trustees were authorized to transfer lots to settlers and future purchasers. Trustees were to be elected annually thereafter.[iii]
During the spring of 1782, the first courthouse was finished. The two-story building was built of logs, with two rooms per floor (each 18 by 18 feet). Rooms were heated by a fireplace on each end. In addition, the courthouse had two dry cellars (also 18 by 18 feet).[iv]
However, the log courthouse quickly become obsolete as new settlers arrived in Lexington and Fayette County. By 1788, Lexington had 350 citizens, with 50 residences. Many of the newer residences were built of brick.[v]
Levi Todd:
In 1777, Levi Todd[4] was appointed the first clerk of Kentucky County, Virginia, by Governor Patrick Henry. He continued to serve as County Clerk until his death in 1807. The County Court tried civil cases (including land disputes), probated wills, settled estates, collected taxes and other administrative issues.
The County Clerk’s duties included preparing records of quarterly court sessions, recording depositions, issuing marriage licenses, filing deeds and mortgages, filing wills and estate settlements, preparing lists of taxable property, recording land and road surveys, and maintaining other public records.[vi]
[1] In 1788, the “old courthouse lot” was sold to Robert Barrow, for 59 pounds and 10 shillings. The lot was later purchased by John Bradford, who published the Kentucky Gazette from the corner.
[2] The county was defined as “all that part of the said county of Kentucky which lies north of the line beginning at the mouth of Kentucky river, and up the same and its middle fork to the head; and thence south east to Washington line, shall be one other distinct county, and called and known by the name of Fayette.”
[3] The 710 acres comprised 640 acres (a square mile), plus 70 acres already settled.
[4] Levi Todd (1756-1807) during the summer of 1775 arrived at the new settlement of Lexington. In March 1777, he was appointed one of the first Trustees of the town, with David Mitchell, Henry McDonald and Michael Warnock. He was a prominent landowner and attorney. He was a company commander of the Kentucky Militia and fought in the Western Theater of the American Revolution. He was also the grandfather of Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of Abraham Lincoln.
[i] Coleman, J. Winston, Jr., The Court-Houses of Lexington, Privately Printed, Lexington, Kentucky, 1937, pages 9-11 and Staples, Charles R., The History of Pioneer Lexington 1779 -1806, University Press of Kentucky, Lexington 1939, page 287.
[ii] Coleman (Court Houses), pages 9-11 and Hening's Statutes at Large, Laws of Virginia, May 1780 (4th Session), Bartow, New York, Volume X, 1820, pages 315-317.
[iii] Hening's Statutes at Large, Laws of Virginia, May 1782 (6th Session), Bartow, New York, Volume X, 1820, pages 100-101.
[iv] Coleman (Court Houses), pages 9-11.
[v] Coleman (Court Houses), page 11 and John D. Wright, Jr., Lexington – Heart of the Bluegrass, Lexington-Fayette County Historic Commission, Lexington, 1982, page 8.
[vi] Coleman (Court Houses), pages 12-14 and John E. Kleber, The Kentucky Encyclopedia, University Press of Kentucky, Louisville, 1992, page 888.
