Evan Williams, born a Welshman, settled in Virginia and moved to what would become Kentucky (but was then Fincastle County of Virginia) in about 1780. Like most frontiersmen, he grew crops, but getting them to market over narrow trails and steep mountains was a daunting task. Williams soon learned that converting his corn and other grains to whiskey made them easily transportable, prevented the excess grain from simply rotting, and gave them a little welcome diversion from the rough life of the frontier. Williams set up his small distillery on the Ohio River at the foot of what is now Fifth Street in Louisville. According to an article in the Louisville Courier-Journal of 29 April 1889, "Williams was a member of the early Board of Trustees of Louisville, and tradition says he never attended a meeting of the board without bringing a bottle of his whiskey, and that what he brought was always drank by the members before the meeting adjourned." He was censured every time for doing so, but still he never left with a full jug!

Williams was later appointed Harbor Master of the port of Louisville, and supervised construction of the Jefferson County Jail in 1802-03. He died in October of 1810, and is widely considered "Kentucky's First Distiller."