View source for Kentucky County, Virginia

{{Redirect|District of Kentucky|the former U.S. district court with this name|United States District Court for the District of Kentucky}}
{{short description|Former county in Virginia, United States}}
{{Coord|37|37||N|83|27||W|display=title}}
[[File:Kentucky County, Virginia 1776.png|thumb|upright=1.15|Kentucky County, 1776–1780, as established by the [[Virginia General Assembly]]]]
{{Historical populations
|type= USA
|1770|15700
|1780|45000
|footnote=Source: 1770–1780;<ref name="Colonial and Pre-Federal Statistics">{{cite web|title=Colonial and Pre-Federal Statistics|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|page=1168|url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/statcomp/documents/CT1970p2-13.pdf}}</ref>
}}

'''Kentucky County''' (then alternately spelled '''Kentucke County''') was formed by the [[Commonwealth (U.S. state)|Commonwealth]] of [[Virginia]] from the western portion (beyond the [[Cumberland Mountains]]) of [[Fincastle County, Virginia|Fincastle County]] effective December 31, 1776.<ref name="apps.sos.ky.gov">{{cite web|url=http://apps.sos.ky.gov/land/nonmilitary/coformations/countysearch1.asp?searchby=NEW%20COUNTY&searchstrg=Kentucky|title=Kentucky: Secretary of State - Land Office - Kentucky County Formations}}</ref>The name of the county was taken from a Native American place name that came be associated with a river in east  central Kentucky, and gave the [[Kentucky River]] its name.  During the three and one-half years of Kentucky County's existence, its [[County seat|seat of government]] was Harrodstown (then also known as Oldtown, later renamed [[Harrodsburg, Kentucky|Harrodsburg]]).<ref name='kleber'>{{cite book | last = Kleber | first = John E. | title = The Kentucky Encyclopedia | publisher = The University Press of Kentucky | year = 1992 | location = Lexington KY | isbn = 0-8131-1772-0 }}</ref>

Kentucky County was abolished on June 30, 1780, when it was divided into [[Fayette County, Kentucky|Fayette]], [[Jefferson County, Kentucky|Jefferson]], and [[Lincoln County, Kentucky|Lincoln]] counties.<ref name="apps.sos.ky.gov"/> Afterward, these counties and those set off from them later in that decade were designated collectively as the District of Kentucky by the [[Virginia House of Delegates]]. The counties of the district frequently petitioned both the Virginia legislature and the [[Continental Congress]] seeking [[Admission to the Union|statehood]]. Finally successful, the [[Kentucky|Commonwealth of Kentucky]] was admitted to the [[United States]] as the 15th state in 1792.<ref>{{cite web|title=Official Name and Status History of the several States and U.S. Territories|url=http://www.thegreenpapers.com/slg/statehood.phtml|website=TheGreenPapers.com|access-date=March 31, 2018}}</ref>

==Militia officers==
After Kentucky County was legislatively created on December 6, 1776 (effective 1777), the county militia was organized as follows:<ref>Otis Rice, ''Frontier Kentucky'' (University Press of Kentucky, 1975), 85.</ref>
*[[George Rogers Clark]] – Brig General Northwestern Frontier 01/1781
*[[John Bowman (pioneer)|John Bowman]] – Colonel – County Lieutenant of Kentucky County, Virginia 12/1776 & 11/1779
*[[Anthony Bledsoe]] – Lieutenant Colonel
*[[John Todd (Virginia soldier)|John Todd]] – Captain – Virginia
*[[Benjamin Logan]] – Captain – Kentucky County, Virginia
*[[Daniel Boone]] – Captain – Boonesborough, Kentucky
*[[James Harrod]] – Captain – Harrodsburg, Kentucky

==See also==
*[[Illinois County, Virginia]]
*[[History of Kentucky]]
*[[List of former counties, cities, and towns of Virginia]]
*[[Trans-Appalachia]]
*[[Wilderness Road]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://apps.sos.ky.gov/land/nonmilitary/coformations/countysearch1.asp?searchby=NEW+COUNTY&searchstrg=Kentucky 1776 Act to create Kentucky County, Virginia] State of Kentucky Secretary of State website

{{Kentucky}}
{{Virginia}}

[[Category:Pre-statehood history of Kentucky]]
[[Category:History of Virginia]]
[[Category:Former counties of the United States]]
[[Category:Former counties of Virginia]]
[[Category:1776 establishments in Virginia]]
[[Category:1780 disestablishments in Virginia]]