Daviess County, Kentucky
Posted by: 
The Snowdog
N 37° 46.450 W 087° 06.772
16S E 490060 N 4180764
Daviess County was named for Joseph Hamilton Daveiss - in Owensboro, Kentucky.
Waymark Code: WM1866C
Location: Kentucky, United States
Date Posted: 06/06/2023
Views: 2
Daviess County was named for Joseph Hamilton Daveiss, the U.S. Attourney who unsucessfully prosecuted Aaron Burr. The spelling error in the county name was never corrected. Several places in the United States are named for Daveiss, but all have the incorrect spelling "Daviess."
The Place:
Daviess County was established in 1815. The county's borders were altered in 1829 to form Hancock County, again in 1830 to absorb a small area surrounding Whitesville, again in 1854 to cede land to McLean County, and finally in 1860 to annex 44 square miles (110 km2) from Henderson County. Daviess County has long had a reputation as a leading center of the production of distilled spirits, chiefly Kentucky bourbon. The southwestern portion of the county around the Panther Creek area was heavily mined for coal through the 1960s till the early 1990s, with the ecological devastation associated with such mining. After extensive reclamation efforts much of this land is now safe for public use and is considered prime farm property.
The Person:
Major Joseph Hamilton Daveiss (March 4, 1774 – November 7, 1811), born in Virginia, was the first lawyer west of the Appalachian Mountains to argue a case before the United States Supreme Court. In 1806 Daveiss tried to warn President Thomas Jefferson about Aaron Burr's plans to provoke rebellion in Spanish-held territories southwest of his Kentucky district, but Jefferson dismissed the accusations as politically motivated. Undeterred, Daveiss brought treason charges against Burr. The charges were dismissed thanks to the help of Burr's attorney, Henry Clay. Burr again faced federal charges of treason in 1807 but was acquitted at trial, which did little to help Daveiss' reputation. In 1811 Daveiss volunteered for the Indiana militia and received a mortal wound while commanding the Dragoons of the Kentucky Militia at the Battle of Tippecanoe.
Year it was dedicated: 1815
Location of Coordinates: County Courthouse
Related Web address (if available): [Web Link]
Type of place/structure you are waymarking: County
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