great ridge

[KY Hiker]

Yep, a cabin to stay in when on a long hunt.

 

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[Ken S.]

Had it been after the Revolution all they would have needed would of been a corn crop and stayed in the log cabin to of got a land grant. That marker is not far from my home. So I grew up knowing that what was being taught in school wasn't all correct.

 

[Ken S.]

When I was in school the way they taught history, you would have thought Boone was the first white man to set foot on Ky. soil. We all know that Walker , Harmon and without a doubt there were others that explored into the wilderness across the Mountains before the Boones adventure of fame. Guess we could put Swift in that category too.

 

[KY Hiker]

Boone, in my mind, deserves the place in Kentucky and American history he has received. Many others explored, hunted and traded here before, during and after Boone. Many died trying to scrape out a living here on the frontier. Boone lost several family members, and what history seems to skip over is his faith and upbringing. He was not the scoundrel some make him out to be. He really loved the outdoors and came here to hunt and bring back furs to support his family. I have read pieces that say many long hunters became relatively wealthy by hunting twice a year. Seems a single hunt could bring back a typical settler's whole years income. He was elevated to officer in the KY militia while the territory was still being settled.

I know others were here and they deserve their credit for what they did to survive, but Boone excelled and volunteered to help multiple times when others thought it better to stay and protect their own. Their are many historical markers in and around Louisville dealing with those early years of 1770-1795. Indian raids still occurred on homesteads around Louisville to almost 1800. There is a marker in the graveyard at Ft. Harrod of a woman who had 3 husbands and 10 children, she lost all her husbands and 4 children to Indians. Children butchered like livestock several hundred yards from the walls of the fort, these people truely had it hard. Harder than most any of us will have or had to ever deal with. With all of this put into context, what Swift and crew were able to accomplish repeatedly, year after year, is really a remarkable feat.

All that said, because of history and historians we get abbreviated versions of history. Maybe kids with short attention spans drives them to teach in this manner. The details always get left behind...

Be thankful you got some KY history in school, its not even covered anymore unless you take it as an elective in college.

 

[Ken S.]

Wasn't saying Boone didn't deserve the credit he got , Just that the others deserve more than they got. Guess you're right about being lucky to get what I got in school.

 

[franklin]

When I was in school the way they taught history, you would have thought Boone was the first white man to set foot on Ky. soil. We all know that Walker , Harmon and without a doubt there were others that explored into the wilderness across the Mountains before the Boones adventure of fame. Guess we could put Swift in that category too.

Add Christopher Gist and Nathaniel Gist or Guest to the list. Christopher was in Kentucky in the 1740's to 1750's. So was Walker.

 

[Ken S.]

Yep there was plenty of people in this area before Boone . Walker camped in Present day Johnson Co. during a trip about 1750 because water was so high it wasn't safe to cross either the river or Paint Creek. There is a place in Johnson Co. Boone was supposed to have camped at some time. It's called Boone's Camp. I think Boone was in the area hunting about the time the camp had been built in Block house bottom by the Harmons and Skaggs. Which was around 1780 something.

 

[KY Hiker]

Kentucky, America's first wild West.