Historical Sketch of Meade County, Kentucky

Meade County, the seventy-sixth to be established in Kentucky, was formed from parts of Hardin and Breckinridge by an act approved December 17, 1823. The act creating the new county described it as follows: “All that part of the counties of Hardin and Breckinridge contained in the following bounds: Beginning on the Ohio River at a point halfway between the mouth of Salt River and the mouth of Otter Creek; thence running so as to strike the road leading from the mouth of Salt River to Leitchfield, at a point two miles distant on the nearest point from the road leading from Elizabethtown to the mouth of Salt River; thence a straight line to the mouth of Brushy Fork of Otter Creek; thence a straight line to the Big Spring; thence a straight line to Absolom Carr, Sr’s., leaving said Carr’s house in the new county; thence a straight line to the lower end of Flint Island in the Ohio River; thence up the same to the beginning, shall be one distinct county called by the name of Meade, in honor of Captain James M. Meade, who fell at the River Raisin.”

Boundaries of Meade County, Kentucky

As the Ohio River defines the northern part of Meade, it makes a peculiarly irregular outline, giving a strange shape to the county. With an area of approximately 192,640 acres, Meade today retains its original boundary lines, although a legislative attempt to establish the county of Hanson out of parts of Meade and Breckinridge Counties was made but was defeated in the House on February 10, 1870. It is bounded on the north and northwest for about 58 miles by the huge, twisted bend of the Ohio River; on the east by Hardin County; on the south by Hardin and Breckinridge Counties; and on the west by Breckinridge. ^[1]Sciller, Edward F., compiler, “Kentucky Natural Resources, Industrial Statistics, Industrial Directory, Description of Counties”, Bulletin 34, Issued by the Bureau of Agriculture, Labor, … Continue reading ^[2]Collins, Richard H., History of Kentucky, 2 vols., Louisville, 1924, 1, 201

Long before the settlement of the county, the pioneers who first reached this territory, which was included in the great bend of the Ohio and stretched from the mouth of Otter Creek to the mouth of Sinking Creek, found a land stocked with game of all kinds. Countless deer and large herds of elk and bison grazed on the barrens. Immense fertile areas covered with grasses and clover furnished them excellent forage in summer; in winter, they found ample food in the dense canebrakes. Numerous streams in the wooded section and thick forests and groves on the knobs supplied the wild animals and fowl with water and protection. Flocks of wild geese and ducks made their homes on the streams. Passenger pigeons, long extinct, whose weight often broke strong branches of trees, and fat wild turkeys, together with innumerable squirrels, provided the early settlers with an abundance and a variety of food. ^[3]Ridenour, George L., Early times in Meade County, Kentucky, Louisville, 1929, pp. 9, 10.

Among these families who first built their cabins and established themselves in this region were the Shackletts, the Richardsons, the Wimps, the Ashcrafts, the Fairleighs, the Chisholms, the Hardins, Squire Boone, brother of Daniel Boone, and others, many of whom came from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. ^[4]The Louisville Evening Post, March 27, 1923. General Benjamin Shacklett, with his family and their few possessions, left Pennsylvania in 1796, and traveled by flatboat down the Ohio River, landing at the head of the Falls. Two years later he moved down the river to settle finally in Jakey’s Grove, in what was then Hardin and later became Meade County. Here in 1805 was born Benjamin Wooley Shacklett, his son, who developed into one of the greatest fighters of his day. Both the general and his son took a prominent part in the governmental affairs of the new county when it was created. About the same time several other families built their cabins in the vicinity of Jakey’s Grove. Richard Ashcraft had achieved fame as an Indian fighter in Pennsylvania, and his children, exhibiting the same courageous pioneer qualities that characterized their father, were among the earlier settlers to land at Solomon Brandenburg’s Landing and Perry. With them came John Wimp and his family, and from White Hall, New York, the Richardson family arrived to establish homes in what later became Meade County. ^[5]Ridenour, George L., Early times in Meade County, Kentucky, Louisville, 1929, pp. 27-31.

No Native American tribes ever inhabited this region for any length of time, although, crossing the Ohio River at the mouth of Salt River, Rock Haven, Flippen’s Run, Buck Creek, and near the mouth of Wolf Creek, they came often to hunt game. Many weapons and some perfect specimens of small pottery of exquisite Indian workmanship have been unearthed at numerous places in the county. One of the most fiercely contested battles with the early settlers occurred on East Hill at Brandenburg. A party of marauding Indians crossed the river and hid their canoes in Flippen’s Run. Big Joe Logsden, one of the famous Indian fighters who spent much time in this region, aided by a party of hunters, attacked the band. After a running fight along the buffalo trail, the Indians were beaten back and not long after decided to seek security on the northern bank of the Ohio. ^[6]Ridenour, George L., Early times in Meade County, Kentucky, Louisville, 1929, pp. 15, 17.

On Monday, March 22, 1824, in accordance with the provisions of the act creating Meade County, Joseph Stith, John H. Trent, William Ditto, William Garnett, Robert W. Washington, Joseph Atwill, and William F. Bushee met at John Rush’s house in Buck Grove and organized the county court. Each man produced a commission signed by Governor John Adair, appointing him justice of the peace. Joseph Stith administered the necessary oaths to John H. Trent, who in turn administered the same oaths to the other appointees. After these justices had taken their seats, Benjamin Shacklett produced a commission as sheriff from the Governor and gave bond in the sum of $3,000. Robert Bleakley was appointed deputy sheriff, and William Fairleigh was named clerk pro tempore, furnishing bond for $10,000. The county was divided into three districts; The first district was “east of a line from Foreman’s Ferry to a pond halfway from the mouth of Brushy Fork of Otter Creek and the Big Spring.” William B. Stith was elected constable of this district; The second district extended “from the line of the first district to a line beginning at Joseph B. Woolfolk’s, thence in a straight line to Colonel Carr’s.” Samuel Brownlee was elected constable of the second district. Oliver Burch was elected constable of the third district. John H. Helm, just 21 years of age, was appointed county attorney. Jesse Shacklett produced his commission as coroner, and Nathan Riatt and Robert Stout were recommended to the Governor by the court as capable surveyors. Daniel S. Bell, W. Allen, Thomas Q. Wilson, and John L. Helm were admitted to practice by this court.

On June 28, 1824, the county court issued the following order: “Ordered that William Ditto and William Garnett, Esquires, be and they are hereby appointed Judges to superintend the Meade General Election to be held at this place in August next, and that Robert W. Washington be appointed clerk of said election.” Elections at this time were held for a period of three days. Every man in the county was required to vote at John Rush’s house which served as the courthouse. Elections and regimental musters were the scenes of much “fist and skull” fighting to determine the “best man in the county,” a title gained with a man’s fists. It was a time when public questions were often determined by personal combat. At the first election held at John Rush’s, Dan Shacklett fought for 37 minutes with Isaac Vertrees over an acre of ground. This was probably the hardest such fight ever waged in Meade County.