Todd County / Col. John Todd
Elkton, Todd County, Kentucky
Marker Inscription
County Named, 1819. For Col. John Todd. Born Pa., 1750. In battle of Point Pleasant, 1774. Came to Kentucky, 1775; in Va. legislature, 1776. On expedition led by Gen. George Rogers Clark that captured Illinois country from British, 1778. Named Civil Commandant of Illinois County. Va. legislature, 1780. Procured land-grants for public schools. Killed at Blue Licks, Aug. 1782.
Erected by Kentucky Historical Society
The Story
Todd County, formed in 1819, remembers a Virginia-born frontier soldier who helped wrest the Illinois country from British control. John Todd fought at Point Pleasant in 1774, came to Kentucky in 1775, and rode with George Rogers Clark's daring 1778 campaign, afterward serving as civil commandant of the new Illinois County. A champion of setting aside land for public schools, he was killed at the disastrous Battle of Blue Licks in 1782.
Why it matters
Todd's life traces the violent, hopeful frontier of the Revolution's western theater, where the future of the trans-Appalachian West was decided.
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Related people
- · Col. John Todd
- · George Rogers Clark
Related events
- · Battle of Point Pleasant
- · Battle of Blue Licks
Themes & tags
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