Indian trader John Findley, Daniel Boone, and four others first came into the area that is now Madison County in 1769 on a hunting and exploring expedition. In 1774, the Transylvania Company, led by Judge Richard Henderson of North Carolina, purchased 20,000,000 acres (8,100,000 ha) of land west of the Appalachians (including present-day Madison County) from the Cherokee Nation.
Daniel Boone was hired to cut a trail through the Cumberland Gap and establish a settlement on the Kentucky River. The settlement at Fort Boonesborough began in April 1775. Madison County is pouring with history, with a downtown brimming with more than 100 buildings on the National Register of Historic Place and three National Registered Historic Districts.
But there are other lures as well, including the 18-hole, par-72 championship Gibson Bay Golf Course, ranked 4 1/2 stars by Golf Digest. Bring your clubs and test your skills among the course’s rolling greens and water hazards, star gaze at the Hummel Planetarium and Space Theater, the fourth-largest planetarium of its kind in the world. Located on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University (go Colonels!), it is open for scheduled public shows and every Saturday with no reservations required, spend time exploring Richmond’s downtown, home to one of the state’s finest restored 19th Century commercial districts. Shop the boutiques and antique stores, dine in locally-owned restaurants.
Overnight in a gorgeous circa 1880 Queen Anne residence that houses the casually elegant Bennett House Bed and Breakfast, with three guestrooms, and separate Taylor Cottage, with two luxury suites. There is a wide range of education in Madison County. There are 21 public schools in the Madison County School District, serving 11,758 students. Madison County School District has one of the highest concentrations of top ranked public schools in Kentucky. There are 3 top private schools in Madison County, Kentucky, serving 296 students. Madison County is home to Eastern Kentucky University, and Berea College both of which are exceptionally unique schools. Madison County has a place for everyone.
