The Discovery, Settlement and Present State of Kentucke

The Discovery, Settlement and present State of Kentucke and an Essay towards the Topography, and Natural History of that important Country is a 1784 book by John Filson.

[2] Author, historian, founder and surveyor John Filson worked as a schoolteacher in Lexington, Kentucky and wrote The Discovery, Settlement and Present State of Kentucke in 1784.

The book is regarded as the first written history of Kentucky[citation needed] and features the first known map of the territory, dedicated to the Congress of the United States and George Washington.

He claimed that Kentucky was "one of the most opulent and powerful states on the continent of North-America; which with the love and gratitude of my country-men, I esteem a sufficient reward for all my toil and danger.

[3] Filson ends the appendix with "a few observations upon the happy circumstances, that the inhabitants of Kentucke will probably enjoy, from the possession of a country so extensive and fertile."

He states the importance of four natural qualities he believes substantial for the success of a country: good soil, air, water, and trade.

Daniel Boone , as pictured in The Discovery, Settlement and Present State of Kentucke
The first map of Kentucky, presented in 1784 by author John Filson to the United States Congress [ 2 ]