Harrod, James, 1742–93, American frontiersman, b. Bedford co., Pa. He fought in the French and Indian Wars and in 1773 made a journey down the Ohio River to Kentucky. In 1774 he returned to Kentucky and began a settlement, the first in the state; it was named Harrodsburg in his honor. Later he opposed the colonization schemes of Richard Henderson and his Transylvania Company. In 1777, 1779, and 1782 he took part in campaigns against native tribes and was a member of the Virginia assembly (1779). Harrod disappeared mysteriously while trapping with two companions and never returned. He probably was murdered.
See biography by K. H. Mason (1951).
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