Todd County, Kentucky

Todd County, Kentucky
Location in the state of Kentucky
Kentucky's location in the U.S.
Founded	1820
Named for	Colonel John Todd
Seat	Elkton
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	376.97 sq mi (976 km²) 376.35 sq mi (975 km²) 0.62 sq mi (2 km²), 0.16%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	12,460 33/sq mi (13/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	http://www.toddcounty.ky.gov/

Todd County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2010, the population is 12,460. Its county seat is Elkton. The county is named after Colonel John Todd, who was killed at the Battle of Blue Licks in 1782. [1]

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 (north)
• Logan County (east)
• Robertson County, Tennessee (southeast)
• Montgomery County, Tennessee (southwest)
• Christian County (west)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1830	8,680		—
1840	9,991		15.1%
1850	12,268		22.8%
1860	11,575		−5.6%
1870	12,612		9.0%
1880	15,994		26.8%
1890	16,814		5.1%
1900	17,371		3.3%
1910	16,488		−5.1%
1920	15,694		−4.8%
1930	13,520		−13.9%
1940	14,234		5.3%
1950	12,890		−9.4%
1960	11,364		−11.8%
1970	10,823		−4.8%
1980	11,874		9.7%
1990	10,940		−7.9%
2000	11,971		9.4%
2010	12,460		4.1%
http://ukcc.uky.edu/~census/21219.txt

As of the census of 2000, there were 11,971 people, 4,569 households, and 3,367 families residing in the county. The population density was 32 per square mile (12 /km²). There were 5,121 housing units at an average density of 14 per square mile (5.4 /km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.32% White, 8.75% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.87% from other races, and 0.71% from two or more races. 1.66% of the population were Hispanic or Latino 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 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 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 terrain with forests of oak, walnut and poplar. The landscape features steep bluffs and sharp rises and falls within the terrain. The southern lowlands consist of rolling limestone 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. 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. who was given one of the earliest land grants in the region for his service in the American Revolutionary War. 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, 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, John Gray, 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 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. who formerly had lived near Elkton, Virginia. 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
• Elkton
• Penicktown
• Fairview
• Clifty
• Daysville
• Guthrie
• Kirkmansville
• Sharon Grove
• Trenton
• Pea Ridge
• Allegre
• Claymour
• Tiny Town
• Daysville

Attractions

• Milliken Memorial Community House
• Old Todd County Courthouse
• Jefferson Davis State Historic Site
• Robert Penn Warren Birthplace
• Glover's Cave
• Liberty Hall
• Charmeade Plantation
• Green River Female Academy
• Edwards Hall
• Halcyon
• Northington House: Olde Oakes Plantation
• Sunny Side Acres
• Pilot Rock
• Holly Hills Plantation
• Runnymede

Notable natives

• James Clark McReynolds, former Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court
• Benjamin Bristow, first Solicitor General of the United States and a former U.S. Treasury Secretary
• Paul Rudolph, architect
• George Street Boone, liberal constitutional scholar
• Mary Louise Milliken Childs, great American philanthropist
• Dorothy Dix (Elizabeth Merriwether Gilmer), columnist
• Caroline Gordon, Author of nine novels
• Kent Greenfield, American major league baseball player [2]
• Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy
• Major John Gray, proprietor of a stagecoach system throughout lower Kentucky, founder of Elkton
• Edward Shanklin Sr., Revolutionary War soldier & county founding father.
• Robert Penn Warren, first poet laureate of the United States
• Lewis Leavell, founder of Trenton, Kentucky
• John Todd, 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
• Jamison Covington- former singer of "JamisonParker", current singer for "E for explosion"

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Todd County, Kentucky

External links

• Todd County Public School
• Kentucky Atlas & Gazetter Todd County Page
• Todd County Industrial Foundation