Although there were some European settlers already in Indiana, Clarksville became the first authorized American settlement in present-day Indiana in 1784. The settlement sat on the north bank of the Ohio River, opposite Louisville, Kentucky) at the Falls of the Ohio.
George Rogers Clark used the area during the American Revolution. In 1778 , he built a post on an island at the head of the Falls of the Ohio. The Clark commanded regiment was trained at the post tasked with protecting the west.
After the Revolutionary War, Clark was granted a tract of 150,000 acres for his services. In 1783, 1,000 acres were set aside for the development of a town, Clarksville. The same year a stockade was built and settlement began.