The following was posted on the St Mary's Co MD group by gene mclaughlin <mclaughlin@atlantech.net> and thought it would interest some of you also who may have missed it. At least I though it was interesting. The following is extracted from "History of St. Mary’’s County, Maryland," by Regina Combs Hammett, 1977, pgs 83 & 84. According to the fly leaf of this book, it is available from Regina Combs Hammett, General Delivery, Ridge, MD 20680. ““Between 1790 and 1810 the population of St. Mary's County decreased from 15, 544 to 12, 7 94. A large portion of that 2,750 population loss can be attributed to the westward migration of many countians to the area of north-central Kentucky which now comprises Washington and Nelson Counties. …… The reasons for the migration were varied. One obvious reason was the availability of western land. …… St. Mary's countians, like other readers of the Maryland Journal and Baltimore Advertiser and the Maryland Gazette were exposed to a steady printing of ads offering western lands, available at very reasonable prices and at easy terms. …… "...Religious reasons have also been cited as motivation for the westward migration. From the Protestant Revolution during the last decade of the 17th century to the American Revolution and the Bill of Rights, Catholics in Maryland had been denied the right to hold any political office.…… "...Although the whys of emigration may be hard to determine, the how of migration varied little for most of the emigrants. The usual route from St. Mary's County was overland to Pittsburgh. At that point the families boarded flatboats and traveled down the Ohio River to Maysville, Ohio. They disembarked at Maysville to avoid the area above the falls of the Ohio which was known to be infested with Indians. From Maysville they traveled overland to one of the half-dozen 'stations' located near their area of settlement. "These stations played a vital role in the settlement of the Kentucky frontier. The danger of Indian attack made isolated homesteads impractical. Between 1774 and 1790, every neighborhood boasted a blockhouse station which provided a degree of safety until homesteads could be established. It is likely that many countians who emigrated prior to 1790 left their wives and children at one of the stations temporarily and traveled the additional twelve or fifteen miles to establish their homesteads.”” Carol (Gehrs) Mitchell, 134 Schnauzer Lane, Beaver Falls, PA 15010 <carolmit@usaor.net> 724-847-4473 [using The Master Genealogist 3.5, WP8, Eudora]