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History of Kentucky

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The first people to use Kentucky were the Native Americans; it was considered a sacred hunting ground and was roamed by traveling tribes. However, permanent settlements in Kentucky by its Natives are not known of until 1770. At that time, the settlers of North Carolina and Virginia moved through the Cumberland Gap and began to create their homes west of the Appalachian Mountains. At that point the area then known as part of Virginia exploded with growth.

These counties in the area of Virginia west of the Appalachia Mountains were called Kentucky County after the American Revolution. Eventually, Kentucky County petitioned Virginia to allow it to become its own state. The people accepted Virginia’s terms for the separations in 1792, drew up a state constitution, and were admitted into the union as the fifteenth state. Isaac Shelby was elected the first Governor.

During the Civil War, Kentucky was a border state – the birthplace of both Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis. Originally, it was neutral until it was invaded by the Confederates in 1862 at which point the state abandoned neutrality and officially sided with the Union. Some of the confederate sympathizers tried to secede from Kentucky, but the attempt failed, and Kentucky remained whole.

Next Page: Demographics of Kentucky

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