One Kansas Township pioneer of especial interest arrived in 1829 according to his descendant's records, although some histories say it was in 1833. He was Thomas Dixon of Winchester, Virginia, who brought his sixteen year old bride Permelia Radcliff to Dry Grove in McLean County in 1826 on their honeymoon. There they built a cabin and remained at least three years, moving in 1829 to the ford on the Mackinaw which still bears their name. This is only a few miles west of the Kappa location, but over the line in Kansas Township. There they built the second water-powered mill in our area, completing it
A type of mill such as the Moores built on Panther Creek.
(By courtesy of Kentucky Deportment of Publicity.)
just after the Moores finished theirs near Bowling Green. Thomas and Permelia Dixon's descendants still reside in and around Kappa.
William, John and David Hibbs each built cabins northeast of Kappa in 1835, the earliest in El Paso Township. Ralph Hibbs is today an El Paso resident. The family of John B. and Susan E. (Patton) Messer moved up from their 1828 cabin in Sugar Grove to a new one they built on their farm just east of the El Paso Township line in 1836. It is the Thomas Enright farm today. Thus the members of the Dixon, Armstrong and Hibbs families have continuously resided in the El
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