Article about Scottsville -

Article about Scottsville - paraphrased from newspaper The Times-Messenger published February 15, 1907:

"Blazed from the wilderness, the township of Scottsville was laid off in 1814, and named for Gen. Scott, of Revolutionary fame, who fought under George Washington, "The Father of His Country." In 1815 the county of Allen was proclaimed, and a court house was erected of logs, which was seat of justice for three years. In 1818 there was built what was then considered a modern two storied structure of brick, which served for 85 years and was displaced for the present magnificent court house, which was built in 1905…… The history of the country surrounding Scottsville is handed down to us from the legendary days of Indian habitation in the wilderness to the present without any extraordinary episodes of war or scenes of violence, excepting that it was in the hands of Federal skirmishers for a short time, during the civil war in 1863, when they occupied and converted the old brick court house into a fort.

Scottsville continued to be a live and prosperous inland town until 1886, when the Cheasapeak and Ohio (now L. & N.) railroad was builded from Gallatin, Tennessee, a distance of 35 miles. The town at once began to take on a new impetus of growth, but after a few years the lulling period set in. This continued until about 1902, when it caught the American development fever, now so contagious in this country, and the numerous new residences, business houses, church edifices, college building, saw mills, handle and spoke factories, electric light and telephone sysems, two strong banks, etc., were evidences of more recent growth and the spirit of energy and enterprise manifesting itself. "

 

Article in Daily News by Wayne Vaughn in 1990 about Allen County:

"The county officially drew its first breath in 1815, when it cleared a vote of the General Assembly. The county was named for War of 1812 hero Col. JOHN ALLEN who was termed by historians as "a fine example of the Kentucky gentleman of that day". He was one of many Kentuckians who found a bloody grave in the disastrous battle of the river Raisin in 1813 during a campaign against the British in the Northwest.

Allen County, the 57th county to be formed in Kentucky, was formed from portions of Warren and Barren counties. It was first settled in 1797 by JOSEPH FICKLIN, TOILBER CRAIG, HENRY COLLINS, DANIEL MONROE, and ABRAM WOOD. The first church organized was by the United Baptists, January 31, 1801, four miles northeast of Scottsville.

The county seat of Scottsville was legally christened Scottville (without an 's') and by that name is almost always mentioned in the minutes of early meetings. The addition of 's' seems to have been a gratuity of the U.S. Postal Service, which erroneously recorded the new post office as Scott(s)ville and the form gradually superseded the other in all usages.

The county seat was named after Gov. CHARLES SCOTT - Kentucky's fourth governor - and not as often stated for Gen. Winfield Scott, whose victory at Lundy's Lane in 1814 made him a popular hero.

Markings found on trees in the county indicate that white men visited there 25 years befor a permanent settlement was made.

SAMUEL GARRISON (1762-1833), a soldier in the American Revolutionary War settled near Bays Fork Creek in 1799. He was the first state representative from Allen County and was one of the original trustees of Scottsville who selected the site and laid out the plan for the county seat.

The first hotel in Scottsville was the Scottsville Hotel built in 1835, but it later burned and the Jacksonian Hotel was built in 1919 on the same site. The original hotel is believed to have been visited by ANDREW JACKSON - 7th president of the United States - and so the new hotel was named in honor of him. The Jacksonian soon gained a wide reputation throughout the mid-South for old fashioned country cooking.

During the Civil War the county, though divided in loyalties within itself, became a part of the Confederate movement.

A few days later Union forces followed guerrillas into Tennessee killing 40, taking 20 prisoners, and recovering most of the Scottsville plunder.

After the formation of Allen County in 1815 the population increased steadily, its peak a century later with 16,882 residents. The early 1900s population boom was tied to the discovery of oil in different sections of the county. Since hen there was a decline in the population probably due to the lack of job opportunity in the area, but it is on the increase again.

In 1915 there were 16,882 residents, but by 1950 the number had dropped to 13,781. In recent years opportunities have increased because of factories being built in Allen and surrounding counties. Most recent population figures show 14,300 people with an average personal income of $10,979 (this was in 1990).

One industry that has helped play a large part in the re-birth of the county is the Dollar General Stores Corp. In 1939 J. L. TURNER and his son, CALISTER, pened a wholesale dry goods business in Scottsville and operated it under the name of J. L. Turner and Son.

More recent manufacturers and companies such as GE Motors, Washington Overall Mfg. Co., Sumitomo Elecrical Wiring Systems Inc., New Castle Products Inc. and the Holland Co. have also contributed to the couny's growth.

Agriculture takes up about 200,000 acres of the land and is divided into about 2,200 farms. The main crops produced in Allen County are tobacco, hay and corn with tobacco being the largest money crop. Until 1929 the county boasted the largest farm in the state. It was the Woods-Hall Ranch, which consisted of 2,500 acres. The farm once produced some of the finest tobacco in the state, but much of the valuable farm land was covered by water in the development of the Barren River Dam and reservoirthat is now used for recreational purposes by many of the county residents.

The lake, which is located about 10 miles northeast of Scottsville and 16 miles southwest of Glasgow spreads into the adjoining counties of Barren and Monroe covering about 10,000 acres of land. The project came out of the Flood Control Act of 1938. The main purpose of the reservoir is to control the water sheds of the Barren and Green rivers. Damage to crops and lowlands of the lower Barren and Green River valleys was averted by the dam.

There are 7 towns:

Scottsville is named after Gov. Charles Scott, Kentucky's fourth governor who was in office between 1808 and 1812.

 

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