Photo from Historic Louisville
In spring 1773, James Harrod
joined up with Captain Thomas Bullitt to survey land at the Falls of the Ohio,
near present day Louisville. Simon Kenton was also a member of this surveying
party. They spent several weeks in Pittsburgh at Fort Pitt burning and
hollowing out logs to make pirogues, or canoes, and lay in supplies. Because
there were no forts after they passed the upper Ohio River, Harrod’s group had
to make sure they had plenty of axes, butcher knives, blankets, extra moccasins
and hunting shirts, in addition to bullets, gunpowder, and fishing tackle. They
also needed surveyor’s equipment, including a rod, chain, and compass.
By late summer 1773, after
surveying at the Falls, Harrod continued down the Kentucky River to scout for
his own settlement on what he thought was the best land in Kentucky. The Native
Americans called the Kentucky bluegrass region the “Great Meadow” because of
the tall grass and thick canes. Unbeknownst to each other, Harrod and the
McAfee brothers – Robert, George, and James - had chosen almost identical
locations for their settlements, although the McAfees were not ready to start a
permanent settlement until 1775. Before returning home, James Harrod and John
Smith marked and improved land at White Oak Springs in what is now Burgin in
Mercer County, Kentucky.
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