TEACHER'S GUIDE TO
History and Folklife of the Kentucky Frontier
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John Filson (1747-1788) was Kentucky's first historian and cartographer. A native of southeastern Pennsylvania, Filson visited the West in late 1783, explored areas along the Ohio and Elkhorn waterways and claimed more than 1300 acres in northern and central Kentucky. He served briefly as a schoolteacher in Lexington, and during his stay in the Bluegrass area, he interviewed a number of early settlers and explorers and prepared his map and history of Kentucky. Returning to the East in the early summer of 1784, he arranged for the printing of his work, which sold for $1.25 per volume. In the following decade, Filson's book and map were in great demand and were reprinted several times in the United States as well as in England, France, and Germany. |
Using Filson's map
1. Locate the following places:
Louisville Boonesboro Lincoln County Frankfort Bardstown Jefferson County Lexington Harrodsburg Fayette County Cincinnati Ohio River Falls of the Ohio Covington-Newport Kentucky River Big Barren River Danville Green River Salt River Kentucky Cane Brakes Licking River Big Sandy River 2. Compare Filson's map to a recent one. Comment on the accuracies and errors. What might account for the differences? 3. Why did Filson's map not include the land south of the Green River? The area west of the Mud River?This lesson plan comes from A Teacher's Guide to Pioneer Life in South Central
Kentucky by Nancy Disher Baird and Carol Crowe-Carraco.