Editing Simpsonville, Kentucky (section)

==Early history==
[[File:Old Stone Inn.jpg|thumb|left|Old Stone Inn; June 2, 1940]]
Simpsonville was first laid out in 1816 on the petition of Isaac Watkins.<ref>{{cite news |first=Cason |last=Clarence E. |title=Simpsonville|url=https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1130&context=rennick_ms_collection |format=PDF |publisher=Louisville Herald |location=Louisville, KY |date=1922-10-01 |accessdate=11 May 2021|df=mdy-all  }}</ref> It received its first [[post office]] in 1821<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kyatlas.com/ky-simpsonville.html |title=Simpsonville, Kentucky|publisher=Kentucky Atlas and Gazetteer|website=www.kyatlas.com|year=2018|first=David C.|last=Elbon|accessdate=August 13, 2018}}</ref> and was incorporated in 1833. It was named in honor Captain [[John Simpson (Kentucky politician)|John Simpson]]; a native Virginian who represented Shelby County in the [[Kentucky House of Representatives]] and died in the [[War of 1812]]. By 1825 it had become a stage coach town; one of the largest between Shelbyville and Louisville.<ref name=Henninger /> The Midland trail stagecoach would either swap out or rest their horses and travelers could stay at the Old Stone Inn. The second oldest stone building in the county which is still standing today.<ref name=Carpenter>{{cite book |last=Carpenter|first=George Ann|editor-last=Kleber|editor-first=John|title=The New History of Shelby County, Kentucky|publisher=Harmony House Publishers|year=2003|pages=384|chapter=Chapter 8 Transportation; Taverns|isbn=978-1-564-69096-8}}</ref>

For most of its history Simpsonville was an agrarian community which [[dairy]], [[tobacco]], [[cattle]], and [[Pig|hogs]] being the primary source of income for most residents.<ref name=Henninger /> This was due to its remarkably fertile soil based on [[limestone]] and [[Ultisol|red clay]].<ref name=Stockum>{{cite book |last=Van Stockum Sr.|first=R. R.|editor-last=Kleber|editor-first=John|title=The New History of Shelby County, Kentucky|publisher=Harmony House Publishers|year=2003 |pages=74 |chapter=Chapter 2 Communities; Shelby County|isbn=978-1-564-69096-8}}</ref> Later on it would be the genesis for the town's moniker '[[American Saddlebred]] Horse Capital of the World'.<ref name=Henninger />