Muhlenberg County Kentucky
Local History: R
Henry Rhoads and the Panther
The General Assembly approved on December 14, 1798, a bill introduced on November 5, 1798, by Henry Rhoads, Logan County Representative, to establish a new county out of parts of Christian and Logan counties and named the county Muhlenberg, in honor General John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg of the Revolutionary Army. The act also provided for the meeting of the first justices of the peace at the house of John Dennis, about two miles southeast of Greenville, to select the site of the seat of justice and to plan for the public buildings. The first meeting took place on May 28, 1799; the justices of the peace were James Craig, John Dennis, William Bell, Isaac Davis, John Russell, Robert Cisna, Richard Morton, John Adams, and Jesse McPherson. John Bradley was the first sheriff; Charles Fox Wing was clerk protempore; Alney McLean was surveyor; and the court appointed John Anderson constable.
At the second meeting on June 25, the court decided to locate the seat of justice on Colonel William Campbell's headright at Caney Station on Caney Creek and also appointed Henry Rhoads, Charles Lewis, and William Bell to plan the erection of the courthouse. In the fifth meeting on November 26 and 27, Campbell proposed that a town be established on thirty acres of his land, to be called Greenville. The court approved this plan. The first trustees of Greenville were Samuel Russell, Alney McLean, Henry Rhoads, Charles Fox Wing, William Bradford, and John Dennis. The sixth meeting on December 24 was in the house of Samuel Russell in Greenville.
Although General Muhlenberg never visited the county, many of the county pioneers were in his command during the Revolutionary War. Born on October 1, 1746, in Trappe, Pennsylvania, Muhlenberg was the son of the founder of the Lutheran Church in America, Reverend Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg of Hanover, Germany. J. Peter also became a pastor in the Lutheran Church and in 1776 became known as the “fighting parson” after he gave his last sermon in the church at Woodstock, Virginia. In January Muhlenberg became Colonel of the Eighth Regiment, the “German Regiment”, and resigned as pastor; in his last sermon he wore a black gown over his uniform to given his resignation speech before a hushed congregation. After a patriotic appeal, he closed his address with the words: “There is a time for all things - a time to preach and a time to fight and now is the time to fight.” Simultaneously, he pulled off the gown to reveal his uniform. The response to his speech has remained unparalleled as an example of outpouring of patriotism.
Henry Rhoads, however, did come to Muhlenberg County. Born in Germany in 1739, he died in Muhlenberg County in 1814. After founding the town of Rhoadsville (Calhoun) in 1784, he was forced out of his land claim and left to settle a new home on a tract of land about a mile from Browder. He representented Logan County in the legislature in 1798, and for having introduced the bill proposing the creation of the new county with the name Muhlenberg, he is called the “Godfather of Muhlenberg County”. Several stories exist about his hunting skills on the frontier; for example, while hunting one day he spotted a wild turkey, took aim with his rifle, and pulled the trigger; at that very instant he heard a rustling in the brush behind him which he perceived to be a panther. With the trigger pulled, the ball beginning its journey down the rifle barrel, he swung the rifle around to shoot the panther in mid-air as it was leaping toward him and killed it with the charge originally intended for the turkey. The panther had judged its distance well for as it fell after being shot, it landed squarely on Rhoads' shoulder. Thusly, the hunter was not only quicker than the powder in his rifle, but did not have to stoop to retrieve his kill.
However, some people question the veracity of this story.
Source: Gooch, J.T. The Pennyrile: history, stories, legends. Madisonville, KY: Madisonville Community College, 1982 pp. 10-11.
Presented with the kind permission of J.T. Gooch
Updated July 14, 2022