Fort Boonesborough State Park

(Redirected from Fort Boonesborough) State park in Kentucky, United States

Fort Boonesborough State Park
Fort Boonesborough

Location	Madison, Kentucky, United States
Coordinates	37°54′2″N 84°16′6″W / 37.90056°N 84.26833°W / 37.90056; -84.26833
Elevation	568 ft (173 m)
Established	June 14, 1963
Governing body	Kentucky Department of Parks
Website	Fort Boonesborough State Park


Fort Boonesborough Townsite Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark

Reproduction
Show map of KentuckyShow map of the United States
Nearest city	Richmond, Kentucky / Winchester, Kentucky
Area	352 acres (142 ha) (NR-listed area) 1.8 acres (0.73 ha) (NHL area)
Built	1775 (1775)
Architect	Richard Henderson Daniel Boone
NRHP reference No.	94000303
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	April 14, 1994
Designated NHL	June 19, 1996

Fort Boonesborough was a frontier fort in Kentucky, founded by Daniel Boone and his men following their crossing of the Kentucky River on April 1, 1775. The settlement they founded, known as Boonesborough, Kentucky, is Kentucky's second oldest European-American settlement. It served as a major frontier outpost during the American Revolutionary War, and survived into the early 19th century before its eventual abandonment. A National Historic Landmark now administered as part of Fort Boonesborough State Park, the site is one of the best-preserved archaeological sites of early westward expansion by British colonists in that period. It is located in Madison County, Kentucky off Kentucky Route 627.

Description

Fort Boonesborough State Park is located southeast of Lexington, Kentucky, on the west bank of the Kentucky River in rural Madison County. has a recreation of Fort Boonesborough rebuilt as a working fort, containing cabins, bunkhouses and furnishings. The park offers history programs in conjunction with the Fort Boonesborough Foundation, and during the in-season, the fort houses resident artisans such as blacksmiths and potters who do open demonstrations to give visitors a taste of what pioneer life in Kentucky was like.

The Kentucky River Museum is located in the park, at the former lock operator's home. The museum focuses on the impact of the river on area families and commerce and tells about the locks and dams in the 1900s.

History

The Fort Boonesborough area was occupied by Native Americans prior to the arrival of European explorers and colonial settlers, with a small village of Fort Ancient residents known to have lived there c. 1400 AD. The area that is now Kentucky had been scouted by Daniel Boone as early as 1769, and became the subject of an illegal colonial settlement attempt orchestrated by Richard Henderson and his Transylvania Company. Boone was hired by Henderson to cut a road into the territory, which he did, arriving with his expedition near this site at the beginning of April 1775. Henderson followed later in the month, and oversaw the establishment of Boonesborough and construction of its fortifications.

The first form of representative government in Kentucky was held here in May 1775. By that summer, Boonesborough consisted of 26 one-story log cabins and four blockhouses.

The fort was the scene of much action during the western theater of the American Revolutionary War. In September 1778, the fort withstood an attack by American Indians in what would later be called "The Great Siege."

After the war, the settlement became a travel stop for westward-bound settlers, and also became involved as a transit point for the flourishing tobacco trade. By 1820, it had ceased to be of significant importance, and it was eventually abandoned. The area did not undergo intensive archaeological investigation until the 1980s, when major elements of the site were identified, including Daniel Boone's initial station, the Fort Boonesborough fortification, several water springs, the foundational remains of tobacco warehouses, and the Fort Ancient village site.

Most of the park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district of archaeological importance in 1994, and the site of Fort Boonesborough was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1996.

References

"Fort Boonesboro State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
^ "History". Fort Boonesborough State Park. Kentucky Department of Parks. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
"National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
"Fort Boonesborough Foundation". Retrieved March 13, 2014.
"Explore | Fort Boonesborough State Park". Kentucky State Parks. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
"NRHP nomination for Fort Boonesborough Town Site Archeological District". National Park Service. Retrieved 2020-01-15.

External links

Fort Boonesborough State Park Kentucky Department of Parks
Fort Boonesborough Living History
Media related to Fort Boonesborough State Park at Wikimedia Commons

Protected areas of Kentucky

Federal

National Parks	Mammoth Cave
National Historical Parks	Abraham Lincoln Birthplace Cumberland Gap
National River	Big South Fork
National Military Park	Fort Donelson National Battlefield
National Forests	Daniel Boone George Washington and Jefferson
USFS National Recreation Areas	Land Between the Lakes
Wild and Scenic Rivers	Red River
National Wildlife Refuges	Clarks River Green River Ohio River Islands Reelfoot

State

State Resort Parks	Barren River Lake Blue Licks Battlefield Buckhorn Lake Carter Caves Cumberland Falls Dale Hollow Lake General Butler Greenbo Lake Jenny Wiley Kenlake Kentucky Dam Village Lake Barkley Lake Cumberland Natural Bridge Pennyrile Forest Pine Mountain Rough River Dam
State Historic Sites	Big Bone Lick Butler-Turpin House Dr. Thomas Walker Isaac Shelby Cemetery Jefferson Davis Old Mulkey Meetinghouse Perryville Battlefield Waveland White Hall Wickliffe Mounds William Whitley House
State Recreation Parks	Carr Creek Columbus-Belmont Dawkins Line Rail Trail E. P. "Tom" Sawyer Fishtrap Lake Fort Boonesborough General Burnside Island Grayson Lake Green River Lake John James Audubon Kincaid Lake Kingdom Come Lake Malone Levi Jackson Wilderness Road Lincoln Homestead Mineral Mound My Old Kentucky Home Nolin Lake Old Fort Harrod Paintsville Lake Pine Mountain Trail Taylorsville Lake Yatesville Lake
State Forests	Dewey Lake Green River Kentenia Kentucky Ridge Knobs Olympia Pennyrile Tygarts
State Nature Preserves	Axe Lake Swamp Bad Branch Falls Bat Cave and Cascade Caverns Beargrass Creek Blackacre Blue Licks Brigadoon Jesse Stuart JJ Audubon Natural Bridge Six Mile Island Tom Dorman
Other	Breaks Interstate Park Kentucky Horse Park

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