John Todd (March 27, 1750 – August 19, 1782) was an American military officer and politician who fought during the Revolutionary War and became the first administrator of the Illinois County of the U.S. state of Virginia before that state ceded the territory to the federal government.
23-491: Todd County is the name of three counties in the United States: Todd County, Kentucky Todd County, Minnesota Todd County, South Dakota [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
46-481: A house, a simple two-story shed-roofed, brick one-pile dwelling, now known as "Halcyon," or the John Gray House. Gray wanted a town to be established near his home that would become the county seat. Gray designed the city, which included a town square from which hundreds of lots radiated. He called it " Elkton " after the elk herds that watered at a spring near the town center. Gray designed the town square as
69-675: A lot if slavery were abolished. The major slave-owning areas in the state were the Bluegrass region, Henderson and Oldham counties on the Ohio River, and the western Kentucky counties of Trigg, Christian, Todd, and Warren. Many Kentuckians from these areas joined the Confederate army. Nevertheless, Kentucky's allegiance was divided during the Civil War. The state was officially neutral until September 1861, when it pledged its support to
92-400: A smaller federal style cupola, but this was later replaced with a late Victorian clock tower in the second Empire style, which remains today. Kentucky was a source of slaves for the cotton plantations in the lower South, and the slave trade was a profitable business for many Kentuckians. However, most Kentuckians did not own slaves. Those who did were wealthy plantation owners who stood to lose
115-414: A trapezoid instead of a square, with the south side of the town square larger than the north so that as the sun traversed across the sky, the buildings on the east and west would benefit from prolonged periods of daily sunlight. Gray contributed funding for a county courthouse, which was erected at the center of the square. The brick building stood two stories with a cupola at the top. After Major Gray died,
138-521: Is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky . As of the 2020 census , the population was 12,243. Its county seat is Elkton . The county is named for Colonel John Todd , who was killed at the Battle of Blue Licks in 1782 during the American Revolution . Todd County consists of two geographical regions known historically as the high country to the north and low country to
161-662: Is celebrated in West Virginia as the first battle in the American Revolutionary War . He was then drawn west into the recently opened frontier of Kentucky where he purchased land near Lexington . Todd served in the Virginia legislature in 1776 and then participated in the expedition led by George Rogers Clark against Kaskaskia and Vincennes that captured the Illinois Country from
184-1049: The British in 1778. With Clark as commandant of the entire territory north and west of the Ohio river , Todd was appointed as County Lieutenant and Civil Commandant of "Illinois County", which had been organized by the Virginia legislature in 1778 with the government based in Kaskaskia. In 1780, Todd returned to Richmond, Virginia , as a delegate from the Kentucky County to the Virginia Legislature, where he married Jane Hawkins. His wife settled on their property in Lexington, while he left to administer affairs in Illinois County. Because of his duties on
207-577: The Iroquoian language -speaking Cherokee , who had migrated centuries earlier from areas around the Great Lakes . They used the lands for hunting and gathering. Todd County lies within what was originally considered the western portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia . Many of the original white settlers came when the area was still considered part of Virginia. This part of southern Kentucky
230-546: The Union. In response, a pro-Confederate Confederate government of Kentucky was formed by representatives from several Kentucky counties, with a second capital at Bowling Green. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 377 square miles (980 km ), of which 374 square miles (970 km ) is land and 2.6 square miles (6.7 km ) (0.7%) is water. As of the census of 2000, there were 11,971 people, 4,569 households, and 3,367 families residing in
253-429: The age of 18 living with them, 58.70% were married couples living together, 11.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.30% were non-families. 23.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.05. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.60% under
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#1732773374252276-467: The age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 28.40% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $ 29,718, and the median income for a family was $ 36,043. Males had a median income of $ 28,502 versus $ 20,340 for females. The per capita income for
299-596: The building was deemed in a state of ruin due to improper construction methods and torn down to erect a new courthouse. The new Todd County courthouse was erected by order of the Fiscal Court in 1834. R. Rowland designed the building in the Federal Style with an integration of Greek-Revival style motifs. The brick building, which is extant in the 21st century, stands two stories tall with tripartite windows and large Greek-Revival lintels. The building originally had
322-588: The county was $ 15,462. About 14.70% of families and 17.20% of the population were below the poverty line , including 21.90% of those under age 18 and 22.00% of those age 65 or over. There is one school district, the Todd County School District . 36°50′N 87°11′W / 36.84°N 87.18°W / 36.84; -87.18 John Todd (Virginia soldier) Todd was born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania ,
345-586: The county. Kentucky Governor Greenup made the first Kentucky land grants to veterans William Croghan, David Logan, Edward Shanklin Jr., and John Wilson, among others. Todd County was created in response to a petition for "home government," since travel to the county seats of Logan and Christian was arduous. The petition had been written by the magisterial court, consisting of Edward Shanklin , John Gray, Robert Coleman, Henry Gorin, John Taylor, H. C. Ewing, John S Anderson, William Hopper, John Mann and Joseph Frazer, had made
368-505: The county. The population density was 32 per square mile (12/km ). There were 5,121 housing units at an average density of 14 per square mile (5.4/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 89.32% White , 8.75% Black or African American , 0.15% Native American , 0.17% Asian , 0.03% Pacific Islander , 0.87% from other races , and 0.71% from two or more races. 1.66% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 4,569 households, out of which 33.50% had children under
391-420: The early 19th century, Major John Gray established a stagecoach hub in the county with travel routes radiating to larger American cities from the central point. His widely known Stagecoach Inn located in "Graysville," now Guthrie, Kentucky , was at the center of the travel routes. Major Gray's stagecoach empire was highly successful, and he soon became wealthy due to its popularity in the region. Major Gray built
414-576: The frontier, he was seldom home. In 1780, the Virginia Legislature divided the original Kentucky County into three counties: Lincoln , Jefferson , and Fayette . Colonel Todd was placed in charge of Fayette County militia with Daniel Boone as lieutenant colonel. In 1782, Todd was killed fighting in the Battle of Blue Licks in Robertson County, Kentucky , one of the last battles of the Revolutionary War. Todd County, Kentucky
437-413: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Todd_County&oldid=1149554920 " Category : United States county name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Todd County, Kentucky Todd County
460-590: The request. The legislature of the Commonwealth of Kentucky accordingly passed an act creating of the county from portions of Christian and Logan counties on April 1, 1820. The new county was named for Colonel John Todd , who had been killed at the Battle of Blue Licks in 1782. Agriculture is a revered tradition in Todd County. The lowlands are of the finest rich soil types, including "Pembroke" soil. The lowlands are prized for their high growth yields. In
483-555: The son of David Todd and the brother of Robert and Levi Todd , the latter being grandfather of Mary Todd Lincoln . He was educated in Virginia at a school run by his uncle, the Rev. John Todd. After obtaining a license to practice law, Todd settled in Fincastle, Virginia . He and his two brothers all owned slaves. In 1774, Todd served in the Battle of Point Pleasant , which was fought near present-day Point Pleasant, West Virginia and
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#1732773374252506-432: The south. The northern highlands consist of steep-sloped sandstone terrain with forests of oak , walnut and poplar . The landscape contains steep bluffs and sharp rises and falls within the terrain. The southern lowlands consist of rolling limestone flatlands void of aquifer sinks and consist of dense but sparse forests of oak, walnut poplar and ash. The historic inhabitants of the region before European encounter were
529-432: Was designated to be awarded to Virginia veterans of the American Revolutionary War as payment for their services. Justinian Cartwright may have been the first settle in what is now Todd County. However, the first proven residents are Edward Shanklin Jr., Matthew and David Rolston, and John Huston and his sons James and Granville Huston. Samuel Davis, father of Jefferson Davis , and John Wilson were also early settlers of
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