Lexington was first named by a party of Virginians who camped here in June, 1775, after they heard the news about the Battle of Lexington, Massachusetts in April of that year starting the American Revolution against the British government. A fort was begun at the same spot in 1779, and by 1782 there was a town here known as "Lexington, Virginia". This is because Kentucky was still part of Virginia then, and was not made into a state of its own until 1792.