The county was named in 1823 for Maj. Benjamin Franklin Graves, who was born in Va. in 1771 and came to Ky. in 1791. A farmer, he settled in Fayette Co. and was elected to the General Assembly in 1801 and 1804. He enlisted at the beginning of the War of 1812 and was commissioned on Aug. 7. After being wounded and captured at the battle of River Raisin, Mich., on Jan. 22, 1813, he was presumed killed by Indians. The county, part of the Jackson Purchase, was formed from Hickman.