Thomas Kilgore

This article is about the founder of Cross Plains, Tennessee. For clergyman and human rights activist, see Thomas Kilgore Jr.
Thomas Kilgore
Born1715
Virginia
Died1823 (aged 108)[a]
Tennessee
Resting placeVillines Cemetery, Cross Plains
SpouseLydia Yates
ParentRobert Kilgore
Thomas Kilgore Headstone - Found at the Villines Cemetery in Cross Plains.

Thomas Kilgore (1715–1823) was an American explorer and an American Revolutionary War veteran. Kilgore was the founder of Cross Plains, Tennessee, and the first European settler in Robertson County, Tennessee, arriving in the area in 1778.

Thomas Kilgore was born in 1715 in present-day Virginia. Kilgore served in the American Revolutionary War, and many have claimed that he fought in the Battle of Kings Mountain. However historians have disputed this claim, saying that Kilgore served as the Quartermaster for the Commission surveying the District for North Carolina Revolutionary War soldiers.[1]

The Legislature of North Carolina passed a preemption law in the 1770s, granting 640 acres of land in western North Carolina to people 21 years old or older who settled on the land.[2] This preemption law motivated Kilgore to claim land, and in 1778, he began his journey west with some ammunition, salt, and a few grains of corn.[3] Kilgore used the sun and North Star as his guide, and eventually reached Bledsoe's Lick. After resting their for a few days, Kilgore traveled 25 miles west where he found a cave next to the middle fork of the Red River, which he would use as a shelter because of its protection against Native American attacks.[4] Kilgore then used the grains of corn that he had brought with him to plant a few hills of the crop. In the fall, the corn had fully grown, so Kilgore returned to eastern North Carolina with three ears of corn and the title to his land was confirmed.[5]

Thomas Kilgore Historical Sign - Found outside of the Villines Cemetery in Cross Plains.

Kilgore returned to his settlement in the spring of 1779, along with a few other families, and then built a fort which would be known as Kilgore Station.[6] Thomas Kilgore died in 1823 at the age of 108 after he became drenched and caught a chill during a trip to Gallatin, Tennessee.[7]

In 2007, Kilgore Park, named for Thomas, opened in Cross Plains.


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  1. ^ Lowe, J. Mark (June 30, 2010). "Finding our Thomas Kilgore, part two". Robertson County Times. Robertson County Times. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  2. ^ "EARLY TENNESSEE LAND RECORDS, 1773-1922" (PDF). Tennessee State Library and Archives. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  3. ^ "Early History of Robertson County, Tennessee". bellwitch.org. bellwitch.org. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  4. ^ "The Journal of Spelean History" (PDF). American Spelean History Association. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  5. ^ Goodspeed's History of Tennessee (PDF). Goodspeed Publishing. 1886. p. 2. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  6. ^ "History of Cross Plains".
  7. ^ "Thomas Kilgore". Facebook. Robertson County Historical Society. Retrieved August 15, 2020.