Lafayette
The extreme southern part of Christian County is called Flat Lick. The name is derived from a flat, pond-like place, in that section, which tradition says was formed by buffalo and deer licking the saline deposit. In the old days it was a paradise of hunters. This section of the county was settled about 1799 and 1800. The first settlers were Joel Harvey, Jesse and Micajah Fort. There were quickly followed by the Marshalls, McGees (six of them), the Moores, Stevensons, McKenzies, Sherrills, Taylors, Mosses, Joneses, Carters, Shepherds, Hesters, Roses, Boyds and Mallorys. According to Hon. Jas. A. McKenzie, who furnished information for Perrin's History, the first child born in that part of the county was James D. Fort, in 1801. It was not long before three villages sprang up at Lafayette, Bennettstown, and Garrettsburg further south. Lafayette is still quite a town, but the others were put out of business by railroads in later years. All of them had churches, which still remain. At Bennettstown was McKenzie Kirk, Presbyterian and Sharon, Cumberland Presbyterian, which built commodious houses of worship about the middle of the last century (1800's).
The early settlers around Garrettsburg were the Quarles, Hopson, Brame, Wills, Rives, Jones, Boyd and Gholson families. There were four Rives brothers. The town took its name from Garrett M. Quarles, a lawyer, who came from Virginia. Geo. C. Boyd was another lawyer, who moved to Clarksville. Major James Gholson was a soldier of 1812, as was Major John Poindexter, who came about 1830, Another Poindexter was a captain in the war of 1812. Other settlers were Col. J. D. Morris, a Mexican war soldier; Ambrose Davie, Richard G. White, Sion Hunt, Henry Galbraith, David Wootton, George Fox, Nestor Boone, George Tribble, Joseph and James Hutchinson, George N. Whitfield, M. K. White, John Wooldridge and others.
The southern part of Christian County has produced many men of national fame. Some moved to other states and rose to distinction, as judges, cabinet ministers and congressmen and one of them, Adlai E. Stevenson, was Vice-President of the United States.
During the war between the States in 1862 a skirmish took place at
Garrettsburg. Four or five Confederates, Col. Thos. G. Woodward's
men, attacked about the same number of Federals at a blacksmith shop, where
they were having their horses shod. Two of the Federals were killed.
Some hours later, Col. Ranson attacked Col Woodward, who had gone into
camp in the neighborhood, and killed five or six of his men. Mrs.
Elizabeth Clardy, the next day, had the dead buried on Maj. Thomas' place.
The bodies were afterwards removed by their friends.
Charles M. Meacham, 1930
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