| Taken from the "Pictorial History Book of Allen County"
The Beginning . . . From Virginia and the Carolinas they came, traveling overland under the harshest of conditions. These sturdy pioneers, seeking land, a new life, found a suitable spot in south central Kentucky. It was interspersed with many streams flowing into a river. The first settlements were made north and east of the county seat about 1797 by Joseph Ficklin, Toliver Craig, Henry Collins, Daniel Monroe and others whose names are lost to us today. Later, between 1801 and 1805, there came from Virginia two hardy spirits in the persons of John Campbell and Lon Hagan. The first building in the county of which there may be found any record was a mill built by Fed Carpenter, Ted Chambers and Tom Oliver about 1804. In 1805, still other hardy pioneers came from Virginia; Thomas Chambers, John Carpenter and John Wright. There were others who came and considered this land - they liked what they found and they, together with the ones who had proceeded them began to settle this area, which at that time, was a part of Warren and Barren Counties. On January II, 1815, the Kentucky Legislature passed an act which created a new county from parts of Warren and Barren Counties. The new county (Kentucky's 57th) was given the name of "Allen" to honor Lt. Col. John Allen who lost his life defending his country in the War of 1812. John Allen was but a small boy when his parents, James and Mary Kelsy Allen, moved to Danville, Kentucky from Virginia. He was educated to practice law and in 1800 was elected to represent Shelby County in the Kentucky legislature. When the War of 1812 began. Allen was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel and raised one of the first regiments in the state. He was killed by Indians while he was on the way to take Detroit, in the battle of the River Raisin in January, 1813 while trying to reform the broken columns of infantry. On April 10, 1815, the first officials appointed by Governor Isaac Shelby, met at the house of Willis Mitchell, near the Old Bald Field, four miles northwest of Scottsville on the Bowling Green Road, and presented their commissions from the Governor as Justices of the Peace, and the first one to take the oath of office was Walter Thomas, who administered to his associates the oath required by the Constitution of the State of Kentucky and the United States. The first officers, or Magistrates, were: Walter Thomas, Edward Martin, David Harris, William Jackson, John Ragland, Hugh Brown and Elias Pitch-ford. The Court of Magistrates elected as the first Clerk of the County, David Walker, Jr. The first coroner was Thomas Gatton and Johnson J. Cockrill was the first jailer. Governor Shelby appointed Thomas Cooke as the first sheriff. The Court of Magistrates recommended to Governor Shelby that Alfred Payne and Hugh Brown be appointed as Surveyors. Payne received the appointment and named Brown as his deputy. The Court of Magistrates divided the county into five divisions and appointed or selected the following to serve as constables: Thadues B. Lewis, Thomas Blackwell, Thomas Sutton, Joseph Brown and Johnson J. Cockrill. In July, 1816, the following were appointed patrollers for Scottsville: John Harvey, George Clayton, Fielding Duff and Alexander Mansfield. Their territory extended one mile from the first courthouse. There was a difference of opinion concerning the location of the county seat. The choices were (1) on the land of Willis Mitchell, where the court first met because it was the approximate center of the county, and (2) near two springs located four miles southeast of that point. The site finally chosen was near the spring, called the Public Spring, located under a cliff at the foot of a steep hill. This spot was situated on the old Cumberland Settlement Trace from Nashville to Glasgow. The county seat was named "Scottville" after Governor Charles Scott who was the fourth governor of Kentucky. John Buckhannon was appointed surveyor of the main streets of the town and all the public highways going in and out of the town. The following were appointed as trustees to said town and were to receive the deed of conveyance and do other such acts as requested: David Walker, Jr., William Anderson, Walter Thomas, Hugh Brown, Samuel Garrison. The lands of John Brown on Bay's Fork were chosen as the location of the county seat. One hundred acres were purchased from John and wife Catherine Brown for which he was paid the magnificent sum of $2.00 per acre. The town was laid off in "lotts" and sold. The "lotts" brought $8,270.50. The money realized from the sale of the lots was used to build a courthouse and jail. They were of crudely hewn logs. The log courthouse served until the old octagon-shaped building was erected in 1819. The first lawyer admitted to the bar was Jacob W. Walker. Other early lawyers were Henderson Lewis, Daniel M. Lewis, David H. Robertson, John Gaines, Joseph R. Underwood, Robert T. Beauchamp and others. Not all of the lots were sold - some were held in reserve for public use such as a house of worship, a seminary, a school-house and a market-house. Although christened "Scottville," the town kept its official name only a short time. Post Office records for the year 1816 list the town as "Scottsville." The Kentucky legislature referred to "Scottville" in the year 1817, and many of the town's citizens continued to refer to the county seat as "Scottville" until at least the middle 1800's.
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