History
In Pursuance of an Act of Congress of the United States, recommending that a Historical Sketch of every County and Town in the United States be prepared and read on the 4th day of July of our Centennial year, copies of which were to be filed in the Clerk's offices of the respective counties, and also in the Librarian's office in Washington City,
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All the present State of Kentucky, one hundred years ago, was a part of a single county of Old Virginia, named Fincastle. In 1776 this matronly old county of Fincastle, that enclosed within her boundry lines the territory upon which States were destined to be formed, was extinguished by the division of that territory into three counties,
We all seem to know by intuition that Grant was taken from Pendleton. Her identity does not seem to extend further back, and hence it was not uncommon formerly, when Grant, from any political or sectional cause, showed symptoms of waywardness, for Pendleton to assume the old responsibility of a good mother and urge her, by much kindly advice from
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Upon the issue of the formation of a new county a very strong and heated contest was made for the Representative in the year 1819. Those desiring a new county brought out for their candidate, Mr. William Littell, a clear and worthy gentleman, and a brother of James Littell, now one of our oldest citizens. The opposing candidates were, Elijah
In the bill it was provided that the county should have seven Justices of the Peace, who should meet at the house of Henry Chiders, still standing on the west side of the turnpike, about one hundred and fifty yards below the Old Childers Farm, now owned by Judge O. P. Hogan, and hold the first Court. The new county was to still vote with Pendleton
The first Circuit Court was held at the house of Henry Childers on the 5th day of May, 1820, Hon. John Trimble presiding.
The Grand Jury of this Court were John Marksbury, foreman; Dixon Tongate, John Crook, Daniel Seward, Robert Childers, Richard Lucas, Perry Chipman, Bennett Williams, Zachariah Hogan, Lewis Gregory, John Norton, Ichabod Ashcraft
The new Court House was built by William Arnold for the sum of $2,199, paid in three equal annual instalments. It was a brick building, two stories high, thirty four feet long by thirty feet wide. The first floor twelve feet high, and the second eight feet.
The bar was elevated eighteen inches above the lobby or audience floor, and the Judge's
The first jail was built by Absalom Skirvin for $220. It was sixteen feet square, and was built of hewed logs, dovetailed and let down one upon the other. This jail was two stories high, and had two small windows in each story. There was also a “stray pen” built on the public ground for the purpose of holding all the stray stock that was taken up
It is not strange, under these circumstances, that the people cultivated and displayed but little taste in their dress and in the erection of dwelling houses. The chief occupation, of many of them, was hunting, in which they found a peculiar delight and pleasure, and when wearied and worn out with their pursuit of the deer, which abounded
But we must now notice briefly some of the material improvements of the county. In 1822 there were twenty-five acres of land condemned by Mr. Arnold for the town of Williamstown, which was surveyed and laid off in one fourth acre lots, and Wm. Arnold, William Littell, Wesley Williams, James Collins, Samuel Williams, Thomas Watson, and Absalom