Constitution Square State Historic Site - History

History

In 1774, a group of pioneers led by James Harrod constructed Fort Harrod (now Harrodsburg, Kentucky), the first permanent settlement in Kentucky. Three of these settlers – Thomas Harrod, John Crow, and James Brown – claimed the land in and around the present-day city of Danville, Kentucky, soon after. In 1784, Crow deeded 76 acres (0.31 km2) of land to Walker Daniel – Danville's namesake – to form the city proper. The city square was designated on a portion of this plot near its eastern end – not near the center, as was typical of other cities at the time. This location, about 500 feet (150 m) from John Crow's Station, provided an escape route in the event of an Indian attack.

The Virginia General Assembly created the Judicial District of Kentucky in 1783. Harrodsburg was designated as the district's first seat of justice, but because of inadequate facilities in Harrodsburg, the Supreme Court for the District of Kentucky moved its next session to Crow's Station and ordered the construction of a courthouse there. The courthouse was built on what is now Constitution Square in March 1785, and the court convened there regularly until its dissolution when Kentucky gained statehood in 1792.

The square fell into disuse after the district court disbanded, and, in 1817, the city's trustees sold half of the city square to raise money for the establishment of an educational institution known as Danville Academy. The money was to be used to buy at least 1 acre (0.0040 km2) of land within 0.5 miles (0.80 km) of the square on which to locate the academy. On February 13, 1818, the trustees voted to sell the other half of the square and allocate the money to the same purpose. There is no record that Danville Academy was ever established, however; advocates of the academy's establishment apparently combined their efforts with those of the individuals who established Centre College in Danville, and the funds that had been designated for the founding of Danville Academy were re-allocated to Centre.

Danville's trustees also voted to give free use of the courthouse in the square to a group of Freemasons in 1817. The trustees sold another portion of the square near Main Street for the construction of private residences in 1823, and the Freemasons purchased the courthouse and the land it occupied in 1828. A group of Methodists purchased the land from the Freemasons in 1834, and they subsequently sold it to a Reverend Adams the following year. Adams purchased two adjacent plots and founded an all-female academy which ultimately failed. In 1854, the Danville Theological Seminary moved from the campus of Centre College to Constitution Square, occupying many of the buildings there. The brick courthouse became the main building of the seminary, and during the Civil War, it was used as a hospital to treat wounded soldiers – both Union and Confederate – in the aftermath of the Battle of Perryville. Danville Theological Seminary remained in operation until 1878. After its closure, the main building deteriorated and was eventually razed.