Marker #784 County Named, 1803

Historical Marker #784, “County Named, 1803,” commemorates the naming of Greenup County, Kentucky, after Christopher Greenup, the third governor of the Bluegrass State. In addition to being the commonwealth’s chief executive, Greenup was a veteran of the Revolutionary War, a lawyer, a member of the Virginian House of Delegates, a U.S Representative, a state representative and Kentucky senator, and one of the original trustees for Transylvania University in Lexington.

Greenup County, established in 1803, was the forty-fifth county formed in Kentucky. It was formed out of Mason County in the Appalachian region.

Born in Virginia in 1750, Greenup studied law and surveying before being commissioned as a lieutenant in the Virginia militia. He was later promoted to colonel during the Revolutionary War. Greenup moved to Lincoln County, Kentucky, in 1781 and practiced law. Before Kentucky was a state, he represented Fayette County in the Virginia legislature. Between back-and-forth trips from Kentucky to Virginia, Greenup served in two of the Danville constitutional conventions that led to Kentucky’s statehood.

After Kentucky became a state, Greenup continued his career in politics. He moved to Frankfort in 1792 and was soon elected as a member of the U.S. Congress as a Jeffersonian-Republican, serving between 1792 and 1797. Once his term was over, he moved back to Frankfort to work in the Kentucky legislature as a clerk in the state senate. In 1800, he ran his first governor’s race and was defeated by James Garrard.

By 1804, Greenup’s political popularity increased. He again ran for governor, this time unopposed. He served as Kentucky’s third governor from 1804 to 1808.

Greenup wanted some major reforms in Kentucky, including the establishment of the Kentucky militia. He also supported the state providing public education but was ultimately unsuccessful in getting that legislation passed.

Greenup was also caught in the middle of a national scandal involving Aaron Burr, vice-president of the United States at the time. Burr was accused of attempting to start a war with Mexico and Spain, an event known as the Burr Conspiracy. Greenup testified in a legislative hearing, and he worked with the legislature to put the Kentucky militia along the Ohio River to prevent war. The U.S. Congress cleared Greenup of any charges, and he ended his gubernatorial term with high approval from Kentuckians.

Greenup died in Frankfort on April 17, 1818, and was buried in the Frankfort Cemetery.