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Scott County, the 11th county formed in Kentucky and the 2nd after Kentucky achieved statehood, was created in 1792 out of a portion of Woodford County. It was named for Gen. Charles Scott, 1739-1813, an officer in the Revolutionary War and the fourth governor of Kentucky. The county has a land area of 285 square miles and ranges in elevation from 690 to 1,060 feet above sea level.
The county seat of Georgetown, originally George Town, was named after George Washington. It became a settlement in 1782 under the name of Lebanon, Virginia, and was renamed in 1790. Elijah Craig, a businessman and Baptist minister founded the town - building a sawmill, a gristmill and a fabric mill. He is considered the originator of Kentucky bourbon.
Early natives lived in Scott County as long as 10,000 years ago, hunting and fishing along the banks of Elkhorn Creek. There are a number of mounds from the Adena culture, who lived in the area from about 800 B.C. to 800 A.D. the first known exploration by non-natives was John Floyd's survey expedition from Virginia in 1774.
The Scott County town of Stamping Ground was named for the vast buffalo herds that had stamped down the ground around the spring. William McConnell and Charles Lecompte explored the area in April 1775.
The first Confederate governor of Kentucky, George W. Johnson, was born in 1811 in Scot Co. An aide to Gen. John C. Breckinridge, Johnson fought and was killed as a private in the Battle of Shiloh, while still governor. Gen. John Hunt Morgan and his Raiders camped in Scott County during their July 1862 raid, destroying bridges, Union supplies and routing Home Guards.
Scott County is home to Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, which opened in 1986. It is the largest manufacturing facility of Toyota Motor Corp. In September 2006, TMMK reached a milestone when the five-millionth Camry rolled off the assembly line. The Camry has been the number one selling sedan in America in eight of the last nine years. The 2007 Camry hybrid, the first Toyota hybrid to be produced in North America, is under production.
Horses and tobacco have historically been important in the county. Scott County farms have been home to three Kentucky Derby winners: Kingman, Venetian Way and Winning Colors. The county is also known for producing the finest American saddlebred horses. Scott County farms were among the first in the state to practice crop diversification, changing from tobacco to beef cattle and vegetables.
Information courtesy of Clark's Kentucky Almanac and Book of Facts
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