Heritage trails explore Kentucky history
FROM FRONTIER EXPLORERS Daniel Boone and William Clark to inspirational leaders Abraham Lincoln and Charles Young, some famous footfalls have left their mark across Kentucky— and not just in the soil, but also in shaping the history and culture of the land.
Follow these and other heritage trails back through time, from frontier to famous feud, Civil War to civil rights and paleontology’s beginnings to a presidential pathway.
Daniel Boone Heritage Trail
Daniel Boone blazed the first road in Kentucky in 1775, 17 years before Kentucky became a state. That road, now called Boone Trace, stopped at Fort Boonesborough; however, as Friends of Boone Trace President John Fox notes, the story goes on.
“Boone and his party soon crossed the Kentucky River and turned westward, traveling up what would become known as the Daniel Boone Heritage Trail (Athens-Boonesboro Road) to Boone’s Station,” says Fox. “This is located in the area of the town of Athens where Daniel Boone lived for four years before moving on again.
“The Daniel Boone Heritage Trail eventually made it into Lexington and ultimately, Louisville, from which Lewis and Clark then explored the Northwest.”
Modern-day trailblazers can complete the 6-mile trail—much of it scenic and winding two-lane roads—in a day. Trail highlights include roadside rock walls, Coffee Springs Falls and Hall’s on the River, a fun lunch spot in Winchester that intersects with Clark County’s Beer Cheese Trail.
“Adjacent to Hall’s is the entry to the John Holder Trail of Lower Howard’s Creek Nature and Heritage Preserve—one of Kentucky’s hidden treasures,” says Fox.
The only portion of the preserve open to the public, the John Holder Trail was named for pioneer and commercial-industrial innovator Col. John Holder, who helped defend Fort Boonesborough when it was attacked in 1778. Other parts of the preserve may be visited by scheduled guided hikes.
Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail
Following the historic routes forged by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark during their 1804 to 1806 expedition, this 4,900-mile trail meanders through 16 states from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to the Pacific Ocean. Big Bone Lick State Historic Site, located in Union and served by Owen Electric, is a significant part of the story of this journey.
“Lewis and Clark’s organized excavation and collection of specimens from Big Bone is considered the first in American history, making Big Bone Lick the birthplace of American vertebrate paleontology,” says Claire Kolkmeyer, park interpreter.
Additionally, Big Bone Lick is part of the expedition’s eastern legacy—the place where the 28-month journey was planned and prepared. Both explorers stopped here before and after the expedition and, at the request of President Thomas Jefferson, Clark conducted a major dig here in 1807, eventually shipping 300 specimens to Jefferson.
Stop by the museum at the Visitors
Center at Big Bone Lick State
Historic Site to see outstanding
exhibits on paleontology, Native
American history and more. Photo:
Kentucky State Parks
Visitors today can view the park’s herd of bison, see the diorama pit with its dramatic depiction of Ice Age megafauna and, in the museum, the skeletal reconstruction of the 8-foot-tall Harlan’s ground sloth as well as a mastodon skull and other exhibits.
The Lincoln Heritage National Scenic Byway
History unfolds along 72 miles stretching from Hodgenville to Danville— from sites connected to the Great Emancipator to the Civil War Museum and the Women’s Museum of the Civil War in Bardstown to the Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site near Danville to Kentucky’s official Lincoln Museum in downtown Hodgenville.
Each stop on the trail provides opportunities to learn about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War along with Kentucky’s bourbon history and its religious heritage through sites including Marker’s Mark in Loretto and the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani. The best place to pick up the trail? Lincoln’s birthplace.
“The Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park preserves and protects the only spot in the world where our 16th president was born,” says Chief of Interpretation and Resource Management Stacy Humphreys. “It is also home to the first national monument dedicated to President Lincoln, which is the park’s Memorial Building—a fact that surprises many visitors, who think the first monument was the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.”
Brigadier General Charles Young Memorial Historical Corridor
West Point Military Academy graduate. Educator. Diplomat. Civil rights leader. The first African American national park superintendent. Born in 1864, Charles Young had a groundbreaking and distinguished military career and was honorably and posthumously promoted to brigadier general—the first Black American recognized with this rank.
Travel the 100-mile corridor that pays tribute to this remarkable overachiever who, at the time of his death, was one of the most prominent African Americans in the country.
The Brigadier General Charles Young Memorial Historical Corridor begins at Camp Nelson National Monument. Photo: Kentucky Tourism
“Charles Young was a pioneer and inspired a generation of African Americans, especially aspiring Black military officers,” says Steve Phan, who is the National Park Service chief of interpretation, education and visitor services, as well as historic weapons supervisor, at Camp Nelson National Monument. “These included Benjamin Davis Sr., the first Black general officer, and his son, Benjamin Davis Jr., commander of the Tuskegee Airmen during WWII.”
The Charles Young birthplace cabin is located in Mays Lick, but one could say his story begins at Camp Nelson National Monument, served by Blue Grass Energy—the start of the corridor and birthplace of freedom for thousands of African Americans.
“Camp Nelson was the largest recruitment and training center for U.S. Colored Troops in Kentucky and the third largest in the country. And of the top three, we’re the only one that survives today,” says Phan. “Charles’ father, Gabriel, fled enslavement and joined the U.S. Colored Troops in Ohio. Camp Nelson not only honors the service of USCT and their families in Kentucky but across the country as well.
“Camp Nelson is the USCT Center, and Gabriel Young’s service directly impacted the future of his son after the war.”
Stop by the museum at the Visitors
Center at Big Bone Lick State
Historic Site to see outstanding
exhibits on paleontology, Native
American history and more. Photo:
Kentucky State Parks
Heritage trail videos and resources
Learn more about Kentucky’s heritage trails and the faces behind the history of these trails through these videos and other resources:
Daniel Boone Heritage Trail: www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqvTx5mo9Jc&t=6s.
Trail Of Tears National Historic Trail—Trail of Tears Commemorative Park, Hopkinsville: www.nps.gov/places/trail-of-tears-commemorative-park-hopkinsville-ky.htm.
“The Life and accomplishments of Brigadier General Charles Young,” www.nps.gov/seki/learn/historyculture/young.htm.
Read about John Holder, a contemporary of Daniel Boone’s, and Lower Howard’s Creek Nature Preserve at www.lowerhowardscreek.org. The land the preserve occupies was purchased by Holder shortly after Fort Boonesborough was established. “Holder developed the first industrial center in Kentucky,” says Friends of Boone Trace President John Fox. “Called ‘Factory Bottom,’ it became a great big deal—with mills, warehouses, boat works, ferry and a ford across the Kentucky River before it was dammed up.”
Big Bone Lick State Historic Site is one of about a dozen landmarks on the Eastern Legacy of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Points of interest may be found in Vanceburg, Maysville, Augusta, Louisville and Paducah, including Clark’s sister Lucy Croghan’s home, Locust Grove, and the 1905 William Clark Market House Museum. Download the brochure here:
www.lewisandclark.org/travel/pdf/Eastern-Legacy-Travel-Brochure.pdf
Learn about the Tuskegee Airmen (11 cadets were from Kentucky) and the Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Trail through the Notable Kentucky African Americans Database at www.nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/items/show/1607. The 191-mile trail extends from border to border on I-75 in Kentucky.
