Allen County

Allen County, the 57th in order of formation, was carved out of Warren and Barren counties, Jan. 11, 1815, and named in honor of Col. John Allen. It is situated in the extreme southern part of the state, and is bounded on the north by Warren and Barren counties, east by Barren and Monroe, south by the state of Tennessee, and west by Simpson and Warren counties. The land is rather hilly; soil in many parts fertile; timber in great abundance; cotton is grown successfully. Big Barren River forms the northern, and more than half of the eastern boundary line; the other streams are Big Trammel, Little Trammel, Puncheon Camp, Long, Walnut, Big Difficult, Little Difficult, East, West, and Sulphur forks of Bay's Fork, Middle and Sulphur forks of Drake's creek, John's, Rough, and Snake creeks, all tributaries of Big Barren River.

There are seven towns:
Scottville, the county-seat, laid out in 1816 and named after Gen. Chas. Scott, the fourth governor of Kentucky, has the court house and 2 churches; population 217;
Gainesville, 8 miles north of Scottville;
Port Oliver, 11 miles north;
Motley, 7 miles northwest;
Allen Springs, 10 miles northwest, the resort of invalids for its excellent sulphur water;
Butlersville, 10 miles west;
Mt. Aerial, 12 miles southwest;
New Roe, 15 miles southwest of Scottville, population 145.

The salt works at Port Oliver, which, in 1846, manufactured 300 bushels of salt per week, are now worked on a very small scale; the salt water is abundant.

Members of the Legislature, since 1859:

Senate
Wm. T. Anthony, 1859-63, but expelled, February. 15, 1862, because "actively engaged in the rebellion against the government," and succeeded by Geo. Wright, 1862-63;
Barton W. Stone, 1865-67, and resigned;
John J. Gatewood, 1871-75.

House of Representatives
J. Wilson Foster, 1859-61;
Jos. W. Heeter, 1861-63;
John J. Gatewood, 1863-67;
Barton W. Stone, 1867-69;
Wm. J. McElroy, 1869-7;
Thos. J. Morehead, 1873-75.

Allen County was first settled in 1797, at several points east and north of Scottville, by Jos. Ficklin, Toliver Craig, Henry Collins, Daniel Monroe, Abram Wood, and others. The first church organized was by the United Baptists, Jan. 31, 1801, 4 miles north east of Scottville. The first justices of the peace, and who organized the county court on April 10, 1815, at a point 4 miles west of the present county seat, were Walter Thomas, Edward Martin, David Harris, Wm. R. Jackson, John Ragland, Hugh Brown, and Elias Pitchford; the first sheriff, Thomas Cook; the first clerk, of both county and circuit courts, David Walker.

There is no bank, and has never been a newspaper published in the county. On the Big Trammel and on the West Fork of Bay's Fork creeks, valuable oil wells have been bored, one of them yielding 200 barrels per day.

Inscriptions

On the Sulphur fork of Bay's fork of Big Barren River, 7 miles northwest of Scottville, at or near the Sulphur Lick, the following words were found cut in the bark of a beech tree: "James McCall dined here, on his way to Natchez, June 10th, 1770." On Long creek, half a mile from where it empties into Barren River, about 8 miles east of Scottville, on the lands of Col. S. E. Carpenter, near where his mill stands, the following is inscribed on a large beech tree: "Ichabod Clark, mill site, 1779." On the opposite side of the tree, this inscription is found: 'Too sick to get over," date and name not mentioned. At two points near the Big Barren River, one-half a mile below the mouth of Walnut creek, and the other near the mouth of Big Difficult creek, is cut, in the bark of large beech trees, the name of Daniel Boone, once with the date of 1777 (some think it 1797, but the old hunter had removed to Missouri several years before this). There is no doubt that Daniel Boone passed through Allen County, following down the river at least as far as McFadden's Station, 4 miles east of where Bowlinggreen now is, in Warren County. The name of Joe Boone, without date but very old, is cut on a beech tree in the northwest part of the county, near Claypool's mill.

Caves

There are a number of caves in the county, but few of which have been explored to any extent. In one of the caves, in 1844, two shells were found resembling a conchshell. One of the shells is about 18 inches long, has been sawed or cut lengthwise in the middle, having a small hole bored in the little end, so as to be hung up by a string; the other or bowl end, answering a good purpose for a water vessel.

Antiquities

In the west end of the county, 13 miles west from Scottville, and 17 from Bowlinggreen, is one of the most remarkable of the remains of those ancient fortifications, belonging to a people unknown, of whom our country exhibits so many traces. At this place, the Middle Fork of Drake's creek makes a horse-shoe bend, running one mile, and then with a gradual Lend, returning to within thirty feet of the channel where the bend may be said to commence. The partition which divides the channels of the creek at this point is of solid limestone, thirty feet thick at the base, two hundred yards in length, forty feet high, and six feet wide at the top. The top is almost perfectly level, and covered with small cedar trees. The area included within the bend of the creek, is to the east of this narrow pass, and contains about two hundred acres of land, rising from the creek in a gradual ascent of one hundred feet, where it forms a bold promontory. The top of this is leveled and forms a square area containing about three acres, enclosed with walls and a ditch. The outer ditch is still perceptible, and the walls are now about three feet high around the whole circuit of the fort. In the rear of this are to be seen many small mounds.

At the west side of the narrow pass, and immediately at its termination, there is a hill similar to the one on the east. Here is to be seen a small mound forty feet in circumference and four feet high. Upon excavating one side of this mound, a stone coffin was dug up, two and a half feet long, one foot wide and one foot deep, with a stone covering, the top of the coffin projecting one inch beyond the sides. Upon opening the coffin, the arm and thigh bones of an infant were found. This coffin being removed, others of larger dimensions were discovered, but not removed. Many very huge human bones have been exhumed from the mounds in this county, some of the thigh bones measuring from eight to ten inches longer than the race of men now inhabiting the country.

This county received its name from Col. John Allen, who fell in the disastrous battle of the river Raisin. He was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia, the 30th of December, 1773. His father, James Allen, emigrated to Kentucky in the fall of the year 1780, and settled at Dougherty's station, on Clark's run, about one and a half miles below the present town of Danville. Here he termed an acquaintance with Joseph Daveiss, the father of Col. Joseph Hamilton Daveiss. Becoming impatient of the close confinement of the station, these fearless and ardent men removed farther down the creek, and erecting a small station, lived there for three years. At the expiration of this period, Mr. Daveiss purchased a tract of land three or four miles west of Danville, and removed to it.

In 1784, the father of John Allen removed to Nelson County, and settled on Simpson's creek, seven and a half miles from Bardstown. In 1786, the subject of this notice attended a school in Bardstown, kept by a Mr. Shackleford, where he acquired a slight knowledge of the classics. This school was succeeded by one under the charge of Dr. James Priestly, with whom young Allen finished his education. At this school, Joseph H. Daveiss, John Rowan, Felix Grundy, Archibald Cameron, John Pope, and John Allen, all distinguished in after life, formed one class.

In the year 1791, John Allen commenced the study of the law in the office of Col. Archibald Stewart, of Stanton, Va. He pursued his legal studies with great assiduity for about four years, and in 1795, he returned to Kentucky and settled in Shelbyville, where he continued to practice law till 1812. As a lawyer, he ranked with the first men of his profession.

On the breaking out of the war in 1812, he raised a regiment of riflemen, for the campaign under Harrison in the north-west. Part of this regiment was in the battle of Brownstown, on the 18th of January, 1813. In the fatal battle of the river Raisin, Col. Allen's regiment formed the left wing of the American force. The termination of this affair is too well known to require recapitulation here; and among the many noble and chivalrous Kentuckians who there found a bloody grave, there was none whose loss was more sensibly felt or deeply deplored than Col. Allen. Inflexibly just, benevolent in all his feelings, and of undaunted courage, he was a fine specimen of the Kentucky gentleman of that day, and his name will not soon pass away from the memory of his countrymen.


Source: History of Kentucky, Volume II, by Lewis Collins, Published by Collins & Company,
Covington, Kentucky, 1874

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