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Battle of Blue Licks Re-enactment Set For August 20-21, 2016

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As both a History buff and Kentucky State Park enthusiast, this type of news release makes me especially excited. If you’re free during the weekend of August 20-21, I hope you’ll make plans for battle!

Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park will commemorate the anniversary of the Revolutionary War battle with its annual re-enactment weekend on Aug. 20-21.

The re-enactment commemorates the 1782 battle that included Daniel Boone and other pioneers along the Licking River. The outnumbered pioneers lost as they went up against British soldiers and Native Americans. Among the 70 pioneers who died was Boone’s youngest son, Israel. Battle Of Blue Licks Re-Enactment

The weekend will feature pioneer camps, entertainment, trail walks, historical programs and two battle re-enactments: at 3 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Sunday. The event is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. Pioneer Museum will be open through the weekend with free admission.

The park restaurant will also be open.

Admission to this event is free. There are fees for mini golf and the swimming pool. For more information, visit: http://parks.ky.gov/parks/resortparks/blue_licks/

Food and craft vendors will also be set up on the park, so load up your van and bring the entire family out for a full day of special programs and activities. For more information, call 859-289-5507, or toll free at 800-443-7008.

Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park has a lodge, cottages, campground, Hidden Waters Restaurant, gift shop, miniature golf, picnic areas and hiking trails. The resort is located 45 miles northeast of Lexington off historic Highway 68.

 

Ancient Bison Display At Big Bone Lick State Historic Site

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A new “Ancient Bison” exhibit has been added to the interpretive displays at Big Bone Lick State Historic Site in Boone County, Kentucky.

The hulking beast depicted in the new diorama, Bison antiquus, was the precursor to the modern bison of our time. The ancient bison was about 25 percent larger than modern bison, weighed as much as 3,500 pounds and stood up to 7.5 feet tall at the top of the hump.

As is the case with virtually all of the Ice Age mammals represented at the park, the ancient bison was drawn in large herds to the site by the alluring saline breezes that arose from the locale’s salt and sulfur springs and wafted out over the prehistoric landscape. Ancient Bison Display at Big Bone Lick State Historic Site

Funding for the exhibit was made possible through the efforts of the Friends of Big Bone who raised money through a combination of matching grants and private donations. The exhibit was designed and installed by the exhibit team of the Cincinnati Museum Center.

The park also has a modern day herd of bison that guests can watch.

Big Bone Lick is a virtual Ice Age showcase and is regarded the birthplace of American vertebrate paleontology. In addition to the exhibits featured in the museum and visitor center, the park is also home to a campground, hiking and nature study trails, annual special events including the long-running Salt Festival, as well as seasonal recreational activities and interpreter-led programs.

Big Bone Lick State Historic Site is located near Union, in northern Kentucky. Take Exit 171 off Interstate 75 and follow signs along Highway 338, approximately 7 miles to the park.

Center Furnace Trail (Near Woodlands Nature Station)

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Center Furnace Trail (Land Between the Lakes) Center Furnace Trail (LBL)
If you’ve ever visited the Land Between the Lakes, you’re familiar with the wonderful main attractions and the fun things to do and see at each…

  • Woodlands Nature Station
  • The Homeplace
  • Elk & Bison Prairie
  • Golden Pond Planetarium

Personally, I can never get enough of any of these four places. In fact, it’s usually closing time that finally drives me and my camera away. That and the promise of fried catfish at Catfish Kitchen or blackened catfish at Willow Pond.  My husband, Michael, knows the sure fire way to get my feet moving is to say one word: Catfish.

We love the “main attractions” but we’re also fascinated with exploring “off the beaten path” in the Land Between the Lakes. There are always a million and one photo opportunities waiting around the corner. Next time you spend a day or weekend in the Land Between the Lakes, venture out (onto roads and trails open to the public, that is!) and you’ll discover what we discovered a long time ago – there’s even more to the LBL than you realize.

Center Furnace Trail in the LBL
The Landscape Tells So Much History
Recently, we met one of our friends at the Nature Station on a Saturday. An afternoon event was taking place, so the parking lot was pretty full. We decided to kill a little time while the crowd thinned out and happened to notice a nearby trail, the Center Furnace Trail.  Even though we’ve been to the Nature Station 1,000,000,002 times, we’d never ventured on this trail.

I’m not entirely sure I’d even noticed it before – in spite of a pretty large sign. I guess this animal-lover’s mind is always fixated on the “critters.”

We walked around the trail and found it all to be both interesting and beautiful. Again, countless opportunities for photography. All three of us are really into photography, so we were each very much in our element.

A Charcoal Hearth - Center Furnace Trail (Land Between the Lakes)
When we came to the “Charcoal Hearth,” (above) I noticed that we were being watched (below)…. a beautiful black vulture found us to be the highlight of her day.

Black Vulture
Given the fact that I’m nothing if not OBSESSED with birds and animals, my first impulse was to hurry along. I didn’t want to disturb her, after all we were in her home – not the other way around! However, just as I was walking forward, I noticed that she was on the verge of taking flight, so I kept my eyes on her. As big as she was, I knew when she took flight, it’d be something worth experiencing.

She did. It was. There was so much power in her wings! I tried to snap a few pics, but I admit – I was mainly just staring, wide-eyed and wide-mouthed.

 

There’s a reason I spend as much time looking above me as I do around and below me when I’m in nature.

About Center Furnace Trail and Hematite

This wooded area was once a community – Hematite, Kentucky. Hematite grew around Center Furnace, which was first built in 1852.  The community continued to exist into the early part of the 20th century.

Center Furnace was one of 8 iron furnaces that operated “Between the Rivers.”

Center Furnace operated off and on for 65 years.

White Oak

Beautiful White Oak Tree

Click through the gallery below for more pictures of the Center Furnace Trail  – better still, grab your camera and experience the beautiful area for yourself.

Just be sure to look UP!

Boone Society to Host America’s Frontier History Expedition

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Pine Mountain State Resort Park Lodge
Inside the Beautiful Lodge at Pine Mountain State Resort Park
Boone Society, Inc. will host America’s Frontier History Expedition May 7 through May 30. The living history event is a 230 mile horseback ride from Sycamore Shoals State Park, located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, to Fort Boonesborough State Park in Kentucky that will provide education about America’s westward expansion.

The route follows the path of historic Boone Trace, where Daniel Boone first led settlers, in 1775, across the Cumberland Gap into the wilderness of Kentucky. There are 14 encampment stops planned for the three week journey. Each stop will have educational presentations for the public including campfire talks, demonstrations of Long rifles and performances of frontier music.

Parades are planned in Barbourville and Berea. Other highlights of the event include speakers Mark Sage, representing the frontiersmen, and Rusty Cottrell as “Shawnee Chief Black Hoof,” representing the Native American culture.

The expedition will make stops at these Kentucky State Parks: May 16-17, Pine Mountain State Resort Park at Pineville; May 20-22, Levi Jackson State Park in London; May 28-29, Fort Boonesborough State Park at Richmond.

In addition to bringing awareness to Boone’s Trace Corridor and the rich story of pioneer settlement in Kentucky, this event will also help support horse therapy for wounded war veterans through programs such as “Horses and Heroes” and Deer Creek Stables in Richmond.  Donations of hay, oats, old saddles, blankets and offers of services to the veterans will also be accepted on the expedition.

Boone Society, Inc., a non-profit organization made up of over 300 Boone Family descendants, and whose mission is to preserve the legacy of the Boone Family and America’s frontier History, is sponsoring this event.

For more information and to find locations of presentation stops visit www.boonesocierty.org.

Fort Henry: 154th Anniversary in the Land Between The Lakes

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Fort Henry
 

If, like us, you’re both a History Buff and fan of the Land Between the Lakes, the following news from the LBL will be of particular interest.

From the Land Between the Lakes:
The Homeplace 1850s Working Farm and Living History Museum in Land Between The Lakes and Fort Donelson National Battlefield are partnering to remember the 154th Anniversary of the Battle at Fort Henry with a program and walk on Saturday, February 6.

A program about local Civil War history will be presented from 1-2:30pm at the Homeplace. A guided ¼ mile walk follows the program from 3-4pm at the Fort Henry Trail parking area. Participants will drive and meet at the Fort Henry Trail. The walk is weather dependent. Registration and full deposit for the day is required:  $5/adults and $3/children. Call 270-924-2020 to make your reservation. Interpretive Center and gift shop will be open for this program; farm site will be closed. Doors open at 12:30pm.

Invited historian, Susan “Ski” Witzofsky, sets the stage for war “Between the Rivers.” In February of 1862, Confederate forces occupied Fort Henry as federal forces moved up the Tennessee River. The program will cover Fort Henry’s construction, battle, and legacy 154 years later. Individuals can relive the siege with a guided walk along the Fort Henry Trails and Confederate fortifications.

Fort Donelson National Battlefield will also host a Walk at Fort Heiman the same day from 10-11am. Meet park staff and volunteers for a brief walk around the historic features at Fort Heiman. For more information, contact 931-232-5706 x110 or visitwww.nps.gov/fodo. Program is weather dependent.

Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area manages more than 170,000 acres in western Kentucky and Tennessee as part of the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Agriculture’s public lands program. Land Between The Lakes offers outdoor recreation, lake access, land management, and environmental education to over 1.4 million visitors annually. The Friends of Land Between The Lakes works in partnership with the Forest Service providing program services, funds development, and volunteer support.

To find more information about Land Between The Lakes, log on to the official website at www.landbetweenthelakes.us or call toll-free at 1-800-LBL-7077 or local at 270-924-2000. For more information on the Friends of Land Between The Lakes, log on to www.friendsoflbl.org.

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