76 Acres

The town lands of Danville began as 76 acres purchased the18th day of June 1784.  This "Indenture" was entered into by John Crow of the County of Lincoln (VA) and Walker Daniel of the same county.  The figure below is my attempt to sketch the survey of this land as recorded from the deed book which can be found in Lincoln Co., Deeds A & B, 1781 - 1795, pp. 12-13.

The sketch is as follows:

The survey reads:

"....all that tract or parcel of land included within the following boundaries to wit..."

A. as shown on drawing above..."Beginning at a Sugar Tree near the spring known by the name of the Town Spring & North Eastward by the same running thence..."

The "Town Spring" begins the survey.  North eastward from the spring begins the plot.

B. "...West Thirty seven poles to a Huckberry..."

Going directly west 37 poles to a distinctive tree.  A pole is one square rod, and a rod is 16.5 feet.
Thus from the Sugar Tree near the spring due west 610.5 feet.

C. "...thence South six poles to pointers..."

Turning due south six poles (99 feet) to "pointers".  This must have been some kind of recognized landmark, often a stack of stone place in a distinct way.

D. "...thence West seventy one poles near to a large Cherry tree stump to pointers..."

Again, due west 71 poles (1171.5 feet) to a large Cherry tree stump.  Remember that there are 5,280 feet in one mile.  Thus this would be west from the spring approximately .2 of a mile.

E. "...thence South eighty eight poles to an elm & Water Beech in Jas Browns settlement line..."

From point D, we go due south 88 poles (roughly 1/4 of a mile) to another tree [Water Beech] which is located in the settlement line of James Brown.

F. "...thence East along his Line one hundred & sixty poles to the spring Branch..."

Thus, the southern boundary of the town lands of Danville followed the settlement line of James Brown.  It was 2640 feet along this line until it ran again into the flow of the town springs.  This would be a southern boundary of around 1/2 mile in length.

G. "...thence up the Branch on the East side thereof to the Beginning containing 76 acres & is part of the said Johns settlement whereon he now lives & is commonly known by the name of the Town Lands of Danville...".

Other documents show that Thomas Harrods land was west of this survey which was "lying on sinking springs". [Still located on the campus of Centre College.]  The flow of the town branch is now covered over but can be followed after it runs under ground past the present Post Office.

The deed also list that John Crow was to maintain access to half of the water below the Tannery where it then stood to the lower line.

Other landmarks and individuals that had land surveys around these 76 acres are also shown on the drawing.

Well here it is...the first 76 acres of Danville!

Documentation can be found in my book "KEN-TAH-THE" The Life and Times of Walker Daniel, Founder of the Town Lands of Danville, Kentucky, 18th Day of June 1784, published 2009.

All Around The Town in 1774 - 1776

Finding springs, marking trees, planting corn, and building cabins were all part of the activities during the years 1774 to 1776.  The following map attempts to show the folks who found the land around the area that was to become Danville irresistible.  The surveys of these folks have been presented in previous posts.  The figure below is drawn to scale, and the approximate location of these surveys are drawn to scale.  North is to the top of the page, and the Dix River is drawn being on the eastern border of what is now Boyle County, KY.  A 1 mile marker line is given, and 1400 acres would be about a 2.2 miles by 1 mile rectangle.

The tiny square in the SW corner of John Crow's land [shown in green] would become the 76 acres of the "Town Lands" yet to be purchased.  A small matter of separation from the British Empire would slow things down after that declaration of July 4, 1776.

The land of James Brown [shown in blue] would be the southern border, and that of Thomas Harrod [shown in orange] would be western most border.  The lands of John Clark [shown in pink] would be to the south, and the lands of James Harrod [not colored] would be to the northwest.  "Boiling springs", "sinking spring", and the "town spring" would all play a role in the settlement of this area.

Clark's Run is shown in dark blue, and runs just south of the town lands.

So there you have it...all around what was to become, the "town lands" of Danville, in 1774 - 1776.

John Crow 1774

The "Certificate Book of The Virginia Land Grant Commission 1779-1780" records the official decisions regarding who was on first.  The folks who thought they owned the land had to come before this commission to make their case regarding their "rights" to own the land.  The following is given on p. 305 of the book by The Kentucky Historical Society:

" (Cert issd for 1400)  John Crow this day claimed a settlement & preemption of 1400 Acres of Land in the district of Kentucky on Acc't of improving the same in the year 1774 & 1777 & Raising a crop of Corn in the year 1776 the s'd Crowe is to survey a half way between 2 Cabbins with a Square line that the s'd Crowe built in the year 1774 one Cabbin covered South West from Fishers Garrison Known by Rees' Lottery Cabbin the other N.E. from s'd Station and the s'd Fisher is not to go more than half way to another Cabbin that the s'd Crow built in the year Aforesaid which Cabbin lies North from s'd Station Satisfactory proof being made to the Court they are of Opinion that the s'd Crow has a right to a settlement of 400 Acres of Land to include the above Location & the preempt'n of 1000 Acres of Land adjoining & that a Cert issue accordingly.-"

John Crow was certainly busy during the year 1774.  It would appear that he built two cabins.  In also seems apparent that by the 22nd day of April 1780, a "...s'd Station..." [ Crow's Station] was known to exist.  "Fishers Garrison" and "Rees' Lottery Cabbin" were used as landmarks to locate this survey right.  The land that was to become Danville has its start in this "settlement & preemption".

The Names of 1774

The folks who managed to get their names into the survey books of 1774 were an extra special group of guys.  These were the  first to establish their claims to the land that was to become Danville, Kentucky.  The following is a list of these men who became "official" owners of the land.  This information has been abstracted from "Certificate Book of The Virginia Land Commission 1779-1780".

James Brown, Clark's Run, 1000 acres, p. 215

John Clark, Clark's Run,, 1400 acres, p.22

John Cowan, Clark's Run, 1400 acres, p. 22-23

John Crow, 1400 acres, p.305

Azor Rees, 1000 acres, p.260. [Isaac Shelby was to obtain this land on Knob Lick 1776, p.8]

As best as I can tell, these men were the first to claim Danville, KY.  On survey, 1400 acres would be contained in a 1 mile x 2.2 mile area.  These folks would have roughly a 6 mile square area of land.