Editing Mount Sterling, Kentucky (section)

==History==
Mount Sterling is named for an ancient [[burial mound]] called "Little Mountain", and for the town of [[Stirling]] in [[Scotland]]. It was named by the first developer of the area, Hugh Forbes. The [[Kentucky Assembly]] passed an act in 1792 establishing the town as Mt. Sterling, a misspelling which was retained.<ref name="hist">{{cite web|url=http://www.mtsterlingtourism.com/history.html|title=History|work=Mt. Sterling, KY|access-date=19 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725204844/http://www.mtsterlingtourism.com/history.html|archive-date=25 July 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The area was originally part of the thick wilderness of central Kentucky. Explorers, hunters, and surveyors traveling along a trail called Old Harper's Trace noted a {{convert|125|ft|m|adj=mid|-high}} tree-covered mound which they called "the Little Mountain". Later excavations showed it to be a burial site. The site of the mound is now the intersection of Queen and Locust streets in Mt. Sterling.

The first cabin in the area was built in 1779. The first permanent settlement was established around 1790, when Forbes began to sell lots and laid out a road, now Locust Street. In 1796 the town was established as the county seat of newly created Montgomery County. At that time the town consisted of 33 town lots, four retail stores, and three taverns. A courthouse was built, the first of seven to be housed in Mt. Sterling. A jail and a town pump were also installed. A large brick market house where farm produce was bought and sold confirmed the town as the commercial center of the surrounding area. Baptist, Presbyterian and Methodist churches were established during the town's first decade.

During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] the town was occupied alternately by [[Union Army|Union]] and [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] troops on multiple occasions. The [[Battle of Mount Sterling]] in June 1864, which ended in a Confederate defeat, was the last of the fighting in Montgomery County.<ref name = "hist" />