I had never heard of Fort Harrod and when I learned that the fort located in the state park in downtown Harrodsburg was a replica, we almost decided to give it a pass. But in the end, we visited the fort and were very glad we did.
The fort was the first permanent settlement in Kentucky and the original cemetery located adjacent has some great history. The cemetery was founded in 1775 and holds the grave of the first white child to be buried in Kentucky. Most of the graves before 1800 were marked with simple field stones without names. On the rugged frontier there were no stone masons. In this cemetery is a son of the preacher who married Abraham Lincoln’s parents’ right here in Harrodsburg. Also resting here is a soldier of the Revolutionary War.
The Fort itself saw a large number of battles with the Native Americans during the Revolutionary War. As the need for the fort waned, it was disassembled and the lumber and other materials were used to build homes on farms or buildings in the growing town. The docents at the park brought the history of the fort and pioneers of the then wild west to life.
We also discovered that on the grounds was a federal monument to these same pioneers.
Wandering around, we saw what appeared to be a small church, but it turned out to be a “temple” that was built to protect the log cabin where Thomas Lincoln married Nancy Hanks in 1806.
Lastly there is the home of a local prominent lawyer from the Civil War era. There were a number of Civil War memorabilia along with his family history. What I found most fascinating were the summaries of personnel histories of the people that lived in the house. Hopefully you will be able to read the account of a slave girl in the picture at the side bar. It should be quite clear if you click on it and enlarge.
It would have been a shame to blow off this historical site.
Oh,yes-Anneke scored some Osage apples from the cemetery. They were everywhere. These are supposed to make spiders crazy. Coming from a historical site should just make them more powerful.
11 comments:
Look forward to hearing the result of the Osage apples :)
the apples sound very interesting?..can't wait to hear the report!
I had some of those apples in my rig a couple of years back. I was hoping at that time that they would also discourage mice. :) didn't work!
Love your header picture!
Interesting that the fort was dismanteled and used for homes and then rebuilt for the history.
Hope it isn't getting too cold yet there in Kentucky.
We really enjoy visiting places like Fort Harrod, although that one is new to us. We need to get back to Kentucky and spend some good time there. Thanks for the very interesting tour!
Wish I had been on this trip with you! Soooooooooo interesting. K
Yes, waiting to see how the apples work out, too. Never heard of that before.
Your header picture reminds me of a BMC I used to work for... ;c)
I have never heard of Osage apples. What the heck are they? They look very strange.
The Fort looks awesome. We really enjoy visiting this type of place. Thanks for the tour!
What a wonderful place to visit! The history is so interesting and I love your pictures. Thanks for the tour. I hope I can get there someday!
Candy
we were there about 20 years ago and i had no idea that today, i would be spinning yarn! We now buy antique spinning wheels, refresh them then sell them.
Another very neat open air museum ... an early recycling project. Thanks for sharing the story of the Slave Girl ... very inspiring. Will have to look into this osage apple thing ... never heard of it before.
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