Name It and Claim It

It is extremely difficult to put together an understanding of all the forces that came together to make this Danville, KY.  There was first, the central British government [The Crown] that resided some 3,000 miles away.  They were busy making their own plans about this Ohio Valley that had come under their control after this thing called the French and Indian War.

Prior to this, there were a number of separate colonies [PA, MD, VA, NC, SC]  and special interest groups [Ohio Company, Loyal Land Company, Transylvania Company] that had laid claim to a vast area of this Ohio Valley.

           [This shows a copy of the history, Ohio Co., written in the Kentucky Law Journal, 1926.]

 Also, there were the local ethic groups that were actually living on this land, and making it their battle ground.  Then there was the government of Virginia that took control, to organize Fincastle County, Virginia. [1772]    Although other folks had already sent their traders, land speculators, and hunters to this Ohio Valley, this colony [VA] was  the first to claim "official" surveys to this Ohio Valley.  You can begin to see the confusion there must have been when all these folks ended up around the same time,  in the same area, making their own surveys...the perfect storm some may say.  In the middle of this storm stood was what to become Danville, VA before it was to become Danville, KY.    Name it, and claim it...not as easy as it sounds.

Keep Off The Grass

A sure fired way to get people to walk on your grass is to put a sign that says "Keep Off The Grass".  It is sort of like that "Wet Paint" sign...you have just got to touch it...just to see...is it dry yet?  Such was the British government's issue of the October Proclamation of 1763.  It prohibited migration and settlement beyond the crest of the Appalachians.  This was done as a way to help establish boundaries between the Indians and English who were fighting over this territory [with the French], and give clear title to the Indians for a hunting ground in this Vally of Ohio.

A problem to this proclamation was the fact that Virginia had already promised land to those who had fought in the French and Indian War [1754-1763].  Gov. Dinwiddie in his own proclamation of February 19, 1754, had promised land to the military who would help Virginia maintain their claims to the western lands.  Several private groups had already planned their own use of this territory once the dust of war had settled.  [George Washington was one.]  Likewise, other colonies had their own ideas how this western land should be taken advantage of, for their settlements.

What was to become Kentucky, was right in the middle of it.

"Keep Off The Grass"...well right...not!

Trying to Sort Things Out

Over the river and through the woods...oh...no...down the river and through the woods would be more like it.  They were the only ways to get to this new, western settlement area that was to become Kentucky.

Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina all wanted to get their fur traders and land speculators into this western territory.  These colonies' geographic relationship to "the river" (Ohio), and "the woods" (mountains) are shown in the drawing to the right. 

Pennsylvania was essentially located at the head waters of the Ohio.  Virginia and North Carolina competed for the land access (gaps) to this territory, and were soon to run into folks from Pennsylvania coming down that Shenandoah Valley.  Virginia also had some of the earliest explorers to find this "New River" that was to open the door to western expansion.  Each colony was determined to settle this area to the advantage of the merchants and money backers who on the most part were living the good life back along the coast.

Who would have known that this little place that was to become Danvillle would find all these folks in 63 acres of land in a small square trying to sort things out.

Face to Face

Geography will often define the boundaries for settlement.  Where to go and how to get there will be directed by water, hills, mountains, fertile land and the like.  Figuring things out will often take time and adjustments.

Now, who occupied the land was always a problem for those who wanted to occupy the land.  The geography of the mountains had separated a land grabbing group of folks [on the east] who wanted it all, from a number of ethic groups [on the west] who had been fighting one another for a good long while.  These ethic groups had settled their own differences following a warfare that had lasted until around 1700.  Wyandot, Delaware, Shawnee, Cherokee, and Miami had generally laid claim to their homeland on the western side of this Cumberland-Allegheny mountain ridge.  You can see on the drawing above the general areas occupied by these groups.  The Shawnee and Cherokee were to have the most say about coming into this Ohio Valley after the Wyandot got things rolling with those folks on the eastern side of the mountains.  Anyway you went, down the water (Ohio) or around the mountains (to become the Cumberland Gap) you would have to face the Shawnee or Cherokee.  Face to face was yet to come.

Coming Round The Mountains

Getting to this new land [what was to become Kentucky] was some kind of chore.  The New River (Wood's River) offered a pathway to the west, but gave all kinds of trouble to those who were on the other side of the mountains.  All these mountains stood in the way.  For many years, the Blue Ridge Mountains seem to be the greatest barrier.  Once over these, there were the Shenandoah Mountains separated by a valley area that gave a little brake to the mountains.  Then came the Allegheny Highlands  that seemed to go on forever into the distance.  What were these poor folks along the coast to do?

The drawing to the right shows the general idea about these mountains.  The "Blue Ridge" in blue, the "Shenandoah" in purple, and the Cumberland-Allegheny Highlands in green are outlined.    The river road is again shown in orange, and one can get a sense of why those folks above the mountains [PA, NY, etc.]would find the river route a much better avenue.  The folks from VA, NC, and MD would have to figure out another way perhaps...coming round the mountains.

Yet to Come

Abraham Wood and his crew were the first to record a "New River" that flowed to the "West" instead of back to the "East".  This "English" discovery opened the doors to a potential route to China.  No one knew what was really out there, but Abraham and his associates were determined to find out.  At 37 degree parallel, they had some idea that China would lay to the south.  This New River [at first called Wood's River], seemed to flow north, and this would have put some damper on the exploration.   But, who was to know that this river flowed to a larger, and then larger River which was to run southwest.

The drawing to the right shows roughly the 37 degree parallel as it runs though Virginia and Kentucky.   Abraham Wood started somewhere past Roanoke [most likely near Blacksburg], and the record begins.  Following the orange colored line, the flow of the river formed a u-shaped pattern, up to the Ohio River, down to the Kentucky, and off to the Dix River, meeting the land that would become Danville, Kentucky.  The colonies of PA, MD, VA, and NC are shown to place their settlement along this new river.  All certainly wanted to get there, and the story of Danville, connects these dots.  Being at the head waters of the Ohio, PA would certainly have an advantage to this water way.   Of course the mountains lying between would play a mayor roll in the settlement pattern, but that is yet to come.

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Jerry E. Jones, MD, MS, The Jones Genealogist. Library of Congress No. 6192-01064476.