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History
"An act for erecting a new county (Estill) out of the counties of Madison and Clarke. Approved January 27, 1808. An act supplementary to the act entitled "an act for erecting a new county (Estill) out of the counties of Madison and Clarke." Approved February 19, 1808. Estill County officially became the fiftieth county on April 1, 1808.
The county was named for Captain James Estill, an early explorer and pioneer who was killed in a battle with Wyandot Indians on March 22, 1782. The battle is called the "Battle of Little Mountain" or "Estill's Defeat", which took place near present-day Mt. Sterling, Kentucky. Captain Estill had previously established Estill's Station three miles south of what is now Richmond, Madison County, Kentucky, and had made many trips by horseback up and down the Wilderness Road guiding early settlers from the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky. Estill County has many places of historical interest and many spots abound in Pioneer and Indian lore.
According to reputable historians, Christopher Gist lead an expedition into what is now Estill County in the early Spring of 1751. Daniel Boone came in 1769 and others, including the McAfees, came into the county within the next few years. The first court was held in the county at Sweet Lick. Among the early settlers in Estill County were the following families: Proctor, Todd, Park, Clark, Oldham, Broaddus, Holliday, Miller, Witt, Tudor, White and Friend." - Place Name Survey-Estill County, Kentucky, Bobby L. and Lorene Rose, circa 1970s.
"Estill county was formed in 1808, and named in honor of Captain James Estill. It is situated in the eastern middle part of the State, and lies on both sides of the Kentucky river. Bounded on the north by Montgomery, east by Breathitt, south by Clay, and west by Madison. The face of the country is generally broken and mountainous--the settlements being mostly confined to the valleys on the water courses. The growth of the bottom land is oak, walnut, hickory, cherry, and sugar tree; that of the upland, oak and poplar, and along the river banks, some pine and cedar. Iron ore and coal are found in great abundance in the mountains.
The taxable property of the county in 1846 was valued at $633,834; number of acres of land in the county, 189,765; average value of lands per acre, $2.15; number of white makes over twenty-one years old, 903; number of children between five and sixteen years of age, 1,361. Population in 1830, 4,618 -- in 1840, 5,535.
The Red River Iron Works is located in this county. It is an extensive establishment, wielding a heavy capital, and employing a large number of hands. A large quantity of bar iron and nails are manufactured at the works. The proprietors and all the operatives in this establishment are temperance men, ardent spirits having been altogether banished from its precincts. The Estill steam furnace is situated ten miles east, and Miller's creek salt works eight miles above Irvine. Three or four miles from the county seat, hydraulic lime has been found in great quantities." "Historical Sketches of Kentucky: Embracing Its History, Antiquities, and Natural Curiosities, Geographical, Statistical, and Geological Descriptions," Lewis Collins, p.261-2 , 1850.
