Living Near Fort Boonesborough

When I first relocated to Winchester Kentucky I had no clue that it was so close to the Richmond home of Daniel and Rebecca Boone.  I used to watch reruns of Daniel Boone with my Grandparents and loved that show.

I loved Ed Ames as well as Fess Parker. My sister and I were secret Ed Ames karaoke singers before karaoke was invented.  We were the brush handle, faux microphone, singing to the top of our lungs, “My Cup Runneth Over with Love,” girls.  Oh yeah, we were those girls.

So I feel a connection with Daniel Boone. He was a man, yes a big man.  I loved his coonskin cap and I especially loved the pretty dainty Rebecca. She was the mother I always wanted to be. Rebecca was always smiling for her husband, a wonderfully calm and cheerful mother. Mrs. Boone had everything I wanted as an adult.

 

When I moved here and realized that I was just a few miles from the fort I wanted to see it. We took a self-tour through Fort Boonesborough and I just didn’t equate it to the life I saw Daniel Boone having. So much for memories of a seven-year-old girl. They seemed to be skewed. But I still loved the fort. The small cabins that sat boxy and right next to one another. A square of houses, meeting places, store and church/school. It had it all.

Fort Boonesboro hosts a Christmas event where you can see how Christmas was celebrated back in the 1700s and that’s a trip worth taking. It truly is like going back in time. They provide berries, fruits of the season, preserved elk, deer, and other game from the area if you are a meat eater. When I first went I was a meat eater and I tasted the elk. I was surprised that it wasn’t as gamey as deer. That’s my personal evaluation though. Many might find it gamey. I found it smokey and pretty tasty.

There were also musicians there playing the old instruments of the time. Dancers were there in period clothing and quilts were hung on the community house walls.  The path that connected all the tiny square of row houses was lit by luminaries and it was like stepping back in time. The Fort Boonesborough Foundation has done a wonderful job of preserving this site.

If you ever are near Lexington Kentucky, I highly recommend a visit to historic Winchester and follow the signs to Fort Boonesborough where Daniel Boone actually lived. It is a great place to bring the kids as well. There is a park with swimming and camping.