348 



KENTUCKY. 



mg mountainous, except on the eastern limit. The centre of the State is beautifully undula- 

 ting, and there is a tract 100 miles in length, and 50 in breadth, which for the beauty of its 

 landscape, the dehgbtful aspect of its open groves, and the fertility of its soil, is thought to be 

 unequalled in the country. In the eastern part, the mountain streams wind round the bases of 

 the low hills, cutting deep gullies in the soil. Many of tliese places are overgrown with im 

 mense poplars, sometimes 8 feet in diameter, and exhibit scenes of indescribable beauty. The 

 Barrens in the western parts are covered with grass, and trees are thinly scattered upon them 



POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



1. Divisions. Kentucky is divided into 85 counties. 



Population at different Periods. 





Whiles. 



Slaves. 



Free Colored. 



Total Pop. 



1790 



01,133 



11,830 



114 



73,077 



1800 . 



179,871 



40,343 



741 



220,955 



1810 



324 ,'237 



80,501 



1,713 



400,511 



1820 . 



434,644 



126,732 



2,911 



564,317 . 



1830 



517,787 



165,213 



4,917 



687,917 



1840 . 











2. Canals and Railroads. In 1835 a Board of Commissioners was created for the pur- 

 pose of organizing a regular system of internal improvement, superintending the works author- 

 ized to be executed by the State, and subscribing in the name of the State in aid of such 

 works undertaken by individuals, as should meet their approbation. The improvement of the 

 navigation of the Green, Kentucky, Licking, Big Sandy, and Cumberland rivers by a series 

 of dams and locks, is already in progress in conformity with the laws of the State, and 

 macadamized roads have been constructed, or are constructing, in different quarters, under the 

 same authority. The Louisville and Portland Canal., passing round the falls of the Ohio, is 

 one of the most important works in the country ; for although only a mile and a half in length, 

 it is 200 feet wide at the surface, and 50 feet at the bottom, and from the peculiar difficuhies 

 encountered in its construction, is estimated to be equivalent to about 75 miles of ordinary ca- 

 nals ; it has 4 locks, capable of admitting steamboats of the largest class, and a total lockage 

 of 23 feet ; it is constructed in the most solid and durable manner, and the cost of construction 

 was 750,000 dollars. The Lexington and Ohio Railroad extends from Louisville through 

 Frankfort to Lexington, 96 miles. The Green River Railroad from Hopkinsville to Eddy- 

 ville, on the Cumberland River, 48 miles, is in progress. The projected route of the Charles- 

 ton and Cincinnati Railroad extends through this State from Cumberland Gap by Lexington, 

 to Newport or Covington. 



3. Toivns. The city of Louisville is the largest town, and one of the largest west of the 

 mountains. It stands on the southern bank of the Ohio, about a quarter of a mile above the 

 principal declivity of the falls ; a stream called Beargrass Creek, falls into the river above the 

 town, and affords a harbor for the steamboats and river craft. The site of the town is a gently 



"Adair 



Edmondson 



Jefferson 



Allen 



Estill 



Jessamine 



Anderson 



Fayette 



Knox 



Barren 



Fleming 



Laurel 



Bath 



Floyd 



Lawrence 



Boone 



Franklin 



Lewis 



Bourbon 



Gallatin 



Lincoln 



Bracken 



Garrard 



Livingston 



Breckenridge 



Grant 



Logan 



Bullitt 



Graves 



Madison 



Butler 



Grayson 



Marion 



Caldwell 



Greene 



Mason 



Callaway 



Greenup 



McCracken 



Campbell 



Hancock 



Meade 



Carrol 



Hardin 



Mercer 



Casey 



Harlan 



Monroe 



Christian 



Harrison 



Montgomery 



Clarke 



Hart 



Morgan 



Clay 



Henderson 



Muhlenburg 



Clinton 



Henry 

 Hopkins 



Nelson 



Cumberland 



Nicholas 



Daviess 





Ohio 



Oldham 



Owen 



Pendleton 



Perry 



Pike 



Pulaski 



Rockcastle 



Russell 



Scott 



Shelby 



Simpson 



Spencer 



Todd 



Trigg 



Union 



Warren 



Washington 



Wayne 



Whitely 



Woodford 



