Letcher County History
Admission to the Union
Kentucky was admitted to the Union as the 15th state in 1792, four years after its near admission was stalled by New Hampshire's action in ratifying the Constitution. Click here for the story of the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, and how New Hampshire. bollixed up Kentucky's entry to the Union.
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Early Settlement
While the admission to the Union occurred in 1792, and while central Kentucky at that time boasted a reasonable population for a frontier area, settlement of eastern Kentucky, including what became Letcher County, lagged. During that early, sparse pre-settlement period, some folks well known in history passed through this county. One was Christoper Gist, who surveyed with George Washington (click here for Gist's Journal of one of his explorations to the Ohio) before his death in the 1750s. Another, somewhat later, was Daniel Boone. He and Gist spent time exploring in the mid-to-late seventeen-hundreds, but true settlement was yet to come because of the treaties separating settlement from Indian Territory, and because of the danger of Indians. Indian raids in Kentucky and southwest Virginia continued well after statehood. One of the frequent raiders was Benge, a half-breed Cherokee chief. Click here for the story of Benge's last raid, in which he took Virginia and Kentucky prisoners. The act of claiming of land and beginning cultivation occurred principally between 1800 and about 1820. The county has a number of historical markers that commemorate that inflow. Click here for more information on the location and contents of those historical markers and search on Letcher County. |
Letcher County
Just as Kentucky was originally a part of Virginia, Letcher County was a part of Perry County when Kentucky became a state. It became its own county in 1843 and was named for one of Kentucky's governors. In its early days, Its current county seat, Whitesburg, was called Summit City. A cafe in Whitesburg commemorates the original name. For more information about Whitesburg, click here.
Just as Kentucky was originally a part of Virginia, Letcher County was a part of Perry County when Kentucky became a state. It became its own county in 1843 and was named for one of Kentucky's governors. In its early days, Its current county seat, Whitesburg, was called Summit City. A cafe in Whitesburg commemorates the original name. For more information about Whitesburg, click here.
Civil War
Upheavals came fast on the heels of that conversion to Letcher County. The Civil War broke out less than twenty years later. Kentucky was a border state, and originally stood neutral, a situation which concerned President Abraham Lincoln very much and prompted his famous statement (famous in Kentucky, anyway) that " “I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky.”
Upheavals came fast on the heels of that conversion to Letcher County. The Civil War broke out less than twenty years later. Kentucky was a border state, and originally stood neutral, a situation which concerned President Abraham Lincoln very much and prompted his famous statement (famous in Kentucky, anyway) that " “I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky.”
The Coal Revolution
It was only about forty years after that when coal was discovered and completely changed the nature of the county. Coal was its principal industry from then to close to the present. Its economy now is a mix.
It was only about forty years after that when coal was discovered and completely changed the nature of the county. Coal was its principal industry from then to close to the present. Its economy now is a mix.
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For Letcher County Civil War sites, click here.
For Letcher County historic graveyards, click here.
For places to hear music in Letcher County, click here.
For scenes of Letcher County, click here.
