Our Namesake - Simon Kenton

Simon Kenton (April 3, 1755 – April 29, 1836) was a frontiersman and soldier in West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio. Simon Kenton was born at the headwaters of Mill Run in the Bull Run Mountains, in what is now Fauquier County, Virginia to Mark Kenton, Sr. (an immigrant from Ireland) and Mary Miller Kenton (whose family was Scots-Welsh in ancestry).

He was a friend of Daniel Boone. He served the United States in the Revolution, the Northwest Indian War and the War of 1812..

Kenton was respected for his knowledge of the land and competence as a woodsman by pioneer and Indian alike. His courage under fire was legendary, tested again and again. Kenton was a key figure in opening up and keeping the frontier safer for all of north and central Kentucky.

In September of 1778 Simon was captured by Shawnee Indians. He was tied, his hands bound, to a wild horse galloping through the trees. He was forced to run the infamous 1/4 mile "gauntlet" (which killed many prisoners) nine times. After the sixth, while attempting escape, had a hole hammered in his skull and was unconscious for two days. With a war club and axe, his arm and collarbone were broken. The Indians called him "Cuttahotha" which means "condemned to be burned at the stake" which they attempted 3 times. Finally in June 1779 he was able to escape. The Indians also knew him as "The man who's gun is never empty" for his skill of running and reloading his faithful flintlock at the same time.

Notable Activities:

In 1774, Kenton served as a scout for the European settlers against the Shawnee Indians in what is now West Virginia and Kentucky.
In 1777, he saved the life of his friend and fellow frontiersman, Daniel Boone, at Boonesborough, Kentucky.
Kenton served as scout on the famous 1778 George Rogers Clark expedition to capture Fort Sackville during the American Revolution
In 1793-94 Kenton fought in the Northwest Indian War with "Mad" Anthony Wayne including the Battle of Fallen Timbers.
In 1810 Kenton moved to Ohio, where he achieved the rank of brigadier general of the state militia.
He served in the War of 1812 as both a scout and as leader of a militia group in the Battle of the Thames in 1813 against the United Kingdom and Tecumseh's Confederacy in Ontario, Canada.