BOURBON COUNTY, KENTUCKY

CHAPTER IX.

CITY OF PARIS -INTRODUCTORY -SELECTING A SITE FOR THE TOWN-THE ORIGINAL NAMES OF BOURBONTON AND HOPEWELL--EVERY-DAY LIFE OF THE SETTLERS--THE' FIRST BRICK HOUSE-TAVERNS--THEATRICALS AND OTHER PASTIMES-SOME DISTINGUISHED PIONEERS.

"O, the pleasant days of old, which so often people praise!
True, they wanted all the luxuries that grace our modern day.
Bare floors were strewed with rushes, the wells let in the cold,
O, how they must have shivered, in those pleasant days of old."
--Brown.

ALTHOUGH a century has not elapsed since the first settlement of this city, yet its early history is involved in obscurity. It is not known when the first house was built, or who was the first inhabitant, or why this particular locality was selected for the future city of Paris. One or two things are evident: The pioneers who came to this county did not do so to build cities, but came because they could obtain cheap lands. The soil was fertile; the country marvelously beautiful and attractive, and none would locate in towns who had the means to purchase farms, which almost all possessed. The wants of the people of that day were few and simple. Their clothing was the handiwork of the thrifty house-wife, who was ever busy with the loom and the spinning wheel. And all through this region may yet be found-treasured as heirlooms, articles of exquisite workmanship wrought by these pioneer mothers of Kentucky, who esteemed it their privilege and duty to share in the labors of the household, and whose sacrifices and industry and example laid the foundations of the future prosperity of the State. Corn, wheat, tobacco, flax, were the products of the soil. Almost every farm had its sugar camp, and the people made their own sugar, and from the ashes of burnt cobs they made their soda or saleratus. Except for needless luxuries they were self-sustaining. There was, therefore, no pressing necessity for large towns, with all their rush and bustle of trade. The blacksmith was, of course, indispensable; but he could locate at any cross-roads; and so, too, the carpenter was needed to rear the first rude structures in this then Western frontier of civilization; and then, along the highway of travel the primitive tavern, with its accommodations for man and beast became a necessity, and these, doubtless, formed the nucleus of the future city.

It is not known, nor is it important to know, why this particular locality was selected by the early settlers as a site upon which to build a town. Possibly, the town was an after-thought. Rocky, hilly, marshy in places, it may have been selected because it was not suited for agricultural purposes, and it would not have done, even at that early day, to have spoiled a blue grass farm to lay the foundations of a country town. That the proposed town was at the confluence of Stoner and Houston, two important creeks, which would yield an ample supply of water power near the large spring. which wells up a short distance from the mouth of Houston; and that it was on the line of the buffalo trace, the then great thoroughfare of travel, were of themselves sufficient reasons for determining the location.

It appears from the records that the lands upon which this city stands was pre-empted by John Reed, of Maryland, on the 18th of November, 1784, and William Galloway and Samuel Lyons, of Virginia, in August, 1786. Lawrence Protzman afterward bought a portion of Reed's pre-emption and laid it off into town lots.

Prior to the selection of a county-seat, the courts of Bourbon County had been held at James Garrard's, near Talbott's Station, at James Hutchison's, and at the residence of John Kiser, near the mouth of Cooper's Run. In November, 1786, the present site of Paris was selected by the court as the county seat, and the following order was made :

Ordered. That the place for holding courts for the county be established at the confluence of Stoner and Houston forks or Licking, and that Alvin Mountjoy, John Grant and James Watson, gentlemen, be appointed to procure two acres of land at said place for the purpose aforesaid; and also, that they let to the lowest bidder the building of a court house, which shall be a frame of thirty-two by twenty feet, with a shingle, roof, and finished in the necessary manner; and a jail sixteen feet square of hewn logs twelve inches square.

Teste: JOHN EDWARDS, C. B. C.

The buildings provided for in this order of court were erected during the next year, and the first court was held on Tuesday, October 17, 1787. This court house stood for ten or eleven years, but was sold, when a new one was built, to John Allen, who moved it to his farm on the Maysville road, one and a half miles northeast from town.

In 1789. the following act was passed by the Legislature of Virginia, establishing the town, which at that time was Called Hopewell:

Be it enacted, That two hundred and fifty acres of land, at the court house in Bourbon County, as the same Are laid off into town lots and streets by Lawrence Protzman, the proprietor thereof, shall be established a town by the name of Hopewell, and that Notley Conn, Charles Smith, Jr., John Edwards, James Garrard, Edward Waller, Thomas West, James Lanier, James Little, and James Duncan, gentlemen. are hereby constituted Trustees thereof.

The Trustees of said town. or it majority of them, are authorized to make such rules and orders for the regular building of houses thereon;as to them shall appear proper.

As soon as the purchasers of lots in the said town shall have built thereon it house sixteen foot square, with a brick or stone chimney, such purchaser shall then be entitled to, and have, and enjoy all the rights, privileges, and immunities which the foreholders and inhabitants of other towns, in the State not incorporated, shall hold and enjoy.

At the session of the Virginia Legislature in 1790, the following act was passed amendatory to the above:

SECTION 1. Whereas, by an act of the assembly passed at the last session, entitled, “An act to establish a town in Bourbon County," two hundred and fifty acres of land at court house of said county of Bourbon, as laid off into lots and streets by a certain Lawrence Protzman, the then supposed proprietor thereof, was established a town by the name of Hopewell, of which Notley Conn, Charles Smith, Jr., John Edwards, James Garrard, Edward Waller, Thomas West, James Lanier, James Little, and James Duncan, gentlemen, were constituted trustees, and whereas, since the passing of said act, many doubts have arisen who is the real proprietor of said two hundred and fifty acres of land, and in consequence thereof the present holders of many of the said lots are disquieted, and the sale of the remainder thereof thereby prevented.

SEC. 2. Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, That from and after the passing of this act, the said two-hundred and fifty acres of land, as laid off into lots and streets, shall be, and are hereby vested in the said Notley Conn, Charles Smith, Jr., John Edwards, James Garrard, Edward Waller, Thomas West, James Lanier, James Little, and James Duncan, gentlemen, trustees, or a majority of them.

SEC. 3. The said trustees, or the majority of them, shall proceed to sell such of the said lots which now remain unsold, at public auction, for the best price that can be had, the time and place of which sale to be previously advertised two months in the Kentucky Gazette and convey the same to the purchaser, their heirs and assigns; subject, however, to the same rules, orders, and conditions, as the said lots are subjected to by the said recited act.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That said trustees shall, as soon as the said sale be completed, return an account thereof to the court of the said county of Bourbon, to be there recorded, and the money arising from such sale shall be retained by them for the use and benefit of the person or persons in whom the title to the said two-hundred and fifty acres of land shall hereafter be established, to be paid to such person or persons, or their legal representatives accordingly; Provided nevertheless, and be it further enacted, That in case the title of the said two hundred and fifty acres of land shall hereafter be established in any other person or persons than in the said Lawrence Protzman, the said trustees shall in such case convey such of the lots as were sold by him to the purchasers thereof, in fee simple, and the purchasers or holders of such lots, shall be subject only to account with the real proprietor thereof, for the value of the same when originally purchased as unimproved lots.

SEC. 5. Be it further enacted, that from and after the passing of this act the name of the said town shall be altered, and from thenceforth the name shall be established by the name of Paris; any law to the contrary notwithstanding.

There are conflicting statements as to the name of the place although the above acts of the Virginia Legislature would seem to settle the matter definitely. Mr. Collins. the historian of Kentucky, says it was called Bourbonton and a letter from the Treasury Department at Washington to the compilers or the volume entitled "Sketches of Paris," published here in 1876, corroborates the statement, and asserts that the post office was Created January 1, 1755, with Thomas Eades as Postmaster, who was succeeded by William Paton, appointed July, 1, 1800, and that the name was changed from Bourbonton to Paris, April 28, 1826, when James Paton, Jr., was appointed Postmaster.

Mr. James Paton, Sr., of this city, who is still living. and who was connected with the office from 1815 to 1837, is authority for the statement that there is some mistake as to the date of the change of name; that when he entered the office in 1815 it was known as Paris. He adds, however, that it had at one time been called Bourbonton, a fact which he had entertained by seeing the old way-bills in the office. From these statements and from the enactments of the Virginia Legislature, it seems clear that the town has borne the three names--Bourbonton, Hopewell and Paris. The selection of the last was peculiarly fitting. At the time the town was established there was a feeling of gratitude to France and to the Bourbons for the conspicuous part taken by the French people in the Revolutionary war, in which they contributed so largely to secure our National independence. Besides, the name of the County was Bourbon, given for the same reason. And it was, therefore, the more appropriate that the county-town should be called Paris; and this name was preferred and has been continued, carrying out in this instance, at least, the idea of the “survival of the fittest."

After the selection of Paris its the county seat, its population increased, and according to the census in 1790, six years after the settlement of the place, numbered 358. There is no reason to suppose that the early settlers indulged in any dreams of the future greatness of the town. If they did so, the illusion was rudely dispelled by the census of 1800, which showed a population of only 377, an increase in ten years of only nineteen inhabitants. The county, in the meantime, however, had increased with great rapidity.

The men of that day were not lacking in enterprise, for even then they looked forward to the opening of South Licking, and to carry out this purpose they secured the passage of an act through the Legislature in 1794, constituting John Edwards, Henry Clay, James Kenney, Charles Smith, William Garrard, William Kelley, William Boswell and James Smith, managers of a lottery, the object of which was to raise the sum of $2,800, to be used in opening the navigation of South Licking. Tickets were sold at $2, and the scheme was published for some time in the Lexington Gazette. We have been unable to ascertain whether the drawing ever took place, or the money was ever raised, or South Licking ever opened to navigation. The persons who were the managers of the lottery were leading and prominent citizens, showing that at that time there was not the same public sentiment against lotteries as now exists. In this respect, Paris was neither behind nor in advance of her sister towns; Georgetown had a lottery, and so also there were two in Lexington; one of the latter being for the benefit or the Dutch Presbyterian Protestant Church in that place.

In 1798, an act was passed by the Legislature, establishing Bourbon Academy, and “State aid” given to the institution, which donated for its benefit "six thousand acres of unappropriated lands."

In 1797, the publication of the Kentucky Herald was commenced. In an article published in 1855, in the Citizen, Mr. A. M. Brown, then the editor of that paper, states that James Stewart was the publisher. Other authorities are to the effect that it was published by Daniel Bradford, brother of the editor of the LeKington Gazette. It may be that both Stewart and Bradford were the joint publishers. The publication of the paper continued only one year. In March, 1797, the Legislature passed an act recognizing it as a medium of publishing laws or notices that required publication.

Very little is known of the habits or the every-day life of the early settlers. It is, however, clear, from the names which are mentioned, and from the prominent positions which many of them afterward held, that both the town and county was settled by some of the best citizens of Virginia and Maryland. It is probable that there were very few amusements in those days. There was no town hall. But, there was doubtless enough of social enjoyment and pastimes. The old-time quilting parties, the old-fashioned weddings, which were grand events, and the dance, probably the “Old Virginia Reel," and the Christmas festivities and holidays, and the crowning of the handsomest girl in the village, the "Queen of the May.”

The facilities for obtaining news were not good. A post office wall not established here until 1795, and the mails were by no means regular. There was very little local news. The inroads of the Indians, and their pursuit, were the chief topics of interest, and constituted the sensational news of the times, whilst their recital by the fireside at evening was, no doubt, listened to with most thrilling interest.

The erection of the second court house wall begun in 1797, and the building wall finished in 1799. The foundation was laid by Thomas Metcalfe. “Old Stone-hammer," afterward Governor of the State. His uncle, John Metcalfe, had the contract to erect the building. The carpentering work was done by a Mr. McCord. This house was destroyed by fire in 1872.

As soon as the county seat was located permanently in the place, and the town wall laid off by Mr. Protzman, settlers were attracted here, who were on the lookout for suitable locations for merchandising and manufacturing. Mr. James H. McCann, who was born in Paris, in December, 1801, contributed some interesting facts, which appeared in “Sketches of Paris," a volume published in 1876, by G. R. Keller and J. M. McCann, and to whom we are also indebted for much information in regard to the early history of the place. From him we learn that the first settlers finding the bottoms all undesirable location for their purposes, they began to erect their houses on the higher ground. The first houses, it is believed, were built where the Bourbon House now stands, and along the road toward the Episcopal Church.

The first public house (or tavern) was erected of logs, on the lot now occupied by A. Shire's jewelry store, and was kept by Thomas West. It had no name like the hotels of today, but was known as “West's Tavern;" yet, in after years, when it was clapboarded, and washed over with a red-wash, it wall known as “West's Red Tavern," and the only sign displayed wall the “square and compass." The first hotel that bore a name was where the Bourbon House stands, and it was known as the "Indian Queen House," the sign displayed being a picture of a handsome Indian woman. The second hotel was kept by Thomas Eades in the Walker residence. The third was kept by Thomas Hughes, and stood just below the Citizens' Bank, occupying the site of the Stoker Hotel. The “Indian Queen House" (portion of the present Bourbon House), was erected about 1804-5, and kept by Maurice Langhorn.

The first brick house erected in Paris was built by Thomas West, about 1796, extending from Pullen and Chamber's grocery (now L. Frank's dry goods store) to Ficklin's property, opposite the Court House door. It was in three divisions, two stories high. In after years the street was graded down, and these houses had to be entered by high steps, the first floors being perhaps eight or ten feet above the level.

The first regularly organized school was taught by Turner Lane (1796), in a little frame building, where the First Presbyterian Church stands, corner of Pleasant and Mulberry streets. He was superseded by John McCann (father of the venerable James H. McCann, now living), in 1800. The first Church organized was in 1787, by Rev. Andrew McClure, a Presbyterian minister, though the church building was not erected until 1789, and was not completely fitted up until several years afterward. It stood on the corner of Church and high streets, where James T. Davis' residence now stands, The first public burying-ground was known as the old "Dutch Graveyard," and adjoins the City School premises. The ground was donated by Lawrence Protzman. The first election of Town Trustees was held the first Friday in March, 1797, and the following gentlemen elected: John Metcalf, Daniel Duncan, William Kelly, Andrew Todd, Thomas Arnold and Richard Henderson. The Trustees before that time their office by appointment by the Legislature.

The first bridge across Stoner at this point was built in 1795; was swept away in the fall of 1808, and was rebuilt the next year; this was torn away and replaced in 1833, by the one that stands firm yet, having been re-covered and otherwise repaired in 1875, and bids fair to last for several decades to come.

Paris in her earlier days seemed to have the same intellectual spirit animating her citizens as makes her famous for her educational institutions to-day. Establishing at the earliest day her academy and newspaper, it was but natural that she should have a public library, and as early as 1808 we find her with a chartered institution of this character. with the following gentlemen as Directors: William Garrard, Jr.. Robert Trimble, William Kelly, Samuel Hanson and Benjamin Mills. The library was destroyed by fire in 1829.

The first grist-mill within the town limits was near the mouth of Houston, and was owned by John Allen, Esq. The first post office was kept by Thomas Eades (grandfather of Mrs. B. E. Knapp), at his tavern in the Walker residence. He was succeeded by William Paton, an uncle of our present City Clerk, the venerable James Paton, Sr., who assisted his uncle in the office for some time.

In 1810 the town records were torn up by some unknown person, and the first records after that contain a resolution of condemnation of the unknown vandal.

The first dramatic performance in Paris was in 1807, in the old Burr House, which is yet standing. The dancing room was transformed into a theater, there being no suitable hall in the town in which to give theatrical representations. The company was an amateur one, composed of a number of young men of the place, and during the winter gave several performances. Among the plays enacted was Shakespeare's sublime tragedy of Macbeth, which the young actors essayed to produce, showing that they had the utmost confidence in their histrionic ability. Our informant recalls the tragedy of Macbeth, as one of the pieces presented, from the boys using as by-words, when they would meet each other on the street, the expression, “when shall we three meet again? "

Another amateur society gave performances in 1815. Among the members were a young man named Mitchell, Ed. Hannegan, and James May, an Englishman, who had some experience as an actor. They produced the play entitled “Wild Oats." Hannegan, the young man referred to above, was at that time a clerk in a store ; he was pale and delicate looking, and rather handsome, and in the female parts, which were usually assigned to him, made a very handsome and presentable lady. He subsequently, we are informed, went to Indiana, and years afterward, when Hon. E. A. Hannegan, one of the most brilliant orators of his time, was elected United States Senator from that State, it was said that he had been a clerk in a store in this place. It is, therefore, not improbable, that the amateur actor of Paris was, thirty or thirty-five years after, the eloquent Senator from Indiana. James May, who was also a member, figured afterward in the most exciting criminal case in the county, on a charge of forgery, and was sentenced to imprisonment in the State Penitentiary.

In 1823 or 1824, the first regular theatrical company appeared in Paris, under the management of a man named Cargill. The company comprised three ladies and three gentlemen. The performances, which continued nightly for some weeks, were given in the dancing-room of the old Paris Hotel. Among the pieces presented was Maturin's Bertram, which was a great favorite with theater-goers at that day.

The first carriage was brought here by Mr. Thomas Arnold, the Clerk of the Circuit Court, in 1807. He was also the first who purchased a piano, about the same time, Judge Robert Trimble, Judge Benjamin Mills, Jesse Bledsoe and Daniel Duncan, although they were leading, well-to-do citizens of the town, and had large families of children, had no pianos. For many years afterward, there were very few carriages; no buggies. The gig seemed to be a favorite vehicle for travel. Maj. A. Throckmortin, afterward the proprietor of the Galt House, in Louisville, had, it is said, the finest turn-out of that day--an elegantly finished and showy gig, to which two horses were driven, one before the other, tandem style. But horseback riding was then the usual mode of travel; and these were romantic and delightful days, when the young men went visiting or to church, with their sweethearts riding on behind and affectionately circling them with their arms.

In the earlier days, travel was exceedingly dangerous, on account of the liability of travelers being waylaid by hostile Indians. In looking over the old newspaper files, we find that those returning to Virginia would advertise weeks ahead for persons to accompany them through the "wilderness," as it was then called. The first stage that ever passed through Paris was in 1808, conducted by George Walls, of Lexington; but this was only temporary. The first regular stage line was established by E. P. Johnson & Co., of Georgetown, in 1818. It was not until long after, in 1854, that the Kentucky Central Railroad was finished to Paris, and the town placed in easy access with the important trade centers of the country.

In those times, the same care was bestowed upon dress as at the present day; if anything, the young men dressed more elaborately, in fine broadcloths, with tastefully ruffled shirt-bosoms, high stocks and standing collars. Some of the older men, among them Mr. Raines, the father of John B. Raines, for many years Cashier of the Northern Batik, and Mr. Thornton, Capt. Abram Spears, and others, were not led away by the changes of fashion, but adhered to the old time style of knee-breeches, with stockings reaching up to the knees. And there was a courtliness and a dignity in the style which was in admirable keeping with the stateliness and pride of these gentlemen of the olden time, in any one of whom, no doubt, might have been found a fit prototype for the latter-day apostle of aestheticism.

From 1800 to 1810, the town made rapid progress, springing from 377 to 838 in population. In the meantime, the county had become very populous, the census showing a population of 18,009, larger than the county now has after the lapse of seventy-two years,

In 1812, the second war with Great Britain was begun, and the citizens of Bourbon County rushed forward with patriotic ardor in defense of their country. Capt. William Garrard's troops were composed largely of the young men of Paris. During the progress of the war, the deepest interest was manifested, and the most intense eagerness to hear the news. When the dreadful intelligence of Dudley's defeat was received, there was mourning everywhere; but when word came of victories, there were processions, and firing of muskets, and hurrahing, and other demonstrations of joy. The news of peace, and the victory at New Orleans, January 8, 1815, caused great and universal rejoicing.

It was not until 1823 or 1824 that, so far as can be learned, the first debating society was organized. Among the prominent members were George W. Williams, afterward a leading citizen of the county, and George Redmon, a shoemaker. The latter, especially, was a ready speaker, and took an active part in the debates and proceedings of the society.

Such, chiefly, was the beginning of Paris. The men who laid its foundations were men of strong will, of ability, of patriotism, and many of them of culture. The long array of prominent names shows that there were truly “giants in those days." James Garrard, the second Governor of the State, who was among the earliest settlers, was a man of massive frame, weighing upward of three hundred pounds. He had represented the county in the Virginia Legislature, when Kentucky was a part of Virginia. He was a member of the State Constitutional Convention; afterward held important political trusts, and was recognized w one of the leading men of the State. Judge Benjamin Mills was a prominent lawyer, and one of the Judges of the Appellate Court during the old and new court controversy. He was heavy set, rather below the usual height, and those who have seen him say, in appearance, he was very much like his son, Rev. T. A. Mills. Jesse Bledsoe is spoken of as one of the ablest men of his day. He was Circuit Judge of the Lexington District, United States Senator, and held other positions of honor and trust. Judge Robert Trimble was a man of splendid presence; in intellect, and in all that goes to make up true manhood in every respect, one of the first men of the State. He was one of the Judges of the Supreme Court. A splendid granite monument marks his last resting-place in the Paris Cemetery.

These distinguished men--except Governor Garrard--were all contemporaries at the Paris bar, constituting a grand galaxy of legal ability unsurpassed in the State.

For many years, the history of Paris was only the record of ordinary, commonplace events. No startling murders, no great sensations, but everything moved on in the even tenor of its way. “Happy," it is said, "is that nation which has no history ; " where everything passes along calmly and pleasantly and peacefully, undisturbed by the rude shocks of bloodshed, and of war. Where every man reposes in peace beneath his own vine and fig-tree. But here, as everywhere, that great struggle in which all humanity is engaged, the struggle for daily bread, has always been going on; it is the terrible life struggle, and some become weary and heart-sick. and fall by the way. The aggregate histories of all these people, as they toil year after year, earning scarcely enough to save their families from want; the sowing in peril that another may reap the rich harvest; if the life's history of each individual could be given, it would make a history of deeper interest than any which shall ever be written.

And there is another side--another history of the beautiful home-life; of noble deeds of charity, and of kindness; of patient waiting and self-denying sacrifices; the tender and ennobling attributes of our nature, as they show themselves in the gentle ministrations of kindness, and in deeds of which the world knows nothing; these are not written in ephemeral earthly histories, but in another book.—F. L. McChesney