that the chmate of the new territory was temperate and 

 tlie soil ripe for tobacco. That was an inspiration for men 

 bred to that agriculture, eager to leave the "overworked" 

 faniis of their communities and perhaps find economic 

 independence elsewhere. 



We 



estern Eden 



Something about Kentucky inspired fervor among 

 those who visited and described it. (The pattern of using 

 only superlatives in relation to the Bluegrass State, thus 

 early begun, seems never to have altered. ) It seemed no 

 exaggeration to Kentuckians when a pastor, commenting 

 on the beauty of the land, remarked to his flock, "Heaven 

 is a Kentucky of a place!" There were other contempor- 

 ary enthusiasts. One of them, whose opinion was fre- 

 quently repeated, was a Virginia circuit judge. He had 

 returned from a tour of the Bluegrass region. As a refer- 

 ence, he mentioned the most noted scenic spots of 

 Virginia and then went on to say that, compared with 

 Kentucky, "When God made ( those spots ) , He was just 

 practicing." 



A proclamation issued in 1763 by George HI forbade 

 British subjects to settle west of the Appalachians. 

 Colonial pioneers simply ignored the edict. During the 

 period of first settlements, Kentucky territory was a poli- 

 tical part of Virginia. The Assembly of that colony in 

 1772, when it learned that settlers were moving into the 

 "west," had designated it Fincastle County. Four years 

 later the area was officially separated into three counties. 

 One of tiiem. West Fincastle, was called Kentucky, and 

 that soon became general for tlie whole territory. The 

 name came from "Kenta-ke," the Iroquoian appellation 

 for a Sliawnee site signifying "prairie," or "meadow." It 



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