The families left Virginia in November 1775, shortly before the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. When they reached their new site, Whitley planted of corn to establish his claim to the land. He and his family moved to the safety of St. Asaph's fort (present-day Stanford, Kentucky), as the local Shawnee and Cherokee resisted European-American encroachment in their territory. In 1763, the British had promised the Native Americans that this area west of the mountains would be a reserve for them and prohibited to colonists.