Todd County, Kentucky
Encyclopedia
Todd County is a county located in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

. As of 2000, the population is 11,971. Its county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 is Elkton
Elkton, Kentucky
Elkton is a city in and the county seat of Todd County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,984 at the 2000 census. The city was founded by Major John Gray...

. The county is named after Colonel John Todd
John Todd (Virginia)
John Todd was a frontier military officer during the American Revolutionary War and the first administrator of the Illinois County of the U.S...

, who was killed at the Battle of Blue Licks
Battle of Blue Licks
The Battle of Blue Licks, fought on August 19, 1782, was one of the last battles of the American Revolutionary War. The battle occurred ten months after Lord Cornwallis's famous surrender at Yorktown, which had effectively ended the war in the east...

 in 1782. http://www.kentuckygenealogy.org/todd/origin_of_todd_county_kentucky.htm

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 376.97 square miles (976.3 km²), of which 376.35 square miles (974.7 km²) (or 99.84%) is land and 0.62 square miles (1.6 km²) (or 0.16%) is water.

Adjacent counties

  • Muhlenberg County
    Muhlenberg County, Kentucky
    Muhlenberg County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 31,499. The county is named for Peter Muhlenberg. Its county seat is Greenville....

      (north)
  • Logan County
    Logan County, Kentucky
    Logan County is a county located in the southwest area of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 26,573. Its county seat is Russellville...

      (east)
  • Robertson County, Tennessee  (southeast)
  • Montgomery County, Tennessee
    Montgomery County, Tennessee
    Montgomery County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The county seat is Clarksville. The population was 172,331 at the 2010 census. It is one of the four counties included in the Clarksville, TN–KY Metropolitan Statistical Area....

      (southwest)
  • Christian County
    Christian County, Kentucky
    Christian County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1797. As of 2000, its population was 72,265. Its county seat is Hopkinsville, Kentucky...

      (west)

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 11,971 people, 4,569 households, and 3,367 families residing in the county. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 32 /sqmi. There were 5,121 housing units at an average density of 14 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the county was 89.32% White
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 8.75% Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.15% Native American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.17% Asian
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.03% Pacific Islander
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.87% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 0.71% from two or more races. 1.66% of the population were Hispanic
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 or Latino
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 of any race.

There were 4,569 households out of which 33.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.70% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 11.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.30% were non-families. 23.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.60% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 28.40% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,718, and the median income for a family was $36,043. Males had a median income of $28,502 versus $20,340 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the county was $15,462. About 14.70% of families and 17.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.90% of those under age 18 and 22.00% of those age 65 or over.

Early history

Todd County, Kentucky consist of two geographical regions known historically as the high country to the north and low country to the south. The northern highlands consist of steep sloped sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

 terrain with forests of oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...

, walnut
Walnut
Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...

 and poplar
Poplar
Populus is a genus of 25–35 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar , aspen, and cottonwood....

. The landscape features steep bluffs and sharp rises and falls within the terrain. The southern lowlands consist of rolling limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

 flatlands void of aquifer sinks and consists of dense but sparse forests of oak, walnut poplar and ash. The first settlers of the region were the Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...

. The Cherokee used the lands primarily for hunting and gathering. Todd County exist within the lands that was originally in the territory of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Many of the original settlers of the county had become established in what would become Todd County when the state was still in Virginia territory. This area of southern Kentucky, known for its premier agricultural lands was to be gifted to the veterans of those serving Virginia and the United States in the American Revolutionary War.

The earliest known record of settlers in the Todd County region included Edward Shanklin Sr.
Shanklin Family
In the United States, the phrase Shanklin Family commonly refers to the family descending from Gilbert Shankland of Enniskillen, Ireland. The Shanklin family in the United States were plantation owners in Augusta County, Virginia, now Rockingham County, Virginia and later in Todd County, Kentucky...

 who was given one of the earliest land grants in the region for his service in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

. Justinian Cartwright was perhaps the earliest settler in the lands that would become Todd County. The first definite account of permanent immigration to this district is that of Edward Shanklin Jr. (Edward Sr.'s son), Matthew and David Rolston, John Huston and his sons James and Granville. Samuel Davis, father of Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...

, and John Wilson were also early settlers of the region. Kentucky Governor Greenup granted land man of the first Kentucky grants to William Croghan, David Logan, Edward Shanklin Jr. and John Wilson, among others.

Christian and Logan counties were called upon to contribute to the creation of Todd County due to the outlying population of both Logan and Christian's demand for a "home government" so that travel to the county seats of Logan and Christian was no longer necessary. The county was formed in 1820 by the first magisterial court consisting of members Edward Shanklin
Shanklin Family
In the United States, the phrase Shanklin Family commonly refers to the family descending from Gilbert Shankland of Enniskillen, Ireland. The Shanklin family in the United States were plantation owners in Augusta County, Virginia, now Rockingham County, Virginia and later in Todd County, Kentucky...

, John Gray
John Gray
-Born 18th century:*John Gray , member of the North Carolina General Assembly*John Gray , president of the Bank of Montreal...

, Robert Coleman, Henry Gorin, John Taylor, H. C. Ewing, John S Anderson, William Hopper, John Mann and Joseph Frazer. The petition was created and the legislature of the Commonwealth of Kentucky granted the act of legislature, enacting the creation of the county on April 1, 1820. The legislature designated that the name of the county be in remembrance of Colonel John Todd
John Todd (Virginia)
John Todd was a frontier military officer during the American Revolutionary War and the first administrator of the Illinois County of the U.S...

 who died at the Battle of Blue Licks.

Development

Agriculture is a hailed theme and revered tradition in Todd County. The lowlands of the county are of the finest of agricultural resources in the United States due to rich soil types including "Pembroke" soil. The lowlands are prized for their high growth yields. The lands that create Todd County today was originally reserved for land grants for those who fought in the Revolutionary War. In the early 19th century, Major John Gray established a stagecoach hub in the county with travel routes radiating to larger American cities from the central point. His widely known Stagecoach Inn was at the epicenter of the travel routes. It became a common addage in the 19th century that you could travel virtually "nowhere" in the United States without crossing over this location, once called Graysville near the city of Guthrie, Kentucky. Major Gray's stagecoach empire was highly successful and he soon became wealthy. Major Gray established a home near what is now the city of Elkton. Gray desired for a city to be established near his home that would become the county seat. Gray designed the city which included a town square from which hundreds of lots radiated that he called, "Elkton" suggested to him by Edward Shanklin Sr.
Shanklin Family
In the United States, the phrase Shanklin Family commonly refers to the family descending from Gilbert Shankland of Enniskillen, Ireland. The Shanklin family in the United States were plantation owners in Augusta County, Virginia, now Rockingham County, Virginia and later in Todd County, Kentucky...

 who formerly had lived near Elkton, Virginia
Elkton, Virginia
Elkton is an incorporated town in Rockingham County, Virginia, United States. It is included in the Harrisonburg, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,042 at the 2000 census. Elkton was named for the Elk Run stream.It is located along the south fork of the Shenandoah River...

. The city was named for the large herds of Elk once abundant in the area. Gray designed the town square as a trapizoid instead of a square, with the south side of the town square larger than the north so that as the sun traversed across the sky, the buildings on the east and west would benefit from prolonged periods of daily sunlight. Major John Gray contributed funding for a county courthouse which was erected on the town square. The brick building stood two stories with a cupola crowing the top. After Major Gray died, the building was deemed in a state of ruin due to improper construction methods and torn down to erect a new courthouse. The new Todd County courthouse was ereceted by order of the Fiscal Court in 1834. R. Rowland designed the building in the Federal Style with an integration of Greek-Revival style motifs. The brick building stands two stories tall with tripartite windows and large Greek-Revival lintels. The building originally had a smaller federal style cupola but was later replaced with a late Victorian clock tower in the second Empire style.

Civil War

By law, Kentucky was a slave state. Kentucky was a source of slaves for the cotton plantations in the lower South, and the slave trade was a very profitable business for many Kentuckians. However, most Kentuckians did not own slaves. Those who did were wealthy plantation owners who stood to lose a lot if slavery were abolished. The major slave-owning areas in the state were the Bluegrass region, Henderson and Oldham counties on the Ohio River, and the western Kentucky counties of Trigg, Christian, Todd, and Warren. Many Kentuckians from these areas joined the Confederate army.

Cities and towns

  • Allensville
    Allensville, Kentucky
    Allensville is a city in Todd County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 189 at the 2000 census. Settled in the 19th century and incorporated in 1867, the city was named for a pioneer family in the area.-Geography:...

  • Elkton
    Elkton, Kentucky
    Elkton is a city in and the county seat of Todd County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,984 at the 2000 census. The city was founded by Major John Gray...

  • Penicktown
  • Fairview
  • Clifty
  • Daysville
  • Guthrie
    Guthrie, Kentucky
    Guthrie is a city in Todd County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,469 at the 2000 census. The city is named for James Guthrie, president of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad when the city was incorporated in 1867.-Geography:...

  • Kirkmansville
  • Sharon Grove
  • Trenton
    Trenton, Kentucky
    Trenton is a city in Todd County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 419 at the 2000 census. Settled as Lewisburg in 1796, the city was renamed after Trenton, New Jersey in 1819.-Geography:Trenton is located at ....

  • Pea Ridge
  • Allegre
  • Claymour
  • Tiny Town
  • Daysville

Attractions

  • Milliken Memorial Community House
    Milliken Memorial Community House
    Milliken Memorial Community House, erected in 1928 in Elkton, Kentucky, is the first privately donated community house in America. The mansion pioneered a new architetcural program for public use...

  • Old Todd County Courthouse
    Old Todd County Courthouse
    Old Todd County Courthouse Todd County, Kentucky's first courthouse was built at the direction of Major John Gray, and completed in 1835. The courthouse is a sister building to the Green River Girls School which was built in the same year. Bricks used were fired on the site...

  • Jefferson Davis State Historic Site
    Jefferson Davis State Historic Site
    -External links:***...

  • Robert Penn Warren Birthplace
  • Glover's Cave
    Glover's Cave
    Glover's Cave is a naturally formed cave in southern Todd County, Kentucky. Over 3.2k of the cave have been surveyed. The cave was used for many purposes since its discovery by native Indians. It has been found that Native Americans were inhabiting the cave since about 10,000 years ago, up until...

  • Liberty Hall
  • Charmeade Plantation
    Charmeade Plantation
    Charmeade Plantation is a landmark home in Todd County, Kentucky.The site was the home of John P. Brown, a statesman from North Carolina who was a pioneer in Todd County. Brown lived on the plantation for two years before moving to what is now known as the Penchem region of Todd County. He sold...

  • Green River Female Academy
    Green River Female Academy
    The Green River Female Academy in Todd County, Kentucky is one of the best physical representations of early women's rights in the United States and is an example of early Kentucky Federal and Greek Revival architecture....

  • Edwards Hall
  • Halcyon
  • Northington House: Olde Oakes Plantation
  • Sunny Side Acres
  • Pilot Rock
  • Holly Hills Plantation
  • Runnymede
    Runnymede
    Runnymede is a water-meadow alongside the River Thames in the English county of Berkshire, and just over west of central London. It is notable for its association with the sealing of Magna Carta, and as a consequence is the site of a collection of memorials...


Notable natives

  • James Clark McReynolds
    James Clark McReynolds
    James Clark McReynolds was an American lawyer and judge who served as United States Attorney General under President Woodrow Wilson and as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court...

    , former Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court
  • Benjamin Bristow
    Benjamin Bristow
    Benjamin Helm Bristow was an American lawyer and Republican Party politician who served as the first Solicitor General of the United States and as a U.S. Treasury Secretary. Fighting for the Union, Bristow served in the army during the American Civil War and was promoted to Colonel...

    , first Solicitor General of the United States and a former U.S. Treasury Secretary
  • Paul Rudolph
    Paul Rudolph (architect)
    Paul Marvin Rudolph was an American architect and the dean of the Yale School of Architecture for six years, known for use of concrete and highly complex floor plans...

    , architect
  • George Street Boone
    George Street Boone
    George Street Boone was an American constitutional scholar and former Kentucky legislator who served on the 1987 U.S. Constitution Bicentennial Review Commission.-Career in public service:...

    , liberal constitutional scholar
  • Mary Louise Milliken Childs
    Mary Louise Milliken Childs
    Mary Louise Milliken Childs Noted philanthropist in the 20th Century for building over twenty hospitals and two churches throughout the United States. Her greatest accomplishments include the West Jersey Cooper Hospital in New Jersey and the Milliken Memorial Community House in Elkton, Kentucky...

    , great American philanthropist
  • Dorothy Dix
    Dorothy Dix
    Dorothy Dix , was the pseudonym of U.S. journalist Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer....

     (Elizabeth Merriwether Gilmer), columnist
  • Caroline Gordon
    Caroline Gordon
    Caroline Ferguson Gordon was a notable American novelist and literary critic who, while still in her thirties, was the recipient of two prestigious literary awards, a 1932 Guggenheim Fellowship and a 1934 O...

    , Author of nine novels
  • Kent Greenfield
    Kent Greenfield
    Kent Greenfield was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He pitched from 1924-1929.-External links:...

    , American major league baseball player http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/greenke01.shtml
  • Jefferson Davis
    Jefferson Davis
    Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...

    , President of the Confederacy
  • Major John Gray, proprietor of a stagecoach system throughout lower Kentucky, founder of Elkton
  • Edward Shanklin Sr.
    Shanklin Family
    In the United States, the phrase Shanklin Family commonly refers to the family descending from Gilbert Shankland of Enniskillen, Ireland. The Shanklin family in the United States were plantation owners in Augusta County, Virginia, now Rockingham County, Virginia and later in Todd County, Kentucky...

    , Revolutionary War soldier & county founding father.
  • Robert Penn Warren
    Robert Penn Warren
    Robert Penn Warren was an American poet, novelist, and literary critic and was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. He founded the influential literary journal The Southern Review with Cleanth Brooks in 1935...

    , first poet laureate of the United States
  • Lewis Leavell, founder of Trenton, Kentucky
  • John Todd
    John Todd (Virginia)
    John Todd was a frontier military officer during the American Revolutionary War and the first administrator of the Illinois County of the U.S...

    , uncle of Mary Todd Lincoln and namesake for Todd County, Kentucky
  • John W. "Bill" Rutledge, Brig. General USAF Ret., former Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations, Headquarters Allied Air Forces
  • Ben Moseley, Director- WBKO
    WBKO
    WBKO is the ABC-affiliated television station for South Central Kentucky licensed to Bowling Green. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 13 from a transmitter along KY 185/Richardsville Road in unincorporated Northern Warren County. The station can also be seen on Insight...

  • Jamison Covington- former singer of "JamisonParker", current singer for "E for explosion"

See also

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Todd County, Kentucky
    National Register of Historic Places listings in Todd County, Kentucky
    This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Todd County, Kentucky.This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Todd County, Kentucky, United States...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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