Historical Map of KY and Her Counties - 1785-86 | Home | Index of Maps | 1780-84 | 1785-86 | 1787-92 | 1794-96 | 1800-1806 | 1823-37 | In May 1782 the Commonwealth of Virginia passed a law which made the three counties   become the District of Kentucky as of August 1st. This allowed for our own district court and the settling of cases in Kentucky without having to make the long trips back to Virginia. Kentuckians created four new counties in the new district during the period of 1785-86.(4) Nelson (5)Mercer (6)Madison and (7)Bourbon.

#	County:	Date Created:	Named For:
1	Jefferson	June 30, 1780	Thomas Jefferson, the main architect of the Declaration of Independence
2	Fayette	June 30, 1780	Marquis de la Fayette,the 23 year old French General who was the darling of the colonies.
3	Lincoln	June 30, 1780	Benjamin Lincoln, the chief lieutenant of General George Washington who was to receive the sword of the defeated General Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781
4	Nelson	1785	Thomas Nelson, the Virginia governor
5	Mercer	1785	General Hugh Mercer (a revolutionary patriot)
6	Madison	1785	James Madison (a revolutionary patriot)
7	Bourbon	1785	French royal dynasty (which was to succumb to its own revolution in the following year).

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