Boone Station was a settlement 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 the home of Daniel Boone

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...

 from 1779 to 1782. It was located on Boone's Creek in Fayette County, Kentucky

Fayette County, Kentucky

Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The population was 295,083 in the 2010 Census. Its territory, population and government are coextensive with the city of Lexington, which also serves as county seat....

, near present Athens, Kentucky

Athens, Kentucky

Athens, Kentucky, United States, is a small unincorporated village in the rural services area of Lexington- Fayette Urban County to the east of Interstate 75. First settled in 1786 as the community of Cross Plains, the town was chartered as Athens in 1826 and had its own post office from that time...

 which in Boone's era was called "Crossroads." Boone moved here during the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

 after having previously lived in Boonesborough, Kentucky

Boonesborough, Kentucky

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....

. The new settlement, initially called "Boone's new station", was located on land settled in 1776 by Daniel's son Israel. At its height, the settlement consisted of about 15 to 20 families. Like other "stations" in frontier Kentucky, Boone's Station probably consisted of a number of cabins which shared a common outside wall to defend against American Indian

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 raids.

Unlike Boonesborough, Boone's Station saw little action during the Revolutionary War. A number of Boone's Station residents were killed in the war at nearby locations. Boone's brother Edward was killed by Shawnee

Shawnee

The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...

 in 1780 while hunting with Daniel in present Bourbon County

Bourbon County, Kentucky

Bourbon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is the remnant of what was previously a much larger Bourbon County, established as part of Virginia in 1785, and comprising what are now thirty-four modern Kentucky counties...

. Boone's son Israel and his nephew Thomas Boone were killed at the Battle of Blue Licks

Battle of Blue Licks

The Battle of Blue Licks, fought on August 19, 1782, was one of the last battles of the American Revolutionary War. The battle occurred ten months after Lord Cornwallis's famous surrender at Yorktown, which had effectively ended the war in the east...

 in 1782.
Boone eventually lost or sold his title to his Boone's Station land as a result of the chaotic, overlapping land claim system of frontier Kentucky. Exactly when he moved away is uncertain. In 1783, he either resettled his family in a cabin at nearby Marble Creek, where he lived for a couple of more years, or he relocated to Limestone (now Maysville, Kentucky

Maysville, Kentucky

Maysville is a city in and the county seat of Mason County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 8,993 at the 2000 census, making it the fiftieth largest city in Kentucky by population. Maysville is on the Ohio River, northeast of Lexington. It is the principal city of the Maysville...

), along the Ohio River

Ohio River

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

. Boone's Station ceased to exist as a community by 1791. It is now a 46 acres (186,155.6 m²) Kentucky State Historic Site, with numerous reconstructed cabins and stockade. Skilled staff and re-enactors help interpret daily life at the station.

External links

• Boone Station State Historical Site, from the Kentucky Department of Parks
• Geophysical Survey of Daniel Boone's Station
• Photographs of reenactors at Boone Station in 2006