Boonesborough, Kentucky
Encyclopedia
Boonesborough is an unincorporated community
in Madison County
, Kentucky
, United States
. It lies in the central part of the state along the Kentucky River
. Boonesborough is part of the Richmond
–Berea
Micropolitan Statistical Area
.
Boonesborough was founded by legendary frontiersman Daniel Boone
when he worked for Richard Henderson
of the Transylvania Company. Boone led a group of settlers through the mountains from Fort Watauga
(at present day Elizabethton, Tennessee
), carving out the Wilderness Road
through the Cumberland Gap
, and established Fort Boonesborough. Boone lived there from 1775 to 1779. Boonesborough was the first chartered
town in Kentucky
, and one of the first English speaking communities settled west of the Appalachian Mountains
. Boone successfully led his fellow settlers during the siege of Boonesborough
in 1778.
Boonesborough is the site of Fort Boonesborough State Park
, which includes the Kentucky River Museum
. It has been rebuilt to look like a working fort of the days when Boone resided there. Living history weekends are sponsored throughout the year.
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in Madison County
Madison County, Kentucky
Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2008, the population was 82,192. Its county seat is Richmond. The county is named for Virginia statesman James Madison, who later became the fourth President of the United States. This is also where famous pioneer Daniel...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It lies in the central part of the state along the Kentucky River
Kentucky River
The Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River, long, in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The river and its tributaries drain much of the central region of the state, with its upper course passing through the coal-mining regions of the Cumberland Mountains, and its lower course passing through the...
. Boonesborough is part of the Richmond
Richmond, Kentucky
There were 10,795 households out of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.2% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.6% were non-families. Of all households, 34.7% were made up of individuals and 8.8% had...
–Berea
Berea, Kentucky
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 9,851 people, 3,693 households, and 2,426 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,055.4 people per square mile . There were 4,115 housing units at an average density of 440.9 per square mile...
Micropolitan Statistical Area
Richmond-Berea micropolitan area
The Richmond–Berea Micropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in Kentucky, anchored by the cities of Richmond and Berea...
.
Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone was an American pioneer, explorer, and frontiersman whose frontier exploits mad']'e him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. Boone is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which was then beyond the western borders of...
when he worked for Richard Henderson
Richard Henderson (American pioneer)
Richard Henderson was an American pioneer and merchant who attempted to create a colony called Transylvania just as the American Revolutionary War was starting.-Early life:Henderson was born in Hanover County, Virginia...
of the Transylvania Company. Boone led a group of settlers through the mountains from Fort Watauga
Fort Watauga
Fort Watauga, more properly Fort Caswell, was an American Revolutionary War fort that once stood at the Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River in what is now Elizabethton, Tennessee...
(at present day Elizabethton, Tennessee
Elizabethton, Tennessee
Elizabethton is the county seat of Carter County, Tennessee, United States. Elizabethton is also the historical site both of the first independent American government located west of both the Eastern Continental Divide and the original thirteen British American colonies.Elizabethton is also the...
), carving out the Wilderness Road
Wilderness Road
The Wilderness Road was the principal route used by settlers for more than fifty years to reach Kentucky from the East. In 1775, Daniel Boone blazed a trail for the Transylvania Company from Fort Chiswell in Virginia through the Cumberland Gap into central Kentucky. It was later lengthened,...
through the Cumberland Gap
Cumberland Gap
Cumberland Gap is a pass through the Cumberland Mountains region of the Appalachian Mountains, also known as the Cumberland Water Gap, at the juncture of the U.S. states of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia...
, and established Fort Boonesborough. Boone lived there from 1775 to 1779. Boonesborough was the first chartered
Chartered
Charter or Chartered might refer to different things:* Charter, a legal document conferring rights or privileges* Chartered , a professional credential* Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, a manufacturing company...
town in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, and one of the first English speaking communities settled west of the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
. Boone successfully led his fellow settlers during the siege of Boonesborough
Siege of Boonesborough
The Siege of Boonesborough took place in September 1778 during the American Revolutionary War. The attack on the Kentucky settlement of Boonesborough was led by Chief Blackfish, a Shawnee leader allied to the British. Months before the battle, Blackfish had captured and adopted Daniel Boone, the...
in 1778.
Boonesborough is the site of Fort Boonesborough State Park
Fort Boonesborough State Park
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.The fort was the scene of...
, which includes the Kentucky River Museum
Kentucky River Museum
The Kentucky River Museum is located in Boonesborough, Kentucky, in Fort Boonesborough State Park.Established in 2002, the museum occupies the former lock operator's home and storage and maintenance building for Lock 10, one of fourteen locks on the Kentucky River which were originally built by the...
. It has been rebuilt to look like a working fort of the days when Boone resided there. Living history weekends are sponsored throughout the year.
Further reading
- Ranck, George W. Boonesborough: Its Founding, Pioneer Struggles, Indian Experiences, Transylvania Days, and Revolutionary Annals. LouisvilleLouisville, KentuckyLouisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, 1901. Reprinted by Arno Press, 1971.