Bank Lick Creek History

Bank Lick Creek rises in section 21 of Corinth Township, just south of the village of Corinth, and flows east and northeast into Saline County where it joins the Middle fork of Saline River. Modern maps name this creek Prairie.

About one mile east of Corinth there is a water shed running north and south. Waters from the east slope flow to the Ohio, waters from the west, to the Mississippi. At the village of Corinth there is less than a mile’s distance between the head waters of Pond creek, flowing west and Bank Lick creek, flowing east.

There was an old deer lick just south of Corinth, where the soil was a trifle salty. The ridge that forms the water shed ends just north of the branch draining the deer lick. Since the ridge, or bank, and the lick combine their waters to form the creek, Bank Lick was an obvious name to the first settlers. Over in Saline County, an early post office adopted its name from the creek.

The first settlers along the ridge were the Stewarts, whose land extended almost to the county line: James Stewart the father, John Roberts Stewart, James Holiday Stewart (county treasurer), and Thomas Rice Stewart the three sons. Mrs. James Stewart was born Rachel Selina Roberts (1787-1874), aunt of the county’s first legislator Thomas Roberts. The latter once owned the land including the old deer Lick.

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(Extracted from Pioneer Folks and Places, Barbara Barr Hubbs, 1939, on sale at the Williamson County Museum)