804 KENTUCKY in Danville, 5,000 ; Georgetown college, 5,000 ; Episcopal theological library 2,000; and Lou- isville library association, 5,690. The museum of natural history of Kentucky university con- tains more than 40,000 specimens, and the museum attached to the public library of Ken- tucky contains over 100,000, which, however, are only partially classified. The total number of religious organizations was 2,969, having 2,696 edifices, with 878,039 sittings, and prop- erty valued at $9,824,465. The leading denom- inations were as follows : DENOMINATIONS. Organi- zation!. Edi- fice.. Sittings. Property. Baptist 1 004 962 288 986 $2,028,975 Christian 490 436 141585 1 046 075 Episcopal, Protestant .... Evangelical Association . . Jewish 88 5 8 85 5 8 15,800 8,000 1 500 570,300 150,000 184,000 7 7 1 650 16000 Methodist 978 818 244918 1,854,565 Presbyterian, regular " other 289 11 180 270 16 125 97,150 8,600 72550 1,275,400 17,000 2 604 900 Shaker 2 2 1 600 28000 1 1 1000 8000 2 2 400 5500 8 15 4650 28,750 The earliest exploration of Kentucky was made by John Finley and a few companions from North Carolina in 1767. In 1769 Daniel Boone, Finley, and four others visited the re- gion, and in 1770 Col. James Knox, with a party from S. W. Virginia, explored the coun- try along the Cumberland and Green rivers. In 1773-'4 a party locating bounty warrants extended their surveys to the north fork of the Licking, up the Kentucky as far as Dix river, and over a considerable territory near the falls. In 1774 James Harrod built a log cabin on the present site of Harrodsburg, and the next year he established a station there. The fort at Boonesborough was built by Daniel Boone in 1775. The country of Kan-tuck-kee, "the dark and bloody ground," was not occupied by the aborigines except as a common hunting ground for the tribes north and south of it. The intrusion of white settlements met with determined and bloody opposition. In March, 1775, Boone concluded a treaty with the Cher- okees at Wataga, by which Kentucky was sold to Ool. Richard Henderson and his compa- ny. As it lay within the charter limits of Virginia, that state would not recognize Hen- derson's purchase, but finally compromised by giving him 200,000 acres at the mouth of Green river. In 1776 Kentucky was made a county of Virginia, and in 1777 the first court was held at Harrodsburg. In 1779 the Virginia legislature passed a law which caused a great influx of population. In 1783 Ken- tucky was formed into one district, and a dis- trict court established. The conclusion of the war of independence left the settlers in constant danger of Indian outrage, and the citizens found themselves obliged to undertake their own protection. Richmond, Va., the capital, was too far distant to be relied on for assistance in times of need, and hence the con- ventions held at Danville in 1784-'5 recom- mended a peaceable and constitutional separa- tion from Virginia. The third convention sent a petition to Richmond, and in 1786 an act was passed by the legislature complying with the desires of Kentucky ; but from seve- ral causes the separation was not then com- pleted, chiefly from an inclination of the peo- ple to obtain an independent nationality. A fourth convention only served to inflame the people against the central government ; and a report having gained currency that Mr. Jay, when minister to Spain, had ceded the naviga- tion of the Mississippi to that country, the ut- most ill feeling was aroused. A fifth con- vention met, and on petition Virginia allowed the Kentuckians to send a delegate to con- gress ; but the constitution having in the mean while been adopted, the whole subject was re- ferred to the new government. Taking ad- vantage of this position of affairs, Spain clandestinely proposed through her minister peculiar commercial favors to Kentucky in case of her forming an independent govern- ment. These propositions met with some fa- vor ; but after a sixth and a seventh convention were assembled, an address to congress was ul- timately voted. Two more conventions were subsequently held, and the question was de- termined by Kentucky becoming in 1790 a separate territory, and its admission into the Union on June 1, 1792. The population at this time was about 75,000. Indian wars con- tinued to disturb the frontiers, and complaints of the inefficiency of the federal govern- ment were again heard. The whisky tax also became oppressive, and the American policy toward the French republic was denounced in every cabin. The old idea of indepen- dence was again mooted, but the storm passed over. In the 10 or 12 years which succeeded, and which included the period of negotiation for the navigation of the Mississippi, and then for the purchase of Louisiana, Kentucky was again agitated. The treaty of 1795 with Spain gave to the United States the right of deposit at New Orleans and the freedom of the river. Pending the negotiations the governor of Lou- isiana had approached some leading Kentuck- ians with a view to a different treaty ; but ac- tion on these promises was stayed by federal interference, and the faithlessness of the Span- iards soon became evident. Seven years now passed in comparative quiet and prosperity, when the whole nation became excited by the intelligence that the Spaniards had violated . the treaty of 1795 by a denial of the rights se- cured by its provisions, and it became known that even Louisiana had been retroceded to France. Its subsequent purchase by the Uni- ted States put an end to all pending troubles. In the war of 1812 Kentucky took an active part. Upward of 5,000 volunteers were called into active service, and at one time more than
