Editing Breckinridge County, Kentucky (section)

==History==
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The area presently bounded by Kentucky state lines was a part of the U.S. State of Virginia, known as Kentucky County when the British colonies separated themselves in the American Revolutionary War. In 1780, the Virginia legislature divided the previous Kentucky County into three smaller units: Fayette, Jefferson, and Lincoln. In 1791, this area was separated into the State of Kentucky; it became effective on June 1, 1792. From that time, the original three counties were divided several times. A portion of Jefferson County was split off as Nelson County in 1784; a portion of Nelson was split off as Hardin County in 1792; the present Breckinridge County was split off from Hardin in 1799.

In August 1779, Sinclair Hardin (first cousin of Captain [[William Hardin]], the founder of [[Hardinsburg, Kentucky|Hardin's Fort]]), was killed by [[Shawnee]] Indians while taking a drink at [[Big Springs, Kentucky|Big Springs]]. He was the first white settler in Breckinridge County to be killed by [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]].<ref name=Jolly>Jolly, Henry C. April 25, 1902. "Interesting History of Indian Bill Hardin". The Breckinridge Democrat.</ref><ref name="Perrin">Perrin, W.H. 1885. A History of the State of Kentucky. pp. 1039–1042; 1081, 1082. Retrieved from [http://www.texashistoryhunter.net/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/WH_Perrins_book.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304002302/http://www.texashistoryhunter.net/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/WH_Perrins_book.pdf|date=March 4, 2016}} and [http://genealogytrails.com/ken/breckinridge/history.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915154553/http://genealogytrails.com/ken/breckinridge/history.html|date=September 15, 2016}}</ref> The Indian threat continued for several years. However, the only sizable expedition against the Native Americans that Breckinridge County settlers took part in culminated in the Battle of Saline Creek in August 1786, in Illinois.<ref name=Jolly/><ref name=Perrin/> The battle only lasted a few minutes, with fierce hand-to-hand combat. Between 18 and 30 Shawnee warriors were killed, with six more wounded. The remainder of the Shawnee fled. Captain William Hardin had commanded the Kentucky volunteers, many of whom also were killed or wounded. Hardin's militia brought home 16 Shawnee scalps, nine captured horses, 17 muskets, and "a mighty nice sword".<ref name=Perrin/>

The Judge-Executive of Breckinridge County from 1801 to 1805 was William Comstock. Jo Allen was the county clerk, and Ben Huff was the sheriff.<ref>Breckinridge Bicentennial Committee Program. Accessed from Breckinridge Historical Archives.</ref>

During the [[American Civil War]], raiding Kentucky [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] [[cavalry]] burned the courthouse, as it was being used by Union troops as a barracks, though most of the records were saved. On March 12, 1865, [[Marcellus Jerome Clarke|Jerome Clarke]], a well known Confederate [[guerrilla]], claimed by some to have been [[Sue Munday]], was captured near the Breckinridge–Meade County line.<ref>Kentucky Historical Marker No. 536.</ref> He was hanged three days later in [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]].<ref>Kentucky Historical Marker No. 540.</ref> Afterward, his trial drew heavy criticism.

During the nineteenth century, the Victoria Coal Mines, named in honor of British [[Queen Victoria]], were the first to produce [[coal oil]], and Cloverport exported it to [[Great Britain]], where it was used to light [[Buckingham Palace]].

United States Supreme Court Justice [[Wiley Blount Rutledge|Wiley Blount Rutledge Jr.]], who served on the High Court from 1943 to 1949, was born at Tar Springs in 1894, when his father was pastor of Cloverport Baptist Church.

On June 6, 1932, at [[Hardinsburg, Kentucky|Hardinsburg]], Sam Jennings became the penultimate person to be publicly executed in the United States.

In the 1950s, [[Rough River Dam State Resort Park]] was developed at the southern border of the county.

A third courthouse fire nearly destroyed county records in 1958.

Breckinridge County High School won the 1965 and 1995 [[Kentucky High School Athletic Association]]'s Boys' Basketball tournaments.

The Breckinridge County Archives, formed in 1984, was the first state-funded archival repository in the history of the United States and is known across the nation as an excellent resource for genealogical and historical research.