Letcher County, Kentucky: History
=== Settlement and early history ===
The area now known as Letcher County was first settled in the early–1800s by the Back, Caudill, Dixon, Stamper, Collier, Lewis, Whitaker, Wright, Craft, Brown, Halcomb, Holbrook, and Bentley families. These early families were later joined by the Maggard, Banks, Day, Fields, Morgan, Blair, Breeding, Frazier, Baker, Hogg, Combs, and Mullins families. The first permanent settlement in the county was settled in 1803, at the mouth of Pert Creek, in modern-day Whitesburg. In 1804, George Ison II and his family settled in the area of Linefork. Later, Benjamin Webb brought a group of settlers from Wilkes Co. North Carolina and settled at the mouth of Boone Fork in modern-day Kona, but later moved down towards the mouth of Bottom Fork in modern-day Mayking. Most communities and geographic features in the area were named after these early pioneer families. Most of these early communities were economically supported by timber logging.
In 1842, the residents of modern-day Letcher County petitioned the state legislature for a new county, as at that time they belonged to Harlan, Perry, and Pike counties. The legislature met in January 1842, and decided to form the new county. The county was formed, as Kentucky's 95th county, from portions of Harlan, Perry, and Pike counties, and named for Robert P. Letcher, who was the governor of Kentucky at that time. Its county seat, Whitesburg, was called Summit City before becoming the county seat. The city was renamed from Summit City to Whitesburg in 1842, in honor of John D. White, who introduced the county's enactment bill in the Kentucky General Assembly. The state government commissioned members of the general assembly to draw the boundaries for the new county. These men were Nathaniel Collins, Stephen Hiram Hogg, Benjamin Adams, and Benjamin Webb. In 1858, 60 square miles from Perry County were added to the county's original 340 square miles. In April 1884, a ten-mile section from Pike County was added, and a month later, Letcher County contributed 80 square miles toward the creation of Knott County.
At first, residents could not agree where the county seat would be located. Some residents wanted the seat to be in Mayking, others wanted the seat to be in Camp Branch or Indian Bottom. The debate was settled when Stephen Hiram Hogg donated his land in Whitesburg for the building of the courthouse. The first court session was held in a log cabin owned by Mose Adams at the Adams settlement, which was located two-miles up the North Fork Kentucky River from Whitesburg. John A. Caudill was hired to build the new courthouse and completed it in 1844. …