Squire Boone
Encyclopedia
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
and brother 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...
. In 1780, he founded the first settlement in Shelby County, Kentucky
Shelby County, Kentucky
Shelby County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2010, the population was 42,074. Its name is in honor of Isaac Shelby, the first Governor of Kentucky. Its county seat is Shelbyville...
. The tenth of eleven children, Squire Boone was born to Nathan "Squire" Boone Sr. and his wife Sarah Boone in Berks County, Pennsylvania
Berks County, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 373,638 people, 141,570 households, and 98,532 families residing in the county. The population density was 435 people per square mile . There were 150,222 housing units at an average density of 175 per square mile...
at the Daniel Boone Homestead
Daniel Boone Homestead
The Daniel Boone Homestead, the birthplace of American frontiersman Daniel Boone, is a museum that is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission near Birdsboro, Berks County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is located on nearly and is the largest site administered by...
. Although overshadowed by his famous brother, Squire Boone was well known in his day.
Early life
Squire Boone Jr was born in Berks County, PennsylvaniaBerks County, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 373,638 people, 141,570 households, and 98,532 families residing in the county. The population density was 435 people per square mile . There were 150,222 housing units at an average density of 175 per square mile...
on October 5, 1744. In 1749 his family moved to Rowan County, North Carolina
Rowan County, North Carolina
-Demographics and economics:As of the census of 2010, there were 138,428 people, 53,140 households, and 37,058 families residing in the county. The population density was 270.7 people per square mile . There were 60,211 housing units at an average density of 117.7 per square mile...
and lived in the Yadkin
Yadkin River
The Yadkin River is one of the longest rivers in North Carolina, flowing . It rises in the northwestern portion of the state near the Blue Ridge Parkway's Thunder Hill Overlook. Several parts of the river are impounded by dams for water, power, and flood control. The river becomes the Pee Dee...
Valley. At age 15, 1759, he was sent back to Pennsylvania to apprentice as a gunsmith
Gunsmith
A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds firearms. This occupation is different from an armorer. The armorer primarily maintains weapons and limited repairs involving parts replacement and possibly work involving accurization...
under Samuel Boone, a cousin. After five years of apprenticeship he returned to North Carolina. On August 8, 1765, he married Jane Van Cleave, whose father was of Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
heritage. Together the couple had five children.
Life in Kentucky
From 1767 to 1771 he went on several long huntsLonghunter
A Longhunter was an 18th-century explorer and hunter who made expeditions into the American frontier wilderness for as much as six months at a time...
with his brother Daniel into the 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...
wilderness. In 1775, 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...
, a prominent judge from North Carolina, hired Daniel Boone to blaze what became known as the Wilderness Road, which went through the Cumberland Gap and into central Kentucky. Squire Boone accompanied his brother, along with 30 others, eventually establishing 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....
.
In Spring 1779, after 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...
, where Squire had a rifle ball cut out of his shoulder, he moved his family to the settlement at the Falls of the Ohio that would become Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville 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...
. In 1780, he brought 13 families to "Painted Stone", tract of land in Shelby County belonging to his father-in-law and established a Station (fort) there, the first permanent settlement in the county. He was wounded in April 1781 when Indians attacked Painted Stone Station; complications of the gunshot injury would result in his right arm being an inch and a half shorter than his left.
On September 13, 1781, the settlers abandoned the undermanned station and headed for nearby Linn's Station, however Squire Boone was still too weak from his injury to make the trip, staying behind at Painted Stone Station with his family and one other. The fleeing settlers from the station were attacked in what came to be known as the Long Run Massacre
Long Run Massacre
The Long Run Massacre occurred on September 13, 1781 at the intersection of Floyd's Fork creek with Long Run Creek, along the Falls Trace, a trail, in what is now eastern Jefferson County, Kentucky...
.
In 1782, he began acting as a land locater for wealthy investors who did not want to personally risk living on the frontier. However, due to financial losses in this line of work, he lost his own property, including the station, in 1786, and was forced to settle elsewhere in the county. He served two terms in the Virginia legislature in 1789 and 1790 and was the primary sponsor of a bill to chart the city of Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville 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...
.
Life in Indiana
After attempting to establish a settlement near present-day Vicksburg, MississippiVicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...
and staying with Daniel Boone in Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
for several years, in 1806 he eventually settled with his family in Harrison County, Indiana
Harrison County, Indiana
Harrison County is a county located in the far southern part of the U.S. state of Indiana along the Ohio River. It is divided into twelve townships, and the county seat is Corydon, the former capital of Indiana. The county is part of the larger Louisville/Jefferson County, KY–IN Metropolitan...
south of Corydon
Corydon, Indiana
Corydon is a town in Harrison Township, Harrison County, Indiana, United States, founded in 1808, and is known as Indiana's First State Capital. After Vincennes, Corydon was the second capital of the Indiana Territory from May 1, 1813, until December 11, 1816. After statehood, the town was the...
. There he settled with his four sons and the sons of Samuel Boone. The settlement is in what is now called Boone Township
Boone Township, Harrison County, Indiana
Boone Township is one of twelve townships in Harrison County, Indiana, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 1,217.-History:Boone Township is named after Squire Boone who settled in the township in 1806. He died there in 1813 and is buried in the nearby Squire Boone Caverns. Boone built...
, and it began to flourish early on. Squire Boone personally acquired a large tract of land on the western edge of the township near the cave he and his brother had hid in many years earlier to evade Indians. Boone considered the cave to be sacred and decided that was where he wanted to be entombed.
On his land Boone carved stone out of a nearby hill to build his home. He carved into the quarry wall various religious and political statements that are still there today. Boone would also build Old Goshen Church, one of the first churches in the state. Boone also became a close friend of Harvey Heth
Harvey Heth
Harvey Heth was born on April 28, 1770 in Virginia. He was the son of Phoebe Miller Heth and Captain Henry Heth a new Irish immigrant to the United States and a veteran of the American Revolutionary War.-Biography:...
and involved in the local politics of the area as one of the leading citizens. He was Harrison County's Justice of the peace in 1808.
Death
He died, age 71, in 1815 and was buried in a cave on his property. His remains were left undisturbed for many years, but in the mid-20th century relic hunters began taking parts of his coffin and even some of his bones. His coffin was then moved deeper into the cave, where it resides today, at the end of the tour of Squire Boone CavernsSquire Boone Caverns
Squire Boone Caverns and Village is a cavern exploration attraction in Mauckport, Indiana . The park consists of a one-hour walking tour into the caverns, as well as a working pioneer village and grist mill.-Park's History:...
.