About Scott County

Scott County has a diverse and fascinating history dating back several millennia. Historical research reveals that native peoples have lived, hunted, and fished along the lush and temperate banks of Elkhorn Creek for at least 15,000 years. In particular, the Adena culture, a conglomerate comprising many Indian communities, thrived in this area between 800BC - 800AD, leaving behind several significant Adena mounds to mark their presence.

Named for General Charles Scott, a Revolutionary War hero who later served as the Commonwealth's fourth governor from 1808 to 1812, Scott County was officially incorporated on 1st June, 1792.

Located in north central Kentucky, and part of the Inner Bluegrass region, Scott County comprises a 286 square mile area bounded by Owen, Grant, Harrison, Bourbon, Fayette, Woodford, and Franklin counties.

In June of 1774 this area was explored by a team of Virginians of European descent on an expedition to locate land warrants for soldiers of the French and Indian war. A journal kept by a member of the party commented eloquently on the natural wealth and beauty of the "Elkorn country," and, most notably, the spring, which, he wrote, was "the largest I have seen in the whole country, and forms a creek in itself." The following month, the Royal Spring tract, which included the site of Georgetown, was plotted for John Floyd, who led the expedition. In 1776 an army outpost, McClelland's Fort, was built overlooking the spring. After an attack by Indians in 1777, the fort was abandoned. A permanent community was not established until the winter of 1783 when Robert and Jemima Johnson built Johnson Station near the North Fork of Elkhorn Creek, five miles west of the current location of Georgetown. Johnson Station was later renamed Great Crossing because of the buffalo crossing nearby.

In 1784, Elijah Craig (1743-1808), an idealistic Baptist preacher from Spotsylvania County, Virginia, who is perhaps best known for his world famous invention, bourbon whiskey, incorporated the town of Lebanon near the site of McClelland's Fort in the Virginia legislature. In 1790, the town's name was changed to George Town in honor of President George Washington, and in 1792 it became George Town, Kentucky, when Kentucky became the15th state of the union.

Situated seven miles north of Lexington, the county seat of Georgetown is now known throughout the globe as the Horse Capital of the World.

Throughout the 19th Century Georgetown's cultural and economic life, the latter of which was based on the tobacco, milling, distilling, and rope and bagging industries, was closely tied to the deep South. While Kentucky remained officially neutral during the Civil War, Scott County's leanings were Southern.

While Georgetown was growing, other communities in Scott County were also flourishing. In 1834, Stamping Ground, so called for the buffalo herds that would gather at the salt spring and stomp the ground while waiting for water, was incorporated.

In 1879, Sadieville, formerly known as "Big Eagle," was formed in the northern portion of the county as a rail stop along the Cincinnati Southern Railroad. The city was named in honor of Sadie Emison Pack, an honored citizen who was hostess to the construction engineers working on the line.

Throughout the 20th Century, both Georgetown and Scott County have been making the transition from an economy based primarily on agriculture, to a diversified one combining manufacturing, small business, and family farms. During the 1960s, the construction of Interstate 75 placed the county on one of the busiest highways in America. The selection of Georgetown as the site of Toyota's first American assembly plant in 1985 has resulted in the greatest period of growth in the county's long and storied history.

Today, Georgetown combines an evocative blend of the old, with the new. Noted for its profusion of historic houses and perhaps the finest antique shopping in the state, it is also one of Kentucky's fastest growing communities. Each August, Georgetown plays host to the Cincinnati Bengals' training camp.

With something to offer everyone, from casual sightseers and history and architecture buffs looking to connect with the past, to canoeists and fisherman seeking to indulge their hobbies in a rewarding and relaxing atmosphere Georgetown and Scott County stand as a mix of a rich past and an exciting future.

We invite you to visit with us and experience our heritage. From our small quaint communities like Stamping Ground and Sadieville, to Elkhorn Creek, the inspiration for Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass," our back roads offer beautiful horse farms, Irish fieldstone fences, the meandering Elkhorn and Eagle creeks and rolling fields of tobacco and cattle. Whether you take a few hours, or linger for a few days, come explore Scott County and find out what makes us uniquely Kentucky.

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