After the October 1774 Dunmore treaty with the Shawnee Indians opened Kentucky to white settlement, David Bard and his brother William came down the Ohio River in early 1775, chose this site for their 100-acre, 126-lot town, and built a wooden structure called Bard's Cedar Cabin as the settlement's hub. In late 1775, five settlers arrived, and the following year they petitioned Patrick Henry, Governor of Virginia, for a license to form a village they called Salem. In 1779, to stimulate growth and show permanency, the proprietors replaced the wooden structure with a stone pioneer tavern built by stonemason William John Cope; it consisted of the northeast corner room next to Court Square and an upstairs divided into two overnight rooms, one for men and one for women, while the lobby was then a courtyard later enclosed. In 1782, the town's name was changed to Bardstown on the official county map, and Daniel Boone and William Bard appeared before the Virginia Commission on the same day to certify their land settlements. As the town grew and customs shifted to private overnight rooms, an extensive expansion in 1797 produced a footprint similar to the present one, though the western section next to the Jailer's Inn was later replaced. The tavern has operated continuously since its erection in the same building and at the same location except during repairs for fire damage, and it has received national recognition for its significant place in American history.