NoD: Shannoah

Shannoah Historic Marker, Greenup Co., Ky.

Following a flood destroying the Shannoah community on the north bank of the Ohio River, the Shawnee Indians came into Kentucky in 1750 and established a village by the same name. [*] At the time, the French laid claim to what would become central Kentucky as it claimed the entire Ohio River basin. Obviously, this would become one of the disputes between the French and the British which led to the French & Indian War.

Kentucky historic marker #31 reads:

First village in Kentucky built by Shawnee Indians and French traders. Visited in January 1751 by Christopher Gist, George Croghan, Andrew Montour, Robert Kallendar and a servant. Located on the site of an earlier Fort Ancient settlement, it stood 500 yards northwest of these Hopewell earthworks.

The journal of Christopher Gist is a significant resource that tells of the 1751 visit to Shannoah by Gist and his colleagues. He "killed a fat Bear" on March 6, 1750. Gist would later guide Major George Washington on missions during the French & Indian War.

At the time of Gist's visit, inhabitants of Shannoah numbered 300 men in about 40 houses. [*]