Timeline story

Mercer County · Frontier · 1775 – 1815

Ann McGinty and Kentucky's first spinning wheel

Anne Kennedy (later Poage, Lindsay, and McGinty) crossed into Kentucky in September 1775 with a spinning wheel—the first brought over Cumberland Gap—and soon helped her husband William Poage build looms at Harrodstown.

Their linsey-woolsey cloth became a frontier staple; she later ran an ordinary (tavern-inn) and is buried in the Fort Harrod Pioneer Cemetery (d. 1815).

Cite this story

Published . Last revised .

Chicago

Snowden, Shannon. "Ann McGinty and Kentucky's first spinning wheel." Kentucky History Drive. Published September 21, 2026. Last revised September 21, 2026. https://kyhistorydrive.com/stories/ann-mcginty-and-kentuckys-first-spinning-wheel/.

MLA

Snowden, Shannon. "Ann McGinty and Kentucky's first spinning wheel." Kentucky History Drive, published 21 Sept. 2026, last revised 21 Sept. 2026, https://kyhistorydrive.com/stories/ann-mcginty-and-kentuckys-first-spinning-wheel/.

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