Esther Whitley (1755–1833) was an American pioneer who was the third woman of European descent to cross the Cumberland Mountains.[1] Traveling with her husband, William Whitley, she came to KentuckyonWilderness Road.[1] They built the first brick house in Kentucky which is maintained at the William Whitley House State Historic SiteinCrab Orchard, Kentucky.[1]
Esther Gill Fullen was born in Augusta County, Virginia.[2] Fullen married William Whitley in Virginia, and together they had eight daughters and three sons.[3]
In November 1775, she began the trip west along Wilderness Road with her husband and their family.[1][3]
The Whitleys built an estate called Sportman Hill which contained the first brick house in Kentucky.[1] Sportman Hill had an oval race track for horse racing that ran in a counterclockwise direction, differing for the direction of British horse racing.[3]
Esther died at the home of her daughter, Ann Harper, in Woodford County, Kentucky, on November 20, 1833.[4]
