Jessamine County was established in 1798 from land given by Fayette County and became the 36th county in the state in order of formation. The county was named after Jessamine Creek, which was named after the daughter of a pioneer settler Jessamine Douglass. Most of the early pioneers were from Virginia, who came through the mountains after theAmerican Revolutionary War. In the late 18th century, the Kentucky General Assembly passed a bill to establish a commercial vineyard and winery which is based based in Nicholasville and became the first in the United States which to this day is known as First Vineyard. While the county has a total area of 175 square miles, a total of 53,920 residents call Nicholasville home.