Fortescue Cuming 1808

Fortescue Cuming passed quickly through the area in 1808. He mentiones the floating mills that served farmers in the area, giving a brief description of Port William (modern Carrollton) and as note on the sparse settlement from their to Louisville.

Cuming's tour to the western country (1807-1809).

Cuming, Fortescue, 1762-1828. Early western travels, 1748-1846 ;
Thwaites, Reuben Gold, 1853-1913. Cleveland, The A. H. Clark company, 190

Proceeding on Saturday 25th July at 5 in the morning--at six we were three miles below Neisanger's, abreast of Old town creek on the right, and a floating mill owned by an Irishman named Pickets. These kindsof mills are of a very simple construction--the whole machinery being in a flat, moored to the bank, and the stones being put in motion by the current. They have but little power, not being capable of grinding more than from fifteen to twenty bushels of wheat per day.

May 9th, having passed the Big Miami, the boundary between Ohio and the territory of Indiana in the night, at seven in the morning we were abreast of Big Bone Lick creek, so called from a skeleton of the mammoth being found here.¹⁶⁸ This is fifty-nine miles below Cincinnati. The tiresome sameness of the banks continued until noon when being abreast of one Reamy's, thirty-two miles further, the settlements became thicker on the Kentucky side, and the river assumed a more cheerful appearance. I observed some farms on the opposite shore of Indiana, at one of which I was informed was a vineyard.

At three P. M. we stopped at Port William [modern Carrollton], delightfully situated just above the embouchure of Kentucky River, which is from eighty to a hundred yards wide. This is the capital of Gallatin county, and contains twenty-one houses, many of which are of brick, but all rather in a state of decay. The lands appear good, but probably the country is not in a sufficient state of improvement to admit of a town here yet. Frankfort the capital of the state, is on the Kentucky, only sixty miles above Port William.

At four we gave our boats to the stream, and after floating all night seventy-eight miles, past some islands and some thinly scattering settlements, we rowed into Bear Grass creek, which forms a commodious little harbour without current for Louisville, May 10th, at 9 A. M.