Big Bone Lick Chronology

with links to Documents

Time Line

Colonel Wood explores Kentucky. He reached as far as the Mississippi River.

John Lederer makes three trips into the Blue Ridge Mountains.

James Needham and Gabriel Arthur explore the region of Tennessee.

John Salling of Williamsburg, Virginia, is the first American to explore Western Kentucky. He was captured by the Indians.

Some Canadians on their way to Illinois find near the Ohio River "the skeletons of seven elephants." This was probably not Big Bone Lick, according to Dr. George G. Simpson, but another location, probably in Trimble County.

French Canadian captain Charles Lemoyne de Longueil finds fossils in Kentucky. Many people think this was at Big Bone Lick in Boone County, but this is uncertain He sent the bones he found to Louis XV in France.

Many bones are taken from Big Bone Lick to France.

Robert Smith collects bones from Big Bone Lick

1742

John Howard crosses into Kentucky from Virginia.

Lower Shawneetown a major Indian settlement in Kentucky is established.

Dr. Thomas Walker of Virginia leads a party of Americans through the Cumberland Gap.

The Ohio Company hires Christopher Gist to explore Kentucky.

Christopher Gist visits Big Bone Lick and Blue Licks in March of this year with a serving boy and a pack horse. Following this he visited Drennon's Lick. And proceeded to the Kentucky River near Frankfort.

The word "Kentucke" is first used.

Mary Ingles was captured by the Shawnee near Blacksburg, Virginia. She and a Dutch woman were taken to Big Bone Lick. They made their escape while procuring salt at Big Bone Lick.

French traders establish the first village in Kentucky, opposite Portsmouth, Ohio.

A party of hunters led by Elisha Walden come through Cumberland Gap and explore the Cumberland River.

Indians at Fort Pitt bartered a tooth and a piece of tusk, probably from Big Bone, for trade goods. These artifacts eventually reached Benjamin Franklin in London.

Letter from James Wright to John Bartram about Indian Legends of Big Bone Lick

The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the French and Indian War.

King George III issues the Proclamation of 1763 prohibiting settlements west of the Appalachian Mountains.

George Croghan visits Big Bone Lick and takes away a single tusk. (May 30-31)

George Croghan returns to Big Bone Lick. He carries off tusks and other remains.

Capt. Henry Gordon, chief engineer in the Western Department in North America, visits Big Bone Lick. He described them minutely.

Col. George Morgan visits Big Bone Lick and proceeds down the Ohio River to Ft. Chartres in Illinois where he is an Indian trader.

George Washington began the first survey made in Kentucky. This survey was made on both sides of the Big Sandy River. He made another on the Little Sandy River.

Article by John Hunter published in the Transactions of the Royal Society

The Treaty of Fort Stanwix deeds to the British crown the title to lands south of the Ohio River and east of the Tennessee River and southward to the border of North Carolina.

Daniel Boone, John Findley, John Stuart (Boone's brother-in-law), and three men other men cross into Kentucky.

William Christian is granted land at Big Bone Lick by Gov. Thomas Jefferson

Daniel Boone comes to Big Bone, travels west along the south bank of the Ohio, reaches the Falls of the Ohio, and follows the Kentucky to near Frankfort.

Falls of the Ohio. 1796

The Long Hunters enter Kentucky through the Cumberland Gap. Among these was James Graham.

Simon Kenton and others visit the Ohio River Valley. They navigated the tributary streams.

George Rogers Clark at Fort Pitt (now Pittsburgh).

1773

James Douglass camps with a party at Big Bone Lick. They collected many tusks, some of them ten to twelve feet in length, and used enormous rib bones to support their tents.

The American settlements had reached 350 miles below the mouth of Fort Pitt.

Pennsylvania veterans of the French and Indian War survey Virginia lands near the Ohio River in the Thompson Expedition.

Thomas Bullitt and a company of over forty men, including James Harrod and Hubbard Taylor, survey parts of Kentucky, reaching the Falls of the Ohio. Bullitt, Taylor, and the McAfees ventured into Northern Kentucky.

Daniel Boone brings his family to Kentucky but turns back when his son is killed in an Indian attack.

Thomas Hanson's Journal from his trip on the Ohio River in 1774

Lord Dunmore's War begins a twenty-year struggle between Indians and whites for Kentucky and the Ohio Valley.

James Harrod, Abram Hite, Jacob Sandusky, and others navigated the Kentucky. They arrived in what is presently Mercer County. The company begin laying out Harrodstown.

Daniel Boone, thirty-five men, and two women blaze the Wilderness Trail into Kentucky and establish Fort Boonesborough in present-day Madison County.

Nicholas Cresswell at Big Bone collected fossils and hunted bison. Journal (1774-1777).

Richard Henderson purchases a large portion of Kentucky from a group of Cherokee in the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals.

St. Asaph, later called Logan's Fort, is erected about a mile west of the present-day courthouse in Stanford.

McClelland's Station, the first stockaded station north of the Kentucky River, is founded in present-day Georgetown.

Simon Kenton and Thomas Williams enter Kentucky at Limestone Creek and nearby plant what is probably the first corn crop north of the Kentucky River.

Pennsylvanians stake out Lexington and name it after the historic Massachusetts battle. Permanent settlement begins four years later.

The Kentucky National Guard, one of the oldest military organizations in the United States, is organized under the name of the Kentucky Militia.

Kentucky County created along with Montgomery County and Washington County to replace Fincastle County. This makes Virginia's claim to Kentucky definite.

About 200 people live in Kentucky, mainly in the forts at Boonesborough, Harrodsburg, and Logan's Station.

Jane Coomes organizes at Harrodsburg what is probably the first school in Kentucky.

Molly Logan is the first black woman to arrive in Kentucky.

Jemima Boone and the Calloway girls are captured by Indians and rescued by Daniel Boone.

The first Baptists, Filson calls them Ana-baptists, an old European name for them, enter Kentucky. Filson says they are the first to ever have public service in the state.

A group of frontiersmen kill Shawnee Chief Cornstalk, a son, and some other Indians at Point Pleasant.

After his capture by Shawnee while on a saltmaking expedition, Daniel Boone is adopted by Chief Blackfish and his wife.

Daniel Boone escapes from the Shawnee and travels 160 miles in four days to warn the settlers at Fort Boonesborough of an impending invasion. The ensuing siege lasts ten days.

Petition of the Inhabitants of Kentucky Concerning Salt Licks. 25 November.

The House of Delegates meet at Boonesborough under a huge elm tree. They pass laws and sign a compact between the proprietors and the settlers.

George Rogers Clark's small army and several families land on Corn Island near the Falls of the Ohio. They erected a fort.

George Rogers Clark and a hundred seventy-five men take Kaskaskia by surprise.

Long Island Conference near Holston, Virginia. Col William Christian, one of the Peace Commissioners who opened the Conference, was the first owner of the land and springs at Big Bone.

Salt Petition to Virginia

Louisville is founded.

Bryan's Station is erected in present-day Fayette County.

Squire Boone establishes a station in Shelby County.

Floyd's Station is built at St. Matthews, Jefferson County.

Colonel John Bowman, the first military governor of Kentucky, establishes Bowman's Station in Mercer County.

Strode's Station is established in what is now Clark County.

Craig's Station settled by Baptists seeking religious freedom established east of Lexington.

All of the major Virginia land laws have been passed.

Forts built in Kentucky. Fort Jefferson, Fort Nelson, and possibly at this time a fort at Big Bone Lick to protect the salt makers. It is shown on Cooper's map of 1831.

Kentucky County, Virginia, is divided into Fayette, Jefferson, and Lincoln Counties. Kentucky County becomes the District of Kentucky.

Dr. Thomas Walker runs the deviant survey of Kentucky's southern boundary that becomes known as Walker's Line.

Samuel Goodwin founds a fort on the Salt River west of present-day Bardstown.

One hundred fifty settlers are captured when Martin's and Ruddle's Forts are attacked by nearly 1000 warriors led by British captain Henry Bird.

The over 600 inhabitants of Kentucky and Illinois ask the Continental Congress to form a new state along the Ohio Valley.

Transylvania Seminary (later becomes Transylvania University) is founded.

1781 Kentucky in a state of seige; Alexander Henry in the North West asked the Royal Society to finance exploration of the High Country

A Virginia act allows the county courts to have surveys done for people who can not pay for them.

Pottenger's Station is established in Nelson County.

The first Baptist congregation in Kentucky is established near present-day Elizabethtown in Severen's Valley.

Lewis and Elijah Craig lead 500 members of the Traveling Church from Virginia to present-day Lancaster and found Gilbert's Creek Station.

The Row-galley "Miami" is built and lands at Big Bone

Jefferson to Clark on the fossils at Big Bone Lick. Clark promised to send a collection of bones. George Rogers Clark had decided that the Mastodon was not carnivorous

Indians at an intertribal council decide to eliminate the Kentucky settlements while British help is still available.

Native American and Canadian forces defeat a disorganized group of settlers at the Battle of Blue Licks in present-day Robertson County.

Monk Estill becomes the first freed slave in Kentucky history.

Supreme Court set up for the District of Kentucky.

Jefferson asked for more bones, he hinted at the expedition to the west.

The Virginia General Assembly creates the District of Kentucky as a judicial region.

John Filson publishes The Discovery, Settlement, and Present State of Kentucke

Spanish authorities close the Mississippi River and New Orleans to American trade.

John Clark family, with 14 year old William, set out for Kentucky.

The first statehood convention is held in Danville to discuss separation from Virginia. (December 27)

Christopher Columbus Graham (1784 - 1885), the son of a Long Hunter, and excavator at Big Bone Lick for the Public Museum of Kentucky, is born at Worthington Station.

The first Presbyterian congregations in Kentucky are organized, by David Rice including the Pisgah Church near Versailles.

Nelson County is created.

Valley View Ferry begins operation on the Kentucky River between present-day Fayette and Madison Counties.

Catholic families from Maryland settle in present-day Nelson and Scott Counties.

Bourbon, Madison, and Mercer Counties are created.

Second Statehood Convention meets. (May 23)

Third Statehood Convention meets. (August 8)

Fifty Dutch families found Low Dutch Colony in Mercer County.

Bishop Francis Asbury appoints James Haw and Benjamin Ogden circuit riders for the District of Kentucky.

Bryan Station Baptist Church is organized.

The Danville Political Club is organized.

Frankfort is founded.

James Wilkinson journeys to New Orleans to convince the Spanish governor that Kentucky is about to separate from the United States.

John Bradford of Lexington begins printing the state's first newspaper, The Kentucke Gazette.

Mason and Woodford Counties are created.

William Clark rode with Col. John Hardin's volunteers

The Fourth Enabling Act in the Virginia Compact sets the conditions of separation.

Harmon's Station, founded on the Big Sandy River, becomes the first permanent settlement in eastern Kentucky.

The Indians launch their last major attack against the settlers in the Chenoweth Massacre near present-day Middletown.

The process for making bourbon whiskey is developed.

The first U.S. census reports 73,077 persons living in Kentucky, 16 percent of them African American slaves.

On June 1, Kentucky becomes the fifteenth state in the Union. Isaac Shelby is inaugurated as the first governor.

1792 John Heckwelder's family camp at Big Bone, notice salt boilers going to and fro.

The legislature approves Frankfort as the state's first capital and the motto "United we Stand, Divided We Fall."

Innes's Station is established northwest of Frankfort.

Logan, Scott, Shelby, and Washington Counties are established.

Gilbert Imlay publishes the novel considered to be Kentucky's first, The Emigrants; or The History of An Expatriated Family.

Clark, Green, and Hardin Counties are established.

Kentucky riflemen fight in the decisive Battle of Fallen Timbers near present-day Toledo, Ohio.

Harrison County is established.

Letter ofEdward Graham to John Breckenridge in which he proposed a Museum to be started with a skeleton from Big Bone

The Treaty of Fort Greenville opens the Northwest Territory to settlers.

Harry Toulmin, James Brown, John Breckinridge, and John Bradford organize a subscription library to serve the subscribers and Transylvania University.

Campbell and Franklin Counties are established.

1796 Capt. William Henry Harrison, a future president, brought men with wagons from Cincinnati, where he lived, to the Lick. They collected 13 hogsheads of bones.

James Garrard is elected governor by electors on a second ballot.

The Pickney Treaty guarantees to Americans freedom of navigation of the Mississippi River and the right of deposit of goods at New Orleans.

The General Assembly gives the county courts authority to oversee road construction and repair.

Henry Clay moves to Kentucky at age twenty.

The Kentucky Jockey Club is organized in Lexington.

Bracken, Bullitt, Christian, Garrard, Montgomery, and Warren Counties are established.

Kentucky passes resolutions denouncing the Alien and Sedition Acts.

A new penal code abolishes the death penalty except for first-degree murder.

Fleming and Livingston Counties are established.

The state's second constitution is adopted.

Transylvania University is established.

Barren, Boone, Cumberland, Gallatin, Henderson, Henry, Jessamine, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Pendleton, and Pulaski Counties are established.

Governor Garrard is elected to a second term.

Napoleon forces Spain to cede the entire Louisiana province to France in the Treaty of San Ildefonso.

Breckinridge, Floyd, Knox, and Nicholas Counties are established.

First Federal Census of Boone County: total population of 1,534; of this number 325 were slaves (more than 1 in 5). There were 15 free blacks.

The total population of Kentucky was 179,873 whites, 40,343 slaves, and 739 free blacks.

Committee was appointed by the Boone County Courty to mark the best way from the courthouse to the salt works on Mud Lick and from thence to Eagle Creek.

First distillery in Boone County, by Archibald Reid.

Jeffersonian Republicans strong and Jefferson elected President.

Garrard was the first Kentucky governor directly elected by the people.

Start of the religious revivals.

Woolper Creek Baptist Church organized.

George Christy becomes the first coroner of Boone County.

John Hall, Sheriff.

John Cave, Elzephan Hume. Alexander McPherson, Justices of the Peace.

Kentucky Legislature fixes number of Justices of Peace for Boone County as not to exceed eight.

Squire Grant was first State Senator from Boone County.

William Arnold was first State Representative from Boone County.

Jefferson became President and Aaron Burr Vice-President.

Napoleon in power in France and gained control of Louisiana in a treaty with Spain, and Spanish officials in New Orleans withdrew the right of deposit at New Orleans.

Biggest of camp meetings in Bourbon County about 30,000.

Jefferson sent Monroe and Livingstone to France and Napoleon offered Louisiana to the US for $15,000,000.

Camp Meeting at Cane Ridge in Bourbon County was attended by more than 20,000.

Kentucky Legislature fixes number of Justices of Peace for Boone County as not to exceed eight.

District and General Courts abolished and Circuit Courts established statewide. Boone, Campbell and Pendleton Counties were in the same district.

William Goforth excavates at Big Bone Lick; David Ross, the owner, refuses further permission to dig

Capt. Lewis visits Big Bone Lick

(4 July) Washington, D.C. - President Jefferson officially sent Lewis on his mission. He gave Lewis a "letter of general credit" dated July 4, 1803. News of the purchase of the Louisiana Territory

was published in the newspapers on this day. (6 July) Harpers Ferry, Va. (now W.Va.); (17 Jul) Elizabeth, Penn., (Pittsburgh area); (31 Aug) Elizabeth, Pennsylvania The 55 foot long keelboat was completed on this day, and Meriwether Lewis began his journey down the Ohio River; (4 Oct) Big Bone Lick, Kentucky. Meriwether Lewis excavated here; (14 Oct) Clarksville, Indiana, to home of George Rogers Clark; Louisville, Kentucky Lewis joined his old friend William Clark, the “young men from Kentucky” joined the expedition; (11 Nov) Fort Massac, Illinois.

Middle Creek (now Belleview) Baptist Church organized.

William Monteague, William Sebree, Archelaus Alloway, Uriel Sebree and John Hall, Justices of the Peace.

Boone County Court of Quarter Sessions to be held on the fourth Monday in March, June and October.

Louisiana Purchase.

John Taylor moves from Boone to Gallatin County.

(6 May) Joseph Brann makes a motion to build a mill at Big Bone (saw and grist) Boone County Court Orders; Court Orders, (3 Jun 1805); the motion is quashed on a technicality.

Cary L. Clark, Judge, and Absalom Graves, Clerk, of Boone Circuit Court.

Jeremiah Kirtley, Justice of the Peace.

Aaron Burr passes through Florence. Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in a dual and went west to escape imprisonment; many in Kentucky regarded him a hero since Hamilton was so disliked.

Big Bone Lick was deeded by David Ross to Wilson Allen, Edmund W. Rootes, and Jacob Myers, to discharge a debt of $14,000 plus interest, though Ross retained possession until 1 August.

John Bush, Sheriff.

Aaron Burr again passes through Florence.

Tanner's Station, on present site of Petersburg, renamed Caledonia.

First Lutheran church organized in Boone County.

Bank of Kentucky was organized; chartered 46 new banks and authorized them to issue paper money.

Shakertown at Pleasant Hill established.

Letter from Dr. William Goforth of Cincinnati to President Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson to George Rogers Clark

Hopeful Lutheran church was organized in Boone County.

Archibald Huston, Sheriff.

Robt. Fulton developed a steamboat suitable for the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.

Capt. Clark visits Big Bone Lick.

Shakers establish South Union in Western Kentucky.

Boone County Court heard a murder charge against Ziba (also known as Zedick) Campfield for beating Ned, a slave boy to death.

Elzephan Hume, Sheriff.

Moses Scott, Justice of the Peace.

An Inspection Station to be Established in Boone County for tobacco, hemp and flour on the lands of Zarah Tousey opposite Lawrenceburg.

Congress outlawed the African slave trade.

Boone and Gallatin Counties made one of the 70 state representative districts.

Boone, Campbell, Gallatin and Pendleton became senatorial district number 25.

School in North Bend Bottoms taught by Thomas Henderson and William Hodges.

Court Order permitting a ten foot high mill dam to be build on Middle Creek.

Boone County population doubled since 1800. The total population doubled; the slave population doubled. Nearly one third of the families in the county owned at least one slave.

Alexander McPherson, Sheriff.

School in East Bend taught by William Hodges.

Commercial lumber production begins in Kentucky.

Willis Graves, Notary Public.

Thomas Streshly advertised 320 acres of second rate land on Big Bone Creek for sale in the Lexington Reporter (2 Feb 1811).

Zadoc Cramer's "Navigator" published in Pittsburgh, 1811, reported on the salt works of James Colquohoun at Big Bone. Colquhoun owns Big Bone Lick and has two extensive salt furnaces at work

Henry Clay elected to Congress from Kentucky. New Orleans, first steamboat on Ohio River, the Enterprise, reaches Louisville from New Orleans, La., in 1815.

Indians in the North West were getting ready for a war; William Henry Harrison attacked first and won a victory at the Battle of Tippecanoe on the Wabash River.

Last commercial salt boiled at Big Bone.

Reelfoot Lake created by the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes.

Kentuckians supply over one-third of the troops for the war with England north of the Ohio and in New Orleans.

War of 1812 against England.

Kentuckians fought at Frenchtown (near Detroit) on the Raisin River.

Isaac Shelby elected governor.

The first Lutheran preacher, William Carpenter, comes to Boone County.

William Sebree, Sheriff.

Two armies of Kentuckians went north to fight the British - about 3000 men under Gen. Green Clay and about 4000 under Shelby.

At this time Oliver Perry defeated the British at the naval Battle of Lake Erie so the British retreated north.

We won a victory at the Battle of the Thames - Tecumseh was killed and the River Raisin were revenged.

Boone Academy established. Trustees: Absalom Graves, Moses Scott, John Flournoy, Jacob Rouse, Jeremiah Kirtley, John Brown, and Mr. Bosson.

Roger Wigginton, Sheriff.

Treaty of Ghent ended the war of 1812.

Clay Hotel established at Big Bone Lick, named after Henry Clay

Kentucky Legislature allowed Boone County another Justice of the Peace.

Bank of Kentucky (organized in 1806) chartered 46 new banks and authorized them to issue paper money.

James M. Gaines was the postmaster at Walton, then known as Gaines Cross Roads.

Kentuckians in the Battle of New Orleans (occurred after the peace was signed).

There were 500 black volunteers that fought for the US.

War of 1812 left the US nearly bankrupt.

John D. Clifford excavates at Big Bone Lick (possibly in 1817)

Ferry to and from Rising Sun, operated by Mr. Meeks.

Abner Gaines, Sheriff.

Mammoth Cave first promoted (second oldest tourist attraction in the U.S.)

Petersburg Steam Mill incorporated (Absalom Graves, John J. Flournoy, Whitfield Early, John Terrell, James Conn).

Caledonia, oldest settlement in Boone County, renamed Petersburg.

Town of Petersburg incorporated. Trustees: Jacob Piatt, Benjamin G. Willis, John Alloway, Jr., Rufus H. S. Bostwick, and Archibald Huston.

Bank established in Petersburg: The Petersburg Steam Mill Company with $100,000 capitol stock.

Bank established in Burlington: Bank of Burlington with $100,000 capitol stock.

Boone County allowed two more Justices of the Peace.

Boone Academy authorized by the Legislature to raise $5000 by lottery.

Jeremiah Kirtley, Sheriff.

Jas. M. Preston and Benjamin Fowler, Justices of the Peace.

Stagecoach line from Cincinnati to Lexington by Abner Gaines.

First oil well in Kentucky.

First major waterway alterations made to navigable rivers in Kentucky.

The Jackson purchase was annexed after being bought from the Chicasaw Indians.

1818 Jackson Purchase (7 million acres) negotiated with the Chickasaw Indians by Isaac Shelby and Andrew Jackson.

Gen. George Rogers Clark died.

Collection of Bones made for the Western Museum Society of Cincinnati

Sand Run Baptist Church organized.

East Bend Baptist Church organized.

Burlington Library Company incorporated.

First commercial coal mine in Kentucky, known as the “McLean drift bank” opened in Muhlenberg County Kentucky.

The first commercial oil well in Kentucky, on the Cumberland River in McCreary County.

Centre College founded.

Gen. John Adair, an 1812 War hero, elected governor.

Replevin Law passed and creditors had to accept notes of the Bank of the Commonwealth which were virtually worthless.

First house built on the site of Florence, about 1819-1820.

Joseph Graves, Sheriff.

Cave Johnson and Moses Scott, Justices of the Peace.

A small corner of Gallatin County was added to Boone County.

Daniel Boone died in Missouri.

Missouri applied for statehood.

Constantine S. Rafinesque, Science Professor at Transylvania University, visits Big Bone Lick and the Landing.

The steamboat “General Pike” built at Big Bone

The steamboat “Pilot” built at Big Bone

Levy for tools to be used on public roads in Boone County.

Benjamin Willis, Sheriff.

The Replevin Law was ruled unconstitutional.

The "General Pike", a high-pressure steamboat of 150 tons, was built at Big Bone.

Burlington was incorporated.

Whitfield Early, Sheriff.

The Court of Appeals had thrown out the Replevin Law; they abolished the Old Court and established a new court. The Old Court refused to be abolished; there were now two courts.

The "Pilot", a low-pressure steamboat of 150 tons, was built at Big Bone.

Letter of Archibald Huston to Abraham Wiseman proposing to buy 50 acres of land.

The court issue went to the voters and the Old Court group won the house but the New Court supporters kept control of the senate.

John M. Merrill, Sheriff.

Edward Fowler brought the first buggy to Boone County.

LaFayette and his son spend the night in Florence.

The law abolishing the Old Court was repealed; the old court was back in.

Two high-pressure steamboats, the "Chesapeake" and the "Speedwell", were built at Big Bone.

Additional Constable granted Boone County for Petersburg.

Additional Justice of the Peace for Boone County.

Cooper and Cozzens, excavate and make maps.

New trustees of "Burlington Academy" appointed by the Legislature (actually Boone Academy - in 1833 this act was revalidated under the correct name): Erastus Tousey, Jas. M. Preston, Edward S. Armstrong, Richard Collins, Willis Calvert, Nathaniel E. Hawes and Churchill Gaines.

Prof. William Cooper of New York vists Big Bone Lick to study the bones and the geology of the area.

Andrew Jackson won the Presidency; he carried Kentucky over John Adams who was backed by Henry Clay.

Louis Web surveys Big Bone Lick for the owner, Thomas Carneal

Capt Benjamin Finnell, a resident of of Big Bone Lick, makes a collection of bones; William Bullock also makes a collection

The town of Florence was incorporated; the population was 62, with an area of about 5 acres; the name changed from Connersville. Trustees: Pitman Cloudas, Jacob Shotts, B. A. Collins, Henry Stuck and William T. Bainbridge.

Abner Gaines of Boone County was among six commissioners appointed to examine the Georgetown and Cincinnati Turnpike.

Thos. Connelly, Sheriff.

James Brown was the postmaster at Union.

Peak iron ore production in Kentucky. 1830 - 1860.

2,000 tons of coal mined in Kentucky.

Louisville and Portland Canal opened.

By 1830 there was a canal at the Falls of the Ohio and Louisville had become a major shipping port and passed Lexington in size and importance.

Boone County Court authorized by the Legislature to established a road from Big Bone Lick through East Bend Bottom to Waggner's Ferry opposite Rising Sun, Indiana.

Richwood Presbyterian church organized.

Cave Johnson, Sheriff.

Rafinesque publishes an account of his visit to Big Bone in 1821.

Henry Clay and Andrew Jackson ran for President; Clay carried Kentucky but not win the election.

First Rail Road in Kentucky; the cars were pulled by horses and went from Lexington to Louisville.

1833

Nullification Crisis. Nullifiers had "collected in considerable numbers" at the Big Bone Lick, according to the Kentucky Gazette (19 Jan 1833. p. 3.)
Legislature decides that all fines in Boone County are to be appropriated for benefit of the Boone Academy.

Cholera outbreak in Lexington, which kills 1,500 people in less than 10 days.

1834

Chasteen Scott, Sheriff.

Legislature repealed the section regarding the fines to be paid to Boone Academy.

First railroad in Kentucky. completed - Lexington to Frankfort.

1835

Town of Landing established. Plat laid out by Joel Hamilton and George McGlasson. Trustees: Wm. Winston, Jr., George McGlasson, Joel Hamilton, Henry L. Rose, James Dukan.

Constable added for Landing.

Constable added for East Bend neighborhood.

County Clerk Willis Graves died; his successor Isham G. Hamilton required to record deeds and other instruments.

Joshua Zimmerman donated land on Dry Creed, near Florence, for a schoolhouse.

First Christian church organized in Boone County.

First locomotive west of the Alleghenies began service from Lexington.

James G. Birney of Danville formed the Kentucky Anti- Slavery Society.

Burlington Turnpike established from Porter's Ferry on the Ohio opposite Lawrenceburg, to a point on the Covington and Lexington Turnpike towards the direction of Georgetown.

John Cave, Sheriff.

Kentucky River Lock and Dam construction begins.

150,000 tons of coal mined in Kentucky.

Kentucky. Geological Survey formed.

Act of the Kentucky Legislature establishing a Common School System. Boone County was divided into 26 school districts.

Joseph Bullock, a Centre graduate, became the 1st superintendent of education for the state.

Charter of Burlington Turnpike Company amended to require the road to be located so as to pass through Union.

Boone Election Precincts established: Home of Jacob Shotts in Florence, home of Alanson Adams in Union, home of Jesse Gregory Burlington, home of George Black in the "lower precinct.

Boundary between Boone and Gallatin redefined.

Town of Union incorporated. Trustees: John C. Riley, John P. White, Morris Lassing, James Brown, Alanson Adams and Henry F. B. Childres.

Union Literary Society authorized to promote literature and education.

Benj. Watts, Sheriff.

Boone - Gallatin line made more particular.

Kentucky becomes the first state to permit suffrage of any kind for women; property-owning single women were given the right to vote in school board elections.

First public school system in Kentucky was begun in Louisville.

First School term ever held in Boone County; three months.

First public school system in Kentucky was begun in Louisville.

Two more Justices of the Peace authorized for Boone County at Union and Francisville.

Charter of Petersburg amended. Five trustees appointed: Hugh M. Allen, William Snyder, Wm. H. Chapin, William Fisher and Benj. Emley.

10,000 acres, the "Gordon Tract", was offered for sale in Boone County.

Town of Walton established. Constable and magistrate to be appointed.

Town of Landing trustees appointed for one year or until election: William R. Johnson, Benj. E. Garnett, John F. Allen, John M. Brasher, and Middleton S. M'Manima.

Samuel Hardesty, Sheriff.

The peak years of Boone County's slave population: 2183 slaves in 1840 census, which was 21.8% of the total population of 10,034.

One-fourth of Kentucky's population was slaves.

Kenton County created from Campbell.

Big Bone Lick visited by Sir Charles Lyell.

City limits of Florence enlarged.

Morgan Academy (name changed from Boone Academy) in honour of Allan Morgan, whose slaves and property were transferred to the academy.

Burlington Baptist Church organized.

Lyell returns to Big Bone.

First Methodist church organized in Boone County.

Big Bone Baptist Church organized.

100,000 tons of Kentucky. coal production.

Robert Walton, Sheriff.

Clay was the Whig candidate and he opposed annexation of Texas. Clay feared annexation would mean war with Mexico, and his stand cost him the election.

Elections in Landing to be held at the house of Benj. E. Garnett.

Justices of Peace in Boone County to be reduced to 15, and no vacancies are to be filled until then.

Samuel Hardesty, Sheriff.

Cassius Clay began his anti-slavery newspaper in Kentucky, "The True American".

Road from Carlton's Ferry on the Ohio to Union and then to the Covington and Lexington Turnpike.

Lewis Webb and Leonard Stephens and County surveyors appointed to mark the line between Boone and Kenton Counties.

Boone and Kenton Counties to be part of the Fourth Judicial District.

The name of the Town of Landing changed to Hamilton in honour of Joel Hamilton. Trustees:

Benj. E. Garnett, John J. Miller, Marshall M. McManama, James R. Hawkins and Richard Johnson.

John P. Graves, Sheriff

The Mexican War begins.

Burlington and Florence Turnpike incorporated.

Burlington and Hamilton authorized to levy taxes.

Election precinct established in Walton at house of Garrett Brooks.

Creation of a General Index to County Deeds, etc., authorized by the state legislature.

Moses Scott Rice was Boone County Surveyor.

Robert Vickers, Sheriff.

Burlington authorized to levy poll taxes and a tax on real estate.

Hamilton authorized to levy a real estate tax, not to exceed fifty cents per hundred dollars. Same trustees as previous year.

Additional Boone County constable for Union.

John P. Gaines was the first Boone Countian elected to Congress.

David Leidy began scientific description of the fauna of Big Bone.

Election precinct established at home of James Carleton.

William J. Sanford, Sheriff.

Benj. W. White, Sheriff.

Town of Hamilton, limits extended. Citizens not required to work on the road more than half a mile from the new limit.

Slave Murder. Gabrial, a slave, killed another slave Edwin. The local paper cautions people not to make up their minds about the matter, as that would make it impossible to form a jury.

275 acres for sale on the waters of Gum Branch and Landing Creeks by John Q. Johnson.

John Uri Lloyd born in New York state.

Land was purchased from Lewis Conner for $125 for a school at Florence.

Zachary Taylor, Kentucky hero of Mexican War, becomes 12th president of United States.

Florence Academy established. Trustees: Paschal Conner, B. F. Rust, Samuel Craig, Jacob J. Carpenter, John M. Stevenson.

There were 46 children in Florence between the ages of 5 and 16.

The town of Walton had a population of 50.

Union had a population of 50.

Henry F. James, Sheriff.

Additional Boone County Justice of the Peace and a Constable allowed in Walton.

Election precinct established at home of A. H. Hedges, Taylorsport.

Limits of Taylorsport and Petersburg extended.

Kentucky was the 8th most populated state in the nation in the 1850 census. There were 982,405 citizens listed.

In the 1850 census the number of slaves in Boone County dropped to 2104, which was 18.8% of the total population of 11,185. One third of the slaves in Boone County were under ten years of age. Almost half of them (48%) were under the age of 15.

There were 37 "free colored" people in Boone county.

The Third Kentucky Constitution and all the slave provisions were kept in the Fourth Constitution, and in addition emancipated slaves were required to leave the state.

New Charter for Burlington and Florence Turnpike.

Napoleon and Big Bone Lick Turnpike.

Union and Beaver Turnpike chartered.

Big Bone Hotel Company incorporated for 100 years. $50,000 stock sold by: M. M. McManama, J. Russell Hawkins, Joseph C. Hughes, B. M. Allen, Esau Click, Thomas Rouse, John W. Leathers.

William J. Sanford, Sheriff; died in office.

Hamilton and Union Turnpike chartered.

James Calvert, Sheriff.

Lexington to Louisville railroad completed.

Henry Clay died.

Lloyd family migrates to Boone County.

First Agricultural Fair in Boone County.

Berea College opened for blacks and whites.

The Garner family, slaves of Archibald Gaines, flee to the home of Elijah Kite in Cincinnati. Margaret Garner murders her daughter rather than see her returned to slavery.

Lewis Loder of Petersburg starts a diary which he keeps daily records for over fifty years.

A building was constructed for the Morgan Academy in Burlington.

The Lloyd family moves from Petersburg to Florence.

334 acres for sale in Boone County by Geo. T. Gaines.

Hon. Jno. W. Stevenson gives a major political speech at Big Bone.

J. J. Dulaney is representative from Boone County.

D. L. Youell and Charles Chambers run for the Senate from this district (Boone, Carroll, and Gallatin).

John Uri Lloyd writes "The Kentucky Marksman" at age 14.

Beriah Magoffin, a Southern sympathizer and Centre graduate, was elected governor; the majority of the legislature was pro-Union.

Florence is incorporated in February, but this is repealed in March.

583 people counted in the Petersburg census.

Florence had 63 children between the ages of 5 and 16.

The number of slaves in Boone County was 1745; there were 9373 whites. Slaves were 15.8% of the total, which was the lowest percentage since the formation of the county.

Lincoln elected President.

Dec. 20th – South Carolina seceded from the Union beginning the Civil War.
Seabury Kite, a local resident, helped place the Sycamore Stump in the Gum Branch Spring at Big Bone Lick about this year

(29 Nov) Having spent night in Union, John Hunt Morgan and Capt Hines ride by Big Bone Lick with Perry Corbin after escaping a Northern prison

Nathaniel S. Shaler, native of Newport, excavates Big Bone Lick

New hotel built. Owned by C. A. McLaughlin

Dr. Christopher C. Graham excavates at Big Bone Lick. This is an important excavation, but it has been generally ignored.

(Dec) Boone County Court (Order Book M p. 512): Ordered to lease grounds at Lick for excavation

(1 Jan) Boone County Court (Bk M, p. 521): Lease 2 acres for not less that $190.00 for one year; holes to be refilled; not to interfere with spring or creek

Nathaniel H. Bishop visits Big Bone

Dr. John E. Stevenson and Dr. John A. Woods practice medicine at the Springs

Atlas of Northern Kentucky, including Boone County and Big Bone Lick is published by D. J. Lake and Company

Big Bone Methodist Church established

Myrix J. Crouch, M. D., a resident of Union, delivers a paper on Big Bone Springs; Reuben G. Thwaites visits Big Bone Lick. His description - sulphur smell in the air for half a mile; Still 50 acres of swamp

The population of Big Bone is 120

John Uri Lloyd writes a paper on Big Bone Lick

1936 Jillson publishes the best history of Big Bone Lick