Sharpsburg’s founding father—Moses Sharp

Sharpsburg celebrates its bicentennial this year, and has had a rich and storied past. To appreciate the beginnings of any town, one must learn the story of the founding father, and how the community came to be.

Moses Sharp was born in Cumberland County, Virginia May 2, 1757 to Richard Sharp and Mary Darby Enroughty. The family was quite large; Moses being one of ten children. At age 19, Sharp enlisted in in the Virginia Militia during the American Revolutionary War under the command of Thomas Elliott’s 4th Virginia and was involved in several campaigns. He was honorably discharged after Cornwallis’ capture in 1781, and by some reports was at Valley Forge his last duty station.

After the war, returning veterans were able to obtain land grants in Kentucky for settlements. Sharp moved to Kentucky sometime around 1787 and settled in the northern section of what is now Bath County, building what was described as a “solid house in a pleasant location”. The original location is believed to be in the Bald Eagle area of Bath County. It is said that he worked as a spy for Daniel Boone at the time of his move, but to what extent remains a mystery.

At the time, the area in northern Bath County was mostly forest with open grasslands filled with native flowers, and Sharp was so inspired, that in 1814, he laid out a plat for a town on property he owned. The town would be called Bloomfield and established in 1817. Moses Sharp and his wife, Mary, reared eight children; three of which became successful physicians.

A land dispute between George Small and Moses Sharp caused resurveying of properties bordering the Sharp family. A survey map was submitted to the Bath County Court in 1814, and a copy survives today. On this map, a few key locations are noted, like Fleming’s Pond, Hinkston Creek and other prominent families who lived in the small community.

Sharp died in 1820 and was buried in a family cemetery. Soon after, a post office was established in Bloomfield, but the name was changed around 1825 by the town’s postmaster due to another city bearing the same name; that name, Sharpsburg, would honor the man who founded the town. Sharpsburg remained a quaint, but thriving, little town, with several merchant shops lining the business district. The town was along the Maysville/Mount Sterling turnpike and was along the vital stage coach route that ran to the Ohio River. Today, Sharpsburg still thrives as a small town, with agriculture being the primary industry. Many descendants of Moses Sharp still reside in the area and some their farms have been passed along over many generations of the Sharp name. Moses Sharp’s burial location is in a section of land belonging to the Lane family between Ramey and Ratliff Roads just outside of the town that bears his name. An historic walk and wagon ride a couple of years ago organized by Rob Lane brought visitors to the grave site, which has been partially cleared out. Take a look at the site http://www.pbase.com/jtsmall/sharp_cemetery to see the location and a restoration effort to the Sharp Cemetery.

Generations come and pass, and with each new generation, elements of the earlier ones fade. For residents of Sharpsburg and surrounding communities, the legacies live on through a town name, and those who still have direct ties to Moses Sharp, the founding father of a little town along Highway 11.