Cumberland Gap National Historical Park [KY]

Description

The 20,000-acre Cumberland Gap National Historical Park preserves the site of the original "gateway to the west" used by settlers and pioneers. Native American populations had used this gap to cross the mountains for centuries prior to the arrival of European Americans. However, Daniel Boone (1734-1820) opened the Wilderness Road through Cumberland Gap to these settlers in 1775. Sites of historical note include a historical iron furnace, the 1904 Hensley Settlement, and fortifications dating to the Civil War.

The park offers two introductory films, interactive exhibits, an educational activity area for children, Appalachian craft demonstrations, two-hour cave tours, three-and-a-half- or four-hour settlement tours, Junior Ranger activities, and picnic sites. Please note that if you are interested in the cave tour, the National Park Service requests that you do not wear clothing that you have worn to another cave. This is an effort to avoid spreading White-Nose Syndrome, a condition which has caused the death of countless bats. Even if you personally fear or dislike these creatures, please remember that they are an important part of their (and our) ecosystems.

Fort Boonesborough State Park [KY]

Description

Fort Boonesborough was originally built in 1775 by Daniel Boone and his men to serve as a frontier outpost along the Kentucky River. Today, the fort has been completely reconstructed and functions as a living history museum, giving modern-day visitors a sense of what life was like for pioneers in Kentucky. In addition to the reconstructed fort, the park contains the Kentucky River Museum, which provides visitors with "insight into the lives of families who lived on the river and worked the locks and dams in the 1900s."

The park offers exhibits, tours for school groups, living history demonstrations, special school days throughout the year, and other educational and recreational events. The website offers visitor information, a photo gallery featuring 13 photographs of the park, and an events calendar.

William Whitley House State Historic Site [KY]

Description

The William Whitley House was one of the first brick houses built west of the Appalachian Mountains. Built in 1794, the house was frequented by many famous early Kentuckians, including George Rogers Clark and Daniel Boone. In addition, the house was the site of the first circular racetrack built in Kentucky. Now, the house has been restored to its condition in the 18th century, and features a gift shop in addition to the historical attractions.

The site offers visitor information, limited historical information, a photo gallery with seven photographs, and an events calendar.

Boone Station State Historic Site

Description

"Daniel Boone (1734-1820), known for his role in the exploring and settling of the Kentucky frontier decided that the settlement of Boonesborough had become far too crowded. In December 1779, Boone and his family established Boone’s Station. At its height, the community had 15 to 20 families, including the Boone, Barrow, Hays, Morgan, Muir, Scholl and, Stinson families.

Daniel Boone and his family endured many hardships while living at Boone's Station. Both his son Israel, and nephew Thomas Boone were killed at the Battle of Blue Licks in 1781. By 1781, Boone’s claim to Boone Station proved to be invalid. He and other members of the settlement continued to live there for a brief period. However, by 1791 Boone Station had ceased to exist. In 1795, Robert Frank purchased 500 acres that included the Station site.

Eventually Boone and his family moved to Missouri where the famous pioneer died in 1820. In 1845, the Governor, and General Assembly of Kentucky requested that the remains of Daniel Boone and his wife Rebecca Bryan Boone be reburied in Kentucky. They are buried in the State Cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky."

Kentuckiana Digital Library

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Image for Kentuckiana Digital Library
Annotation

These historical materials come from 15 Kentucky colleges, universities, libraries, and historical societies. There are nearly 8,000 photographs; 95 full-text books, manuscripts, and journals from 1784 to 1971; 94 oral histories; 78 issues of Mountain Life and Work from 1925-62; and 22 issues of Works Progress Administration in Kentucky: Narrative Reports.

Photographs include collections by Russell Lee, who documented health conditions resulting from coal industry practices; Roy Stryker, head of the New Deal Farm Security Administration photographic section; and others that provide images of cities, towns, schools, camps, and disappearing cultures. Oral histories address Supreme Court Justice Stanley F. Reed, Senator John Sherman Cooper, the Frontier Nursing Service, veterans, fiddlers, and the transition from farming to an industrial economy. Texts include Civil War diaries, religious tracts, speeches, correspondence, and scrapbooks. Documents cover a range of topics, including colonization societies, civil rights, education, railroads, feuding, the Kentucky Derby, Daniel Boone, and a personal recollection of Abraham Lincoln.

Wilderness Road State Park [VA]

Description

The 310-acre Wilderness Road State Park commemorates the route which Daniel Boone (1734-1820) carved along a buffalo trace through the Cumberland Gap and into Kentucky in 1775, effectively opening the western frontier. Items of note within the park are a visitor center and Martin's Station, a replica of a 1775 colonial frontier fort which is located in the position of the original.

The park offers an introductory film; exhibits; costumed interpreters; educational programs; living history discussions; a raid re-enactment; and The Indian Ridge Trail, a self-guided interpretive walk.

Morgan Log House [PA]

Description

The Morgan Log House is a restored example of early domestic architecture. Located in Eastern Pennsylvania, the home was originally built for Daniel Boone's grandfather, Edward Morgan. Today, the exhibits many fine examples of antique furniture, metals, household implements, and colonial period decorative arts from the early Welsh and Germanic traditions of Pennsylvania.

The house offers tours, hands-on activities for schoolchildren, special programs, and ongoing research opportunities. The website offers a virtual tour, visitor information, a history of the log house, a calendar of events, information about the educational programs offered, and a genealogical research section. In order to contact the house via email, use the "contact us" link located at the top of the webpage.