Transylvania Company
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Historical Marker #66 in Henderson commemorates the Transylvania Company.
Formed by Richard Henderson, the Transylvania Company was created to settle the area around the Kentucky, Ohio, and Cumberland rivers. The Company is also credited for establishing Henderson County.
In 1774, Richard Henderson and some associates established the Louisa Company, which began negotiations with the Cherokee Indians to purchase land south of the Ohio and west of the Kanawha rivers. The company was reorganized at the start of 1775 as the Transylvania Company. On March 17, 1775, the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals was signed by the Transylvania Company and the Cherokee, which gave a large area of land to the Transylvania Company.
The colony of Transylvania was established in 1775, but was short-lived as the Continental Congress in Virginia nullified the Transylvania Company's treaty with the Cherokee. However, Virginia compensated them with 200,000 acres along the Ohio River.
It was out of that land grant that Henderson's Transylvania Company would survey the boundaries for Henderson County. Henderson County has been home several notable Kentuckians through the years, including famed artist/ornithologist John James Audubon, several Kentucky governors, many state and national legislators, and Mary Towles Sasseen, who is credited with being the first to celebrate Mother's Day.
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Col. Richard Henderson
Richard Henderson formed what would become the Transylvania Land Company. The Transylvania Company established Henderson County out of a 200,000 acre land grant, and named it in his honor. Courtesy of the University of Kentucky.
Surveyor Compass
This compass belonged to William Calk, a surveyor hired by Richard Henderson and the Transylvania Company to survey Boonesborough, the capital of the Transylvania colony. Courtesy of the Kentucky Historical Society.
Henderson County Courthouse
This Henderson County Courthouse was designed in 1843. Henderson County was surveyed, and established, by the Transylvania Land Company. Courtesy of the University of Kentucky.
Governor A. B. "Happy" Chandler
Henderson County, formed by Richard Henderson's Transylvania Land Company, has produced several prominent Kentuckians, including Governor "Happy" Chandler. Besides being governor, Chandler was a United States Senator, and served as Commissioner of Baseball from 1945 to 1951. Courtesy of The Kentucky Historical Society.