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.

Upon Dry Ground - Sort of

There are 31 rivers, 800 creeks, 45 large lakes, 33 small lakes, and 87,000 farm ponds presently in the State of Kentucky. [Plus or minus here and there.]  Certainly not all these things existed when folks started their way into this area.  At least 4 major rivers had something to do with the water routes into the central area of the State.  The following figure shows roughly an outline of these 4 rivers and their relationship to this area that was to become Danville.

From the east, a branch of the Kentucky River, called "Dix" or "Dicks", comes the closest to the town lands of Danville.  From the northwest,  branches of the Salt River, one called "Chaplin", come close to the lands that were to become Danville.  Green River and Cumberland River finish the circle that surrounded this settlement area.  It would seem that these "town lands" would pretty much be in the center of things such that, heading almost any direction would place you on a water route out of town.   "Upon Dry Ground" I am thinking, sort of.