Fort Boonesborough Site


  • Address: 4375 Boonesboro Rd
  • Vicinity: Fort Boonesborough State Park
  • Travel Genus: Sight
  • Sight Category: Site

Fort Boonesborough Site located on the Kentucky River in Fort Boonesborough State Park, situated 13 miles (21 km) north of Richmond, Kentucky, marks the location of Colonial era for built by American Frontiersmen. On the west side of the park there is a reconstructed version of the fort with cabins, blockhouses and furnishings. - AsNotedIn

The fortress at Boonesborough consisted of ten strong log huts arranged in a quadrangular form, enclosing an area of about one-third of an acre. The intervals, as before stated, between the huts, were filled with strong palisades of timber, which, like the huts themselves, were bullet-proof. The outer sides of the cabins, together with the palisades, formed the sides of the fort exposed to the foe. Each of these cabins was about twenty feet in length and twelve or fifteen in breadth. There were two entrance gates opposite each other, made of thick slabs of timber, and hung on wooden hinges. The forest, which was quite dense, had been cut away to such a distance as to expose an assailing party to the bullets of the garrison. As at that time the Indians were armed mainly with bows and arrows, a few men fully supplied with ammunition within the fort could bid defiance to almost any number of savages. And subsequently, as the Indians obtained fire-arms, they could not hope to capture the fort without a long siege, or by assailing it with a vastly overwhelming superiority of numbers. The accompanying illustration will give the reader a very correct idea of this renowned fortress of logs, which was regarded as the Gibraltar of Indian warfare.
John S C Abbott, Daniel Boone: The Pioneer of Kentuck, 1872


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Timeline

Y/M/D Person Association Description Composition Food Event
Y/M/D Person Association Description Composition Food Event
1775/04/01 Daniel Boone Explorer Fort Boonesborough is established by Daniel Boone and his men after their crossing of the Kentucky River in April 1775.
1775/04/01 Judge Richard Henderson Frontiersman Daniel Boone dispatches a letter to the colonist led by Richard Henderson, Nathaulel Hart and John Luttrell, three of the "Transylvania" Proprietors, who are to follow soon.
1775/04/02 Daniel Boone Architect Daneil Boone begins the erection of a stockaded fort on the Kentucky River intended to become the capital of the Colony of Transylvania.
1775/09/00 Richard Callaway Colonist Colonel Richard Calloway moves his wife and family, including several daughters, to Boonesborough in Fincastle County, Virginia.
1776/08/07 Squire M Boone Officiant Civil magistrate Squire Boone, brother of Daniel, conducts the wedding of Elizabeth Calloway to Samuel Henderson. It is the first marriage in Kentucky. Abduction of Jemima Boone and the Callaway Girls
1776/08/07 Betsy Callaway Henderson Bride Elizabeth Callaway, daughter of Richard Callaway and Frances Sherwood Walton Callaway, marries Samuel Henderson in Fort Boonesborough, Fincastle County, Virginia. Abduction of Jemima Boone and the Callaway Girls
1777/04/15 Boonesborough is subjected to a savage Indian attack.
1777/07/04 Boonesborough is again attacked by Indian braves.
1780/03/10 Richard Callaway In Memoriam The body of Richard Callaway, died at age 62, is recovered and buried near Fort Boonesborough.
1801/06/16 Theodosia French Hood Born Keziah Calloway French, wife of James French, gives birth to a daughter daughter, Theodosia French, Boonesborough, Madison County, Kentucky.

Data »

Particulars for Fort Boonesborough Site:
Cultural Affiliation American Frontier
Cultural Affiliation Euro-American
Criteria Exemplar
Area of Significance Exploration-settlement
Structure Type Fortification
Area of Significance Historic and non-aboriginal
Criteria Information Potential
Area of Significance Military
Level of Significance National
Criteria Person
Sight Category Site
Owner State



US National Registry of Historic Places Data »

Accurate at time of registration: 5th May 1996

PLACE DETAILS
Registry Name: Fort Boonesborough Site
Registry Address: Address Restricted
Registry Number: 08000427
Resource Type: Site
Owner: State
Area in Acres: 1
Contributing Sites: 1
Non-Contributing Structures: 2
Non-Contributing Objects: 1
Certification: Date received-pending nomination
Nominator Name: National Historic Landmark
CULTURAL DETAILS
Level of Significance: National
Area of Significance: Historic and non-aboriginal, Exploration-settlement, Military
Applicable Criteria: Event, Person, Information Potential
Cultural Affiliation: Euro-American
Significant Year: 1775, 1778
Associated People: Boone, Daniel; Henderson, Judge Richard
Historic Function: Defense
Historic Sub-Function: Fortification
Current Function: Landscape
Current Sub-Function: Park

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