We continue the Bullitt County 1850 census written by Mrs. W. V. Mathis, Wallace A. McKay and W. C. Barrickman. Betty Darnell shared this in The Pioneer News on 6 May 1991.
These records have been briefly compared to images of the census pages, and occasional additions or corrections have been made. Those changes we consider significant are noted with red print. Also, the census dwelling house number and family number according to visitation has been added, like this: [1/1].
In this edition of their column, they wrote about the the area's early history, and about the Shepherd family. No entries from the census record were included.
20 January 1950
Bullitt's "Salt Lick" near Shepherdsville, was the site of the first production of salt in Kentucky on a large scale, 1777; from 500 to 1,000 men were employed there, and the salt, loaded on flat-boats, was sent down the nearby river to the Ohio and thence on downstream to New Orleans where there was an unlimited demand. The river was called "Salt Lick" river; in time the "lick" was dropped from this designation of the stream, and thus Salt River got its name.
Peter SHEPHERD and his son Adam from Baltimore were among the very earliest settlers. They received grants for land in 1782 and 1786.
Shepherdsville, incorporated in 1793, and named for Adam SHEPHERD, was surveyed and laid off into lots by him. But Adam was more interested in the opportunities for trade and commerce. He and Gen. Henry CRIST, rivals no doubt, both began shipping cargoes of goods by flat-boat to New Orleans.
SHEPHERD not only transported the salt produced at the "licks," but engaged also in its manufacture or processing. "It seems incredible," says one of his descendants, "but he once bartered away a large tract of land in Shelby county for a salt kettle!" Land was plentiful in that day; salt-kettles, however, were very scarce, and indispensable for evaporating the water which contained the salt.
Adam SHEPHERD is said to have been the first settler in the valley of Salt River to live outside of a fortified place. Somewhere below Shepherdsville he built a house of stone, with thick walls which was in itself a fort. In later years its foundation damaged, its walls cracked and out-of-line, as a result of the great earthquake of 1811-12, parts of the house and of a stone barn were still standing on a farm then owned by Thomas HAYS.
Adam SHEPHERD's wife was Rachel DRAKE; their daughter Elizabeth Drake SHEPHERD, born 1787, died 1855, married 1812 to Ben Chapeze Sr.
Adam died in 1819; he and his wife Rachel, and two of their daughters are buried not far from the town that bears his name.
This project is presented here with the kind permission of Betty Darnell, and The Pioneer News.
If you, the reader, have an interest in any particular part of our county history, and wish to contribute to this effort, use the form on our Contact Us page to send us your comments about this, or any Bullitt County History page. We welcome your comments and suggestions. If you feel that we have misspoken at any point, please feel free to point this out to us.
The Bullitt County History Museum, a service of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is located in the county courthouse at 300 South Buckman Street (Highway 61) in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. The museum, along with its research room, is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Saturday appointments are available by calling 502-921-0161 during our regular weekday hours. Admission is free. The museum, as part of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization and is classified as a 509(a)2 public charity. Contributions and bequests are deductible under section 2055, 2106, or 2522 of the Internal Revenue Code. Page last modified: 14 Sep 2024 . Page URL: bullittcountyhistory.org/bchistory/bd/50-01-20.html
