44
Christian 12,577,574 Henderson 10,312,631 Daviess 9,523,451 Graves 8.901,434 Mason 6,261,385 Ib Biacken 6,12(5,635 Logan 6,039,983 Todd 5,808,425 Owen 5,765,351 Trigg 5,667.143
The production of the principal cereals in Kentucky was as
follows in 1870 and 1880: –
1870.
1880.
50 091 006
73 977 S29
Wheat
5 728 704
11 355 340
Oats
6 620 103
4 582 968
Barley
238 486
487 031
Rve
1 108 933
676 245
Hemp, since the early settlement of the State, has been a favour ite crop, more especially in the Blue Grass region, contrary to an accepted opinion it has not here proved an exhausting crop where retted upon the land. Wheat succeeds almost as well after hemp as after clover sod. The yield of hemp for the year 1880 was about 15,000 tons. Cotton is grown only to a limited extent west of the Tennessee river, the total production amounting in 1880 to 1367 bales. The total number of farms in 1870 was 118,422, the average size being 158 acres. In 1850 the average size of farms was 227 acres, and in 1860 211 acres. Over 60 per cent. of the area returned as farms was unimproved or in timber. The area returned as improved or under fence was less than one- third the area of the State.
Manufactures. – Before the freeing of the slaves, domestic manu facturing on the farm was carried on to a large extent, and as late as 1870 the State ranked second in the value of domestic or home manufactures. The total value of manufactures was in 1850 $21,712,210; in 1860, $37,931,240; and in 1870, 54,625,809. The increase since 1870 has been larger than before, and the State will soon rank high as a manufacturing State. There has been a great increase in the manufacture of corn whisky in the past few years. The total production for the year ending June 30, 1881, was 31,869,047 gallons. The amount of iron manufactured was 86,732 tons in 1870, and 123,751 tons in 1880.
Government, Taxation, &c. – The State government was modelled after that of Virginia. The governor is elected for four years, and cannot be his own successor. One-half of the senate is elected every two years, and the members of the lower house are elected for two years. There are 117 counties, each presided over by a judge and a board of magistrates. The gross receipts for the fiscal year end ing October 10, 1880, were $2,445,404, and the gross expenditure $2,379,343. About one million dollars per annum is given to pub lic schools, which amount can be supplemented by local taxation in counties or school districts. The State tax is 45½ cents on each $100 worth of property, and as property is rated at a low valuation taxes are light. Of the above amount 25 cents are for the purposes of revenue, 20 cents for the public schools, and ½ cent for the State agricultural and mechanical college. The State is practically free from debt, owing but $180,000, and having on deposit an amount more than enough to pay that sum when the State bonds may fall due. The State has in addition about $750,000 worth of productive assets.
The population in 1880 was 1,648,708 (832,616 males, 815,983 females), and of this number 59,468 were foreign born. There were 41 persons to the square mile. The following table shows the population at each census, 1790-1880: –
Census Years. Whites. Free Coloured. Slaves. Total. 1790 1800 1810 1820 1830 1840 1850 1860 1870 1880 61,133 179,873 32i,237 434,6)4 517,787 590,253 761,413 919,484 1,098,692 1,377,187 114 739 1,713 2,759 4,917 7,317 10,011 10,684 222,210 271,521[1] 12,430 40,343 80,561 126,732 165,213 182,258 210,981 225,483 73,677 220,955 406,511 564,135 687,917 779,828 982,405 1,155,684 1,321,011 1,648,708
The following cities had in 1880 a population exceeding 5000: –
Louisville 123,645 Covington 29,720 Newport 20,433 Lexington 16,656 Padueah 8,376 Frankfort (State capital) 6,958 Maysville 5,220
Railways. – In 1831-35 a railway was made from Frankfort to Lexington, being one of the earliest lines constructed west of the Alleghanies. On January 1, 1881, there were 1598 miles of railway in operation in the State. The number of miles constructed since 1870 has been greater than before for the same length of time and many new roads are projected.
History. – The region now known as Kentucky was embraced in the grant to the colony of Virginia by the British crown, and in the early part of the last century was an unknown region "beyond the mountains," included in Augusta county, Virginia. This region was in 1776 formed into a separate county called Kentucky county. Previous to this the land had been somewhat explored by adventurous hunters, the most notable being Daniel Boone, who led a small party from North Carolina in 1769. Virginia had given bounties of lands to her troops for services in the French Indian wars, and the glowing accounts brought from beyond the moun tains induced many expeditions for surveying and locating lands. Kentucky was at this time a favourite hunting ground for the various tribes of Indians of the north and south, and the occupation by the whites was resisted by all the means known to Indian warfare. The first settlement was made at Harrod's station, now Harrodsburg, in 1774. In the year following Boone and party built a group of rude block houses, called a fort, on the banks of the Kentucky river, at Boonesboro', and in 1776 other "stations" were built in central Kentucky, and the work of clearing and cultivating the laud began. In the midst of Indian forays and border wars, the traditions of law prevailed, and a court of quarter sessions was established at Harrodsburg in 1776. Col. G. Rogers Clark, the hero of early Kentucky, planned an expedition in 1778 against the British forts in the north-west; marching swiftly, with less than 200 men, through miles of wilderness, lie captured Kaskaskia and Vincennes, and secured to Virginia the imperial territory of Illinois.
Separated by several hundred miles of uninhabited forest from the "settlements" in Virginia, and feeling the necessity of a govern ment that would enable them to make a vigorous defence against the Indians, the people held many conventions and petitioned for a separate government, which was granted by Virginia, and in 1792 Kentucky was admitted as a State into the Federal Union. Vir ginia had granted large bounties of land to her soldiers of the war for independence, and also treasury land warrants in redemption for her depreciated currency. The lands were located in Kentucky, and a large emigration from Virginia and Maryland was the result. The population in 1790 was 73,667, of whom 61,133 were white, 114 free coloured, and 12,430 slaves. From 1790 to 1800 the popu lation increased 300 per cent. In the second war with England, which broke out in 1812, the Kentuckians marched to the defence of the north-west, and suffered heavy loss in the reverse at the river Rasin; but afterwards 4000 volunteers, urder Governor Shelby, participated in the victory on the banks of the Thames. As early as 1827 the State began a system of internal improvements under which many miles of macadamized roads were made, and the navi gation of the rivers improved. The State expenditure for these purposes, independent of the county and individual subscriptions, amounted to more than $5,000,000.
On the outbreak of the war with Mexico in 1846, the governor of Kentucky called for 5000 men, and 13,700 quickly answered the call. In that war the Kentucky troops bore a conspicuous and hon ourable part. The finding of gold in California, the granting of lands in the west, the aid in the construction of railways, and the consequent fever for speculation in western lands, were a severe drain on the productiveness of the State. The lines of railway connect ing the sea-board cities with the great west crossed the mountains north of Kentucky. This and the disinclination to compete with slave labour carried the great tide of immigration and commerce north of Kentucky. When the great civil war began in 1861, Kentucky was a slave State; most of the productions of the State found remunerative markets in the cotton-growing States, and there were many business and social ties binding the State with the south. Whilst sympathizing with the Southern States, the majority of the people loved the Union, and the State determined to assume a position of armed neutrality, and if possible act as a mediator between the sections. The governor of the State refused (April! 861) to furnish the quota of men demanded by the Federal Government, a refusal approved by the State legislature by an almost unanimous vote. Arms were sent into Kentucky by the Federal Government, and camps established. The Confederate forces moved into the State on Septembers, and the Federal on September 7. The governor, in obedience to a resolution of the legislature, demanded the withdrawal of the Confederates, as violators of the neutrality of the State. Their refusal to do so except on condition that the Federals should also withdraw, led to an outbreak of hostilities, in which the people of the State were divided, many joining both armies. The Federal forces held the State almost continuously during the war, and 91^,900 men were recruited in it for the Union armies, including 8704 home guards or militia called into active service, and about 11,000 coloured volunteers. On the other hand, about 40,000 Kentuckians went south and joined the Confederate forces. When the war ended, and the Kentucky soldiers from the two armies returned to their homes, laws passed under the excitement of civil war were repealed; fraternal peace followed quickly, and the people of the State, accepting the new conditions, entered upon a new era, with hope for a peaceful and prosperous future. (J. R. P.)
- ↑ Including 10 Chinese and 50 Indians.
