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A BRIEF HISTORY
SIMON
OF
KENTON
Champaign County Historical Museum
A Brief History of Simon Kenton
By Barbara E. Sour
SimonKenton,the seventhof nine children,was born
on April 3, 1755, to Mark and Mary Miller Kenton, poor
tobacco farmers in Fauquier County, Virginia. Red-haired
Simon, a robust young man, hated working on the farm but
loved roaming and huntingin the woods. When in 1771, at
age sixteen, he believedhe had killed a man, he left home.
Remembering tales an uncle had told him about Indians,
beautiful prairies, and great buffalo herds in the land called
"Kentucky," he traveled westward toward Kentucky where
hejoined rankswith a groupof hunters.
In 1774, Simon fought in Dunmore's War and it was
during this period that he became acquainted with George
Rogers Clark, Daniel Boone, and Simon Girty. He served as
scout under Clark during the Revolutionary War. He was
with Gen. Harrison's army in the War of 1812.
In 1778, while on a reconnaissance mission, he was
captured by Indians and condemned to be burned at the stake.
Simon Girty interceded on behalf of his friend and instead of
being burned at the stake, Kenton was taken to the British
fort in Detroit where he escaped and returned to Kentucky.
Impressed with' the country he saw as he traveled through
Kentucky and what was to become the State of Ohio, he
managed to accumulate many thousands of acres. However,
improper filing of land claims and his habit of cosigning for
friends' notes eventually resulted in his losing nearly all the
property."
In 1787, Simon Kenton married Martha Dowden and
the couple reared four children. In 1796, the Kenton home
burned while Simon was away. Martha died as a result of her
burns and the baby, who would have been their fifth child,
was stillborn. Simon remarried in March of 1798 and he and
his second wife, Elizabeth Jarbo, who was Martha's first
cousin and twenty-three years Simon's junior; reared five
more children.
In 1799, Simon left Kentucky and moved the family,
which included both of his mothers-in law who were sisters,
to present-day Springfield, Ohio. He built a trading post and
set-up a grist mill. The following year he built a house on
what today is recognized as the "Hunt Farm." While living
at this location, the Indian, Bigfoot, attempted to kill Simon.
His plan was thwarted, however, imd Simol1killed Bigfoot.
In 1810, Simon was served a warrant for being in
violation of a debtor's law. In Urbana, where he was to be
held in jail, he steadfastly refused to be incarcerated so the
residents, nearly all relatives and friends, appointed Simon as
acting sheriff. The family lived in the five rooms above the
jail and Simon was allowed the freedom of the town where
he often was seen, long staff in hand, walking around the
village. He never attempted to go beyond his self-imposed
perimeter. The Kenton's eight year old daughter, Elizabeth,
died while he was thus "town bound." Simon followed the
small coffin as far as the boundary of Urbana where he sat on
a rock and watched as the funeral procession continued
across the road to the cemetery. He later made the comment
it was the saddest day of his life.
Simon's colorful life included not only capture and
torture by the Indians b1,ltalso attendance at the signing of
treaties with the Indians. He laid out the Limestone Trace
which followed the Indians' historic Bullskin Trail between
Maysville, Kentucky, and Springfield, Ohio, and on it led
many of the early pioneers to the region north. of the Ohio.
River.
.
Kenton died in 1836 and was buried near his cabin at
the headwaters of Mad River in Zanesfield, Ohio. In 1865 he
was re-interred on "Kenton Mound" at Oak Dale Cemetery in
Urbana. A monument honoring Simon and his life was
erected at the cemetery in 1884 but not completed until July
4, 1997, when a life-size bronze statue of him and his dog
was unveiled.
Other posthumous honors have been bestowed upon
Simon Kenton. U.S. Route 68 officially was designated
"Simon Kenton Memorial Highway" in 1998. It included the
route from Lexington, Kentucky, to Kenton, Ohio. Kenton,
Ohio, incidentally, is named in tribute of Simon Kenton.
In 2001, Kenton was inducted into the Ohio Veterans
Hall of Fame. He is the only' Ohio Revolutionary soldier in
Ohio ever to have received this distinction.
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Sketch of Simon Kenton
This is a primitive pencil sketch of "General Simon Kenton" drawn by
the Reverend Thomas S. Hinde in 1832..