Fort Boonesborough

Fort Boonesborough was established in 1775 by frontiersman Daniel Boone. Boone led a group of settlers, from Fort Watauga, over the Cumberland Mountains and into present day Kentucky. Along the way he carved out the Wilderness Road. The Wilderness Road would prove vital to other settlers looking to move west. Once Boone and his settlers reached Kentucky, they quickly got to work constructing the fort. They named it after their leader and guide Daniel Boone. Boonesborough became home to a school, church, tavern, and general store, among other things. The fort basically served as a town. Most of the settlers lived outside the fort, where they had room to grow crops. The settlers and the Cherokee got along well, but their major enemies soon became the Shawnee. The Shawnee tried numerous times to get the settlers to leave. Some of the things they did, was burn crops, and kill cattle. They hoped by doing this there would be food shortages, that would force the settlers to leave. They even took Boone captive. Daniel Boone and the Shawnee Chief, Blackfish, attempted to negotiate on numerous occasions. Each negotiation failed, and eventually Blackfish decided to attack Boonesborough. The Shawnee strategy was simple, charge the fort, scale the walls, and set fire to the buildings inside. This would have worked, if the men inside had not been such good marksmen. Boone and the men inside the fort, were able to drive the Shawnee away, with only two casualties. The buildings the Shawnee were able to set fire to, were quickly extinguished by the rain that had begun to fall. Following the attack, Colonel Richard Callaway brought charges of court martial against Daniel Boone. Callaway claimed, among other things, that Boone had made a deal while in captivity to turn Boonesborough over to the British, and Shawnee, in exchange for his freedom. This was found to be untrue, and Boone was found not guilty. Following his acquittal, Boone moved his family, to his son Israel's settlement known as Boone's Station. Life in Boonesborough continued on without the Boone family. They survived numerous Indian uprisings, and the Civil War. But by 1877, life at Boonesborough had ceased to exist. This was due to larger cities forming around the settlement. Today the fort has been reconstructed, and is now a state park. The legacy of Daniel Boone and his family continues to live on. The Boonesborough settlement is truly a prime example of pioneer life.

Map showing where Fort Boonesborough was located, and also the Wilderness Road.

Daniel Boone

Daniel Boone leading settlers through the Cumberland Mountains to set up the Boonesborough settlement.

Fort Boonesborough as it appears today.

The 1960s T.V. series "Daniel Boone," starring Fess Parker, provides the viewer with a basic idea of what life was like in Boonesborough.

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