Appalachian History A Courthouse Town On The Edge Of The Mountains In the early 1860s Powell County sat where the Bluegrass began to wrinkle into mountains. The Red River threaded past small farms, iron works, and timber land on its way toward the Kentucky River. Stanton, a modest crossroads town, had been chosen as county seat after Powell County was carved out of surrounding counties in 1852 and named for Governor Lazarus W. Powell.


