Beattyville and Lee County have a rich commercial history. From the earliest times American Natives harvested the resources of the area. The earliest inhabitants were cave dwellers in the Big and Little Sinking Creek area; they hunted and farmed. In latter times, the Shawnee to the north, and the Cherokee to the south, exploited the plentiful game, and often clashed in this Dark and Bloody Ground - this no-man's land. A major route for these Indian nations was the Athawominee, or the "Path of the Armed Ones."  It ran from the Cherokee nation in the Carolinas, through the Cumberland Gap, north to Lake Erie. A branch of this trail ran along the South Fork of the Kentucky River, through the Beattyville - Proctor area.

In 1750, Thomas Walker explored the Three Forks area, and specifically Walker Creek. Later, in the 1760s, other explorers and long hunters, like Daniel Boone, the Skaggs brothers, and James Knox explored the Kentucky highlands.

The colonial settlement of Kentucky began in the 1770s. Settlements were located at Harrodsburg on the Dix River, Boonesborough on the Kentucky River, Boiling Spring, and Logan Station.  From Boonesborough, the Kentucky River and its tributaries provided  access to travel deep into the mountains. These early pioneers hunted and trapped throughout the Three Forks area. One of Boone's guides, Jacob Miller, eventually settled in the St. Helens area.

Kentucky became a strategic objective of the British as the Revolutionary War progressed. The major settlements were targets of the Indians that had allied with the British.  Several expeditions were raised to protect the frontier, and the recruits were promised Kentucky land in return for their service.

After the Revolutionary War, many veterans settled in the mountains of Kentucky.  One of these was Archibald D. McGuire; he fought in the battle of Tippecanoe. He came to the Three Forks area from the Boonesborough Settlement in 1799. He settled on what is now the James H. McIntosh farm in the located in Proctor Kentucky, the site of a large spring.

The major source of income was farming, but in those early days two new industries appeared -- pine tar and saltpeter production. The tar-kiln builders lived where the great Yellow Pine forests stood. They came to harvest the pine knots which lay in rotting fallen trees. They would pile these into a cone, cover them with dirt, and then burn them. They dug troughs in the ground to collect the tar that flowed from their earthen kiln, and shipped it around the world -- much of it being used for the US Navy and Great Lakes shipping. The NitreGatherers lived near the cliffs. They searched under the cliffs and in the caverns where they gathered the saltpeter, a key ingredient of gun powder, which in that day brought a handsome price. Coal mining started as early as 1810 when Henry Beatty, a founder of Estill County, and his son Samuel, operated a coal mine.

In 1848 the town of Proctor was established. It was named after Joseph Proctor, a companion of Daniel Boone, who traveled often in the area as a circuit preacher. Early Proctor enterprises included hotels, groceries, carpentry, basket making, boat building, salt gathering, coal mining,  timber operations, and flour milling.

Samuel and Patience Kelly Beatty sold their land along the Kentucky River to encourage the establishment of a town across from Proctor. In 1850 "Beattyille" was chartered.

In 1862 the  Proctor flour mill was burned by troops of CSA Colonel John Hunt Morgan as he attempted to stop the retreat of General George W. Morgan (USA) from Cumberland Gap.

Lee County was established as Kentucky's 115th county on March 1, 1870 from part of Owsley, Wolfe, Breathitt, and Estill.   Although never official announced, it was probably named for Confederate General Robert E. Lee.   The first court was held in the Old Howerton House in Proctor on April 25, 1870.  James Madison Beatty , the first County Attorney, and his wife Josephine, donated land in Beattyville for a courthouse and jail, and the county seat soon moved to Beattyville.

The Three Forks Region began to evolve as a key economic center of Eastern Kentucky. It was a center of operations for gathering and moving the immense natural resources of timber, coal, and oil down the Kentucky River and along the new railroads being built. The Swan-Day Lumber Co., one of the largest in the world, operated a large saw mill and lumber yard in West Beattyville ( known as Slab Town about the turn of the century for the many homes built of lumber from the mill. ) This great economic expansion created demand for increased services to include banking, transportation, real-estate development, and communications.

In 1917 Lee County was the site of an oil boom. However, it was short lived. In the 1920s, oil, along with timber and coal operations began to dwindle. In 1929 the depression further hampered commercial enterprises.

Today Lee County continues to be the location of timber and oil operations. It has seen the recent development of businesses in healthcare, data processing, textiles manufacturing, tourism, and other areas. Agriculture remains an important source of revenue in this rural community.

Chronology of Significant Commercial Dates In Lee County History

May 1750	Thomas Walker Explores "Walker's Creek"
ca.1818	Henry Beatty & son Samuel Operate Coal Mines
1840	Billy Booth Water Mill Built on Lower Devil's Creek
Feb 1846	Proctor Post Office Established
1850	Beattyville Incorporated
Oct 1854	Devil's Creek Post Office Established
Sep 1858	Beattyville Post Office Established
Feb 1859	Bear Creek Post Office Established
Sep 1862	Civil War Skirmish at Beattyville
Jan 1870	Lee County Established, Proctor County Seat
Sep 1871	Old Landing Post Office Established
Mar 1872	Beattyville Incorporated
Mar 1878	Winchester & Beattyville RR Incorporated
Feb 1881	Pryse Post Office Established
Mar 1883	Zachariah Post Office Established
Mar 1883	Lewellen Post Office (St. Helens) Established
May 1883	First Newspaper, The Three Forks Enterprise
Nov 1885	Beattyville Woman's Club Organized
Jun 1887	Jackson and Beattyville Telephone Company Established
Nov 1887	Beattyville & St. Helens Telephone Company Established
Nov 1892	Beattyville Telephone and Telegraph Company Established
May 1888	The Deposit Bank of Beattyville Incorporated
Nov 1888	St. Helens Post Office Established
1889	Kentucky River Lumber Company
Aug 1889	Three Forks Deposit Bank Established
1889	Three Forks Investment Company Prospectus Issued
Sep 1890	Fincastle Post Office Established
1890	Beattyville, Proctor, Booneville Steamboat & Trans. Co.
May 1891	Richmond, Irvine, Beattyville RR to be Sold
1891	Three Forks Lumber Company Incorporated
1891	Beattyville Fair Company
Oct 1892	Tallega Post Office Established
1892	Beattyville Elevator Company Established
Jul 1893	Primrose Post Office Established
Jun 1894	St. Thomas Church Corner Stone Laid
Oct 1894	Kentucky Union Railway conveyed to Lexington & Eastern RR
1896	Roberts Distilling Company
May 1896	Beattyville Machine Work Company Established
Nov 1898	Delvinta Post Office Established
Sep 1901	Beattyville Bank Opens
April 1902	Beattyville Telephone Company
Mar 1904	Heidelberg Post Office Established
Mar 1904	White Ash Post Office Established
Mar 1904	Evelyn Post Office Established
Mar 1904	Williba Post Office Established
Dec 1905	Three Forks Ferry Company Established
May 1906	Beattyville and Proctor Bridge Company
Jul 1906	Beattyville Home Telephone Company
Feb 1908	Ida May Post Office Established
May 1908	Bear Track Post Office Established
Jul 1909	Belle Point Post Office Established
Oct 1909	Canyon Falls Post Office Established
Aug 1912	Peoples Exchange Bank Established
Dec 1913	Kentucky Rockcastle & Cumberland RR Inc. in Lee Co.
Oct 1915	Lexington & Eastern Railway Conveyed to Louisville &Nashville Railroad
Jul 1917	Fixer Post Office Established
Jun 1919	Big Sinking Post Office Established
Sep 1920	Lee County Commercial Bank
Oct 1920	Leeco Post Office Established
Feb 1922	Swan Day Lumber Co. Incorporated
Feb 1923	Beattyville Kiwanis Chartered
Mar 1924	Beattyville Credit Union
Nov 1926	Athol Post Office Established
Mar 1934	Congelton Brothers and Garrett Ambulance Service
Sep 1935	Lee County Farm Bureau Established
Oct 1940	WBKY- Beattyville's First Radio Broadcast
Feb 1941	Yellow Rock Post Office Established
Dec 1941	Lee County Coop Established
Jun 1956	Last Steam Passenger Train at Beattyville
Jan 1957	Devastating Flood
Apr 1962	Proctor T.V. Established
Jul 1965	Lee County Rescue Squad
1967	Lycoming Shoe Company Opens
Apr 1970	Lee County Personal Care Home Incorporated
1976	Villa Lutz Stained Glass Company Established
1977	Lion Apparel Manufacturing Opens
Mar 1977	Lee County Senior Citizens Incorporated
Sep 1977	Gasoline Truck Explodes and Destroys Sections of Beattyville
Jun 1979	Sheltowee Trace Dedicated in Honor of Daniel Boone
Jul 1979	New Courthouse Dedicated
Sep 1981	Beattyville Dental Clinic
Jun 1984	DataCom Opens
Oct 1988	First Woolly Worm Festival
Nov 1989	First Three Forks Tradition Newspaper Printed
Jul 1985	Kentucky Mountain Farms Cooperative, Inc.
Sep 1986	Ashland Oil Shuts Down its Lee County Wells
Nov 1999	Chamber Website Established
2000	Beattyville Website Established
2005	Farmer's State Bank
Nov 2005	Center Villiage Completed

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Editor's Note: We welcome contributions from any source to help build a rich historical page with a commercial viewpoint. Please contact the Webmaster at the e-mail link at the bottom of this page if you would like to help in the development of this page, or have comments, suggestions, or corrections concerning Lee County and Beattyville Commercial History.

Credits: Much of the information on this page came from Annual Historical Calendars available from the Three Forks Tradition Newspaper, and information for the books, Lee County History, Vol. II, published by the Lee County Historical Society, and Lee County Communities: A Link With Our Past.  These publications are available from the Lee County Library. We are indebted also to those individuals who have contributed information directly to us.