A History of the Daniel Boone National Forest 1770 - 1970

When Judge Henderson and his company of over 40 people arrived at the chosen location on the Kentucky River on his fortieth birthday, April 20, 1775, he found that Daniel Boone and his party had not been idle during the preceding three weeks. They had partly erected three small cabins on the fertile bench along the river and about 60 yards back from it. Much to his surprise they had subdivided the land adjacent to these cabins, which they called Fort Boone, into two-acre lots and had already distributed these lots by a drawing to the members of the Boone party who were now in full possession and occupying them. The cabins remained unfinished, he was told by Boone, because the men refused to work on them, such was their eagerness to clear and improve their own property.

After looking over the situation and discussing it at length with Daniel Boone, Judge Henderson found himself deeply concerned about several aspects of the situation. First, as the head of the Transylvania Company, he believed that neither the subdivision of the land and its disposition should not have been completed prior to his arrival nor agreement on the sites and procedure.

Second, as the head of the new colony, he felt that he had a responsibility for its defense and well being of its inhabitants. The refusal of the members of the Boone party to complete the cabins for their own defense in the event of an Indian attack not only puzzled him, but gave him great concern for the safety of the settlement. If he had known it, these factors were only the beginning of a growing attitude on the Kentucky frontier of a disregard of the land title claims of the Transylvania Company, and a resistance to any type of discipline which could provide for the safety of all concerned.

It is apparent that his best efforts of leadership, and those of Daniel Boone, produced little results in overcoming this problem. In his initial report to the proprietors of the Transylvania Company remaining in North Carolina, which he wrote on June 12, 1775, he commented on this situation at some length. He wrote, ". . . It will no doubt surprise you, but it is nevertheless true, that we are in no posture of defense or security at this time; and, for my own part, do not expect it will ever be effected, unless the Indians should do us the favor of annoying us, and regularly scalping a man every week until it is performed; if the intervals should be longer, the same spirit of indolence and self-security, which hath hitherto prevailed, would not only continue, but increase. To give you a small specimen of the disposition of the people, it may be sufficient to assure you, that when we arrived at this place, we found Captain Boone's men as inattentive on the score of fear, (to all appearances), as if they had been in Hillsborough. A small fort only wanting two or three days' work to make it tolerably safe, was totally neglected on Mr. Cocke's arrival; and unto this day remains unfinished, notwithstanding the repeated applications of Captain Boone and every representation of danger from ourselves. The death of poor Twetty and the rest, who at the time you were informed, became sacrifices to indiscretion, had no more effect than to produce one night's watching after they got to Otter Creek; not more than 10 days after the massacre. Our plantations extend near two miles in length, on the river and up a creek. Here people work in their different lots; some without guns, and others without care or caution. It is vain for us to say anything more about the matter; it cannot be done by words. We have a militia law, on which I have some dependence; if that has no good effect, we must remain for some time much at the mercy of the Indians."

Judge Henderson was a man of action who accepted his responsibilities as a leader. After a thorough discussion of the entire situation with Daniel Boone, Colonel Calloway and others, and a personal tour of the general area, he arrived at several conclusions on which to base plans for future action. Three basic facts had developed from his discussions. They were:

"The primary interest of all of the men now assembled at Fort Boone was the ownership of good land."

"Regardless of this personal interest on the part of the individuals, it was his responsibility, as their leader, to insure their continued safety and welfare if they were to remain to establish a settlement and colony of the Transylvania Company."

"Many people, other than those now assembled at Fort Boone, had already moved into the area covered by the Transylvania Company purchase from the Cherokees, and were initiating settlements without title or other permission from the Company. If the Company was to retain any kind of control over this vast territory, he must organize a Colonial Government promptly, demand payment for the land occupied, and be prepared to issue grants, titles or other evidence or ownership to those individuals occupying or claiming land under terms of the Transylvania Company. If he was to control the land purchased, he must establish dominion over it."

He moved promptly to meet these implied challenges. With the assistance of Colonel Callaway and Daniel Boone, he immediately surveyed 54 addition allots adjacent to those already distributed and, on the morning of Sunday, April 23, 1775, distributed them by means of public drawing. Several of the men appeared dissatisfied with the results of the drawing so, by common consent, a second drawing was held on the morning of Tuesday, April 25. This appears to have completed the distribution of the lots to the satisfaction of all. Of this drawing Judge Henderson recorded in his journal that he had obtained four lots for the fort garden on which he immediately planted corn, cucumbers and other vegetables.

Having provided for the primary interest by land distribution, Judge Henderson next turned his attention to matters of the welfare of the people. The first item to claim his attention was that of an orderly supply of food. He now had 80 people in the settlement. All were living largely on a diet of fresh meat obtained by killing wild game. When Boone's party arrived, abundant wild game, such as wild turkey, buffalo, elk and deer, was present throughout the area. Although less than four weeks had elapsed, the wanton and wasteful killing of game by many individuals in amounts far beyond their needs, together with the bustle and activity of many people looking for land, had eliminated or driven away most of this game. Regarding this situation Judge Henderson wrote, "We found it very difficult at first to stop great waste in killing meat. Some would kill three, four, five or half-a-dozen buffalo and not take half a horse load from them all. For want of a little obligatory law our game as soon as we got here, if not before, was driven off very much. Fifteen or 20 miles was as short a distance as good hunters thought of getting meat, nay sometimes they were obliged to go even 30 miles, though by chance once or twice a week buffalo were killed within five or six miles range. It was some pleasure to find wanton men were afraid of discovery and I am convinced this fear saved the lives of many buffalo, elk and deer — as to bear, nobody wasted any that was fit to eat nor did we care about them."

It was apparent that the procurement of food for the little establishment must be approached on an organized basis, both to conserve available supply of wild game and to insure a daily supply. Bread was almost nonexistent and, although the Boone party had planted a small patch of corn on their arrival, it would be late summer before a harvest could be expected from this source. To insure a continuing supply of wild game, the 65 riflemen of the settlement were divided into hunting parties to which was scheduled the responsibility of providing the settlement with meat. This was no small task, as it was necessary for them to travel as far as the present locations of Mt. Sterling, Lexington and Georgetown to find game. Apparently even this arrangement did not insure adequate food at all times as Judge Henderson recorded in his journal some weeks later, ". . . No meat but fat bear. Almost starved. Drank a little coffee & trust to luck for dinner."

Even though some of the men had planted small patches of corn, it was apparent that a more organized approach to the production of food for the winter was necessary. To meet this need the workers of the settlement, by common consent, were organized into work parties who assembled each morning in the fields, standing guard or hunting, as assigned.

With these arrangements under way, Judge Henderson's concern for the safety of the people, in the event of Indian attack, led him to the consideration of the location and construction of a fort of sufficient size to accommodate all members of the settlement with their families and livestock. From the day of his arrival he had been appraising the terrain with the objective of selecting the most advantageous site for such a fort. He discarded the partly completed Fort Boone as being too small for the purpose and having no room for expansion, as the land around it had already been assigned. He considered an area near a large spring over a large hill about three quarters of a mile from Fort Boone, but discarded it as being out of mutual supporting distance from Fort Boone and being too far from the river. He finally decided on a site located on a small ridge or plateau just across the Lick from Fort Boone and about three hundred yards from it. He conferred briefly with his principal associates as to the suitability of this site. All, including Daniel Boone, Mr. Luttrell and Colonel Callaway, agreed that the site was most desirable for the proposed fort. However, when he asked Captain Hart for his opinion of the site, the Captain replied in a cold and indifferent manner that, "He thought it might do well enough." With this majority agreement, the final decision on the site of the proposed fort was agreed upon on the morning of Saturday, April 22, 1775. On that same day Judge Henderson, Mr. Luttrell and their immediate parties moved their tents to the fort site and occupied it in the name of the Transylvania Company.

At this point it should be noted that a review of Judge Henderson's journal indicates that some difference of opinion had developed between Judge Henderson and Captain Nathaniel Hart who was also a member of the Transylvania Company. It appears that this situation may have developed while the Henderson party was camped at Powell's Valley and transferring the loads from the wagons to the packhorses in preparation for the trip over the Boone Trace. The Journal records that on April 7, 1775, the second day following their departure from Powells Valley, that Captain Hart and his party was received by Henderson. Although Henderson's Journal makes no further mention of it, Calk's Journal for April 10, 1775, records that Captain Hart and his party rejoined the group on that day. The above incident regarding Captain Hart's attitude toward the fort site is further strengthened by the statement that Captain Hart told Mr. Luttrell that he would have nothing to say relative to the location of the fort due to the manner in which the affairs were being handled. In Judge Henderson's letter to the proprietors of the Transylvania Company in North Carolina, he indicates that Captain Hart had chosen a piece of land adjacent to the town site for cultivation by him and his people. After discussing the general attitude of the members of the settlement towards security against Indian attack, quoted above, he stated, "Should any successful attempt be made on us, Captain Hart, I suppose, will be able to render sufficient reasons to the surviving company, for the withdrawing from our camp, and refusing to join in building a fort for our mutual defense." From these few statements remaining in the written record after an elapsed time of 200 years, it is clear that there was some disagreement on the part of Captain Hart with the manner in which Judge Henderson, as chief proprietor, was conducting the business of the settlement. Apparently Judge Henderson was at a loss to determine the basis of Captain Hart's discontent as he recorded in his journal of Thursday, April 28, 1775, Captain Hart's remark to Mr. Luttrell and added, ". . . Tho' cannot guess the reason of his discontent."

Plan of Fort Boonesborough

While considering the site for the fort and the requirements it would have to meet, Judge Henderson had drawn up a plan for the proposed fort. We are fortunate that a copy of this plan has been preserved to the present day which confirms the size, shape and composition of the fort as it was constructed on the bank of the Kentucky in 1775. A copy of his plan is included here as it is presented by George W. Ranck in his Filson Club Publication No. 16, Boonesborough.

The fort consisted of a hollow rectangle with a BLOckhouse, with overhanging second story, at each corner, a total of 26 cabins, whose backs would form the outside of the fort, connected by stockades between the cabins and at the two gates — one on either of the long sides. In addition a powder magazine was constructed in the center to protect the all-important powder supply of the settlement. The cabins, the backs of which formed the outer walls, were to have shed-type roofs sloping toward the inside to catch rainwater for the garrison in time of siege. The outer walls of the blockhouses and the cabins were provided with portholes from which the defenders could fire as occasion demanded. The fort, as designed and constructed, was 180 feet in width and 260 feet in length. The outer walls were staked out on the ground with the rear wall roughly parallel with the river and about 60 yards from it. One blockhouse was closer to the river than the other to take advantage of the level top of the ridge.

Clearing of the fort site was started at once, the logs being cut to length and notched for the construction. Some of the larger logs were split for clapboards and some left full length and sharpened on one end for use as the stockade near the gates and between the cabins.

As the little settlement was dependent on its supply of gunpowder for its food as well as its defense, the initial structure was the powder magazine located near the center of the fort. The construction of the magazine was started under the direction of Daniel Boone on the morning of Saturday, April 29, and completed on Wednesday, May 3, 1775. It was a small log structure, half of which was below ground level, with a shed roof liberally plastered with clay as protection against sparks from chimneys, live chunks carried to transfer fire from one cabin to another, and from fire arrows and torches which might be tossed over the walls by Indians in the event of attack. With the completion of the magazine Judge Henderson, Daniel Boone and other leaders felt that a milestone in the security of the settlement had been achieved.

The area cleared for the fort was extensive. Only a few shade trees were left inside the fort and along the river. The area between the fort and the river was cleared as well as a considerable area in front of the fort which faced the long ridge, already known as Hackberry Ridge, to insure during an attack an open field of fire for the long rifles of the defenders. The area towards the lick was also cleared to insure an open field of fire to cover anyone bringing water from the spring to the fort. Only the large sycamores and majestic elm were left in the hollow around the springs. These precautions were to prove their worth in the later history of the fort.

Among the first to take up quarters in the partly completed fort was Judge Henderson. He moved into the blockhouse nearest the junction of the river and the lick which he occupied as his personal quarters. The first cabin adjacent to the blockhouse on the river side he occupied as his kitchen with his servant, Old Dan, installed there as cook. The cabin adjacent to the blockhouse on the lick side, which had been constructed larger than the others for a special purpose, was used as the company commissary. Here were stored all of the supplies brought out by the company for the use of the settlers. This commissary was soon crowded with woodsmen, workmen and settlers who had been employed by the company to assist with the trail cutting and other tasks incident to the establishment of the settlement. They came to exchange their bills-of-credit and other vouchers with which they had been paid for their labor for powder, lead, flints, knives, axes, blankets, and all of the other items needed by the residents of a frontier settlement. This building became the first store to operate in Kentucky.

About the same time, the other blockhouse on the river side of the fort was occupied by Nathaniel Hart, another member of the Transylvania Company. As the remaining blockhouses were completed later in the summer and fall, Mr. Luttrell occupied one, and the other was occupied by Mr. Williams, agent for the Transylvania Company, when he arrived in November of 1775.

Up to this time the new fort under construction had no name. The little group of cabins in the hollow downstream was known as Fort Boone and it was recognized that the new fort, which was to be the center of the new settlement, should be named. In view of the part that Daniel Boone had played in the establishment of the settlement, it was unanimously agreed that the new fort should be called Fort Boonesborough. The first official recognition of this name was afforded by Judge Henderson when, on May 8, 1775, he ordered an election of members of "A House of Delegates of the Colony of Transylvania to be held at Boonesborough on the 23rd of May, 1775." In this action he had officially designated the name of the new colony to be Transylvania and its capital Boonesborough, names which they bore from that date.

Work on the fort continued slowly through the spring and early summer of 1775, at which time the hunters, who were out daily throughout the country in search of game, reported that Indian signs had ceased. With this news, work on the fort ceased entirely and, despite the urging of Judge Henderson, Daniel Boone, Mr. Luttrell and others, the men refused to work further on the fort and returned to work on their own property. While additional cabins were added to the fort from time to time, full construction in accordance with Judge Henderson's plan was not completed until the early fall of 1778, when the news of the approaching force of Indians and British motivated the inhabitants to complete the fort in a period of 10 days just prior to the Great Siege.