Founded by legendary frontiersman Daniel Boone when he worked for Richard Henderson of the Transylvania Company. Boone led a group of settlers through the mountains from Fort Watauga (at present day Elizabethton, Tennessee) and carving out the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap and established Fort Boonesborough. Boone lived there from 1775 to 1779. Boonesborough was the first chartered town in Kentucky, and one of the first English speaking communities settled west of the Appalachian Mountains. Boone successfully led his fellow settlers during the siege of Boonesborough in 1778. However, the attacks from the natives became too much for the band of settlers and the fort was eventually abandoned.
Boonesborough is the site of Fort Boonesborough State Park, which includes the Kentucky River Museum. It has been rebuilt to look like a working fort of the days when Boone resided there. Living history weekends are sponsored throughout the year.
Further reading
Ranck, George W. Boonesborough: Its Founding, Pioneer Struggles, Indian Experiences, Transylvania Days, and Revolutionary Annals. Louisville, 1901. Reprinted by Arno Press, 1971.
