LEWISTON. A village and summer resort in Niagara County, N. Y., on the Niagara River, seven miles north of Niagara Falls; the terminus of a line of steamers to Toronto; on the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad (Map: New York, A 2). It has a public library. The Gorge Road, Rumsay Park, and the Tuscarora Indian Reservation are of interest in this locality. Population, in 1890, 633; in 1900, 697. A blockhouse was erected here by the French in 1720, but was soon abandoned, though an Indian village, later the home of Joseph Brant, grew up in the vicinity. Near it are Devil's Hole and Bloody Run—the scene of a terrible Indian massacre on September 14, 1763. The permanent settlement by the whites dates from about 1800; the township was set off from Cambria in 1818, and in 1843 the village was incorporated. In 1813 (December 19th) Lewiston was burned by the English and Indians. Consult Pool, Landmarks of Niagara County, N. Y. (Syracuse, 1897).
LEWISTOWN. A borough and the county-seat of Mifllin County, Pa., 61 miles northwest of Harrisburg; on the Juniata River, and on the Pennsylvania Railroad (Map: Pennsylvania, D 3). The borough bears some reputation as a summer resort, but is more important as an industrial centre. It is in a fertile farming district which has mineral deposits, particularly of iron and glass sand; and there are foundries, furnaces, steel-works, flour and lumber mills, a tannery, and manufactories of edge tools, pumps, hydrants, etc. Population, in 1890, 3273; in 1900, 4451.
LEWIS-WITH-HARRIS. A Scottish island, the northernmost of the outer Hebrides (q.v.), 30 miles northwest of Ross-shire, from which it is separated by the Minch (Map: Scotland, B 1). Area, 770 square miles. Population, in 1891, 30,700; in 1901, 34,224. The coasts are wild and rugged: the chief indentations are Broad Bay, and Lochs Erisort, Seaforth, Resort, and Roag. The surface is for a considerable portion swampy and covered with peat. Barley and potatoes are the principal crops raised. The inhabitants are of Celtic extraction, with the exception of a colony in the north, who, although they speak the Gaelic language, are of Scandinavian descent. Relics of antiquity and remains of ancient forests abound. Stornoway (q.v.), on the east coast, is the capital town.
LEX FORI. See Conflict of Laws; Forum.
LEXICOGRAPHY. See Dictionary.
LEXICON. See Dictionary.
LEXINGTON. A city and the county-seat of Fayette County, Ky., 98 miles south of Cincinnati, Ohio; on the Chesapeake and Ohio, the Lexington and Eastern, the Louisville and Nashville, the Queen and Crescent Route, the Southern, and other railroads (Map: Kentucky, G 2). It is the centre of the widely celebrated ‘blue grass region,’ is well built, and has a public library, the State Asylum for the Insane, Kentucky Reform School, Kentucky University (Christian), organized in 1836, State Agricultural and Mechanical College, Sayre Female Institute, Hamilton and McClelland female colleges, Saint Catherine's Academy (Roman Catholic), and other educational institutions. Other points of interest are Woodland Park, the racetracks, and several noted stock farms. Lexington is commercially important as the market for the ‘blue grass’ district, and is well known also for the manufacture of Bourbon whisky. The manufactures include also flour, saddlery and harness, carriages and wagons, canned goods, and planing-mill, foundry, and machine-shop products. The government is administered under a charter of 1894, by a mayor, elected every four years, a bicameral council, and subordinate officials, the majority of whom are chosen by the people. Population, in 1890, 21,567; in 1900, 26,369.
In 1775 several hunters, including Robert Patterson, Simon Kenton, and William McConnell, stopped on the site of Lexington, gave it its present name to commemorate the battle of Lexington, and built a cabin to confirm their title to the land. A permanent settlement was made by Patterson four years later. In 1782 the town was incorporated by the Virginia Legislature. From 1792 to 1793 it was the capital of Kentucky, and here, in 1792, assembled the first State Legislature. In 1832 a city charter was secured. It was the home from 1797 until his death of Henry Clay, in memory of whom a noteworthy monument has been erected.
LEXINGTON. A town in Middlesex County, Mass., 11 miles northwest of Boston; on the Boston and Maine Railroad (Map: Massachusetts, E 3). Among the points of interest are the Cary Library, with 20,000 volumes, and fine marble statues of John Hancock and Samuel Adams; a statue of Captain Parker; the battleground; the Revolutionary monument, erected in 1799; the Hancock-Clarke house (built in 1698), where Hancock and Samuel Adams slept the night before the battle of 1775, and now the repository of an interesting collection of relics; Monroe Tavern (built in 1695), Earl Percy's headquarters; Buckman Tavern (built 1690), the rendezvous of the minutemen; the old Belfry club-house; the town hall; the high school; the Hancock schoolhouse; and the old burying-ground. The leading industries are farming and dairying, and the manufacture of leather binding. Population, in 1890, 3197; in 1900, 3831. Settled in 1640, Lexington was a part of Cambridge and was known as ‘Cambridge Farms’ until 1691, when it was made into a separate precinct, and given its present name from Lord Lexington. It was incorporated as a town in 1713. It was the birthplace of Theodore Parker.
Lexington is celebrated in American history for having been the scene of the first contest in the Revolutionary War, fought April 19, 1775. On the night of April 18th the Americans discovered the intention of General Gage to send a detachment of British troops to Concord for the purpose of destroying some military stores which had been collected there, and also to seize the persons of John Hancock and Samuel Adams, who were living temporarily in Lexington. Information of this design was spread abroad by Paul Revere, who rode from Charlestown to Lexington warning the farmers along the route. On the same evening General Gage, who commanded the Royal troops in Boston, had picketed the roads in the vicinity and dispatched Lieutenant-Colonel Smith with 800 men on the expedition to Concord. When the advance of the British column reached Lexington in the early morning it was opposed by about 70 militiamen, who had formed on the town common, under command of Capt. John
