1998, Volume 1, No. 1 Logan's Fort Newsletter Logan's Fort Foundation, Inc., P.O.B. 1775, Stanford, KY 40484 | Home |

In the early days of settlement in Kentucky, at the first sign of danger, the pioneers sent out runners to their nearest neighbors for help. It was very seldom, almost never, that this call went unanswered. It was this willingness to help each other, in the time of need that allowed the settlers to survive the dangers they faced. As a Director of Logan's Fort Foundation I am asking for your help today. The danger we now face is that real estate development threatens to destroy the site of the most significant fort in Kentucky's history.

The year of 1777, was often refereed to as the "Bloody Seven", or the "year of war" by the early settlers of Kentucky. The state was held by a handful of determined people, confined to three forts. The forts were Fort Harrod, Fort Boonesborough and Logan's Fort. The early history of the state would have been greatly altered if any of these three forts had not been in existence. Fort Harrod and Fort Boonesborough draw thousands of people each year to Kentucky. Books and old records are great, but they can't compare to standing on the site and pondering (that's Kentucky talk) the past. My hat goes off to the people of this state who had enough foresight to reconstruct these forts. BUT WAIT! The job is not complete. What about Logan's Fort? Although smaller in size, its important historical significance surpasses that of Fort Harrod and Fort Boonesborough.

Logan's Fort was located on the western edge of the town of Stanford in Lincoln County, less than a mile from the present Courthouse. It was the most southern of the three forts, and was the first defense against the Cherokee Indians coming up from the south. It's location on The Great Road (Wilderness Road) was critical in the early days. Here the Cumberland Trace (road to Nashville, Tennessee) began and the Wilderness Road, Harrodsburg Trace, Hickman Trace all merged on this little outpost in the Wilderness. One could be safe in saying that all roads leading into Kentucky from the south, passed through Logan's Fort. This is with the exception of Boone's old Trace. If you live in one of the counties, that lies south of the Kentucky River, west of the Cumberland Gap and east of the Jackson Purchase then the following should be especially important to you. The counties and pieces of counties included in Lincoln County in 1780 were Harlan, Leslie, Bell, Clay, Owsley, Breathitt, Lee, Perry, Knox, Whitley, Laurel, Jackson, Estill, Madison, Garrard, Rockcastle, Pulaski, McCreary, Anderson, Mercer, Boyle, Casey, Russell, Wayne, Clinton, Adair, Taylor, Green, Metcalfe, Washington, Hart, Barren, Cumberland, Monroe, Allen, Warren, Edmonson, Butler, Simpson, Logan, Muhlenberg, Todd, Christian, Hopkins, McLean, Webster, Henderson, Christian, Union, Crittenden, Caldwell, Trigg, Lyon, Franklin and Livingston. A total of 55 (which includes Lincoln) counties must come to Lincoln County for their early courthouse records from 1780 until their county formed.

The Virginia Land Commission opened their first office at Logan's Fort on October 14, 1779. This was the first opportunity the early settler had to claim the land he had struggled so hard to defend. If a settler had settled on property prior to that date and had made improvements on that land, he was entitled to Settlement Rights. He could travel to Logan's Fort and claim 400 acres of land at no charge. He could also buy a preemption of 1000 acres adjoining this land. This little fort was always busy with settlers coming to make their claims.

The Lincoln County Courthouse contains all the records of Old Lincoln County. They are among the oldest in the state. A few of the older records were written on sheep skins. Court was held from 1781 to 1783 within the walls of Logan's Fort. The attempted court martial of Daniel Boone took place at Logan's Fort. The holding of court here added to the many people visiting the fort. It is important to add that the court orders prove that the first two sessions of court in Lincoln County were held at Fort Harrod and at the second session the pioneers decided to move the court to Logan's Fort for it was a more convenient place. Isn't this an interesting decision??

James Harrod married the young widow Ann McDonald at Logan's Fort in February 1778. She was living there with her father Samuel Coburn. They were married by Robert Todd, one of the justices of the peace for Kentucky County.

We have done extensive research on this project. We have documented our findings with deeds and the court orders of Lincoln County. We have read the Journals of many of the pioneers: Capt. John Floyd, Col. William Henderson, Daniel Trabue (who was the commissary at Logan's Fort), William Whitley and William Twetty and many others. We gave a presentation on Logan's Fort to the Kentucky Genealogical Association and they were convinced of our research and documentation. We used a computer cad program to draw all the early land grants and pieced them together to show the land as it was in the 1770's and then did overlays as the land is today. Using overhead projection one will see that our maps are on the mark. Fort Harrod was built a very long distance from its original site. Fort Boonesborough was built ¾ of a mile from its original site. Logan's Fort could be built on or within 50 to 100 feet from its original site.

On, Saturday and Sunday, September 7 & 8, 1996, David Pollack, Director, Kentucky Archaeological Survey and Staff Archaeologist for the Kentucky Heritage Council with Dr. Steve McBride, an historical archaeologist who has worked on several frontier sites, conducted an archaeological survey. With this information in November 1996 we were awarded a grant from the Kentucky Heritage Council for an archaeological dig which took place in the late summer of 1997. This dig lasted three weeks. We confirmed the activity in the fort and we uncovered the skeleton of one of the men who was killed during the Indian siege in 1777 and buried inside the fort.

It is the plan of Logan's Fort Foundation to reconstruct Logan's Fort and build a visitor center which will house a Museum & Research Center for the thousands who will come back to see the place of their ancestors. The Fort will offer a "picture to the past" with living history exhibits. We want to have reenactments of the siege at Logan's Fort where the settlers in Logan's Fort stood off the Indians in the longest Indian siege in Kentucky history. There is an ideal area for a park adjacent to the site of Logan's Fort. Footpaths to the famous old Buffalo Springs along St. Asaph's Creek will add beauty to the natural surroundings of the area. Every famous pioneer that came to Kentucky mentioned THREE Kentucky forts in their journals: Fort Harrod, Fort Boonesborough and Logan's Fort. It would be a true testament to the pioneer spirit of our early statehood to have the final jewel of this Triple Crown of Kentucky's History come to fruition.

Genealogy is the number one hobby in America today. If you are into genealogy, tracing your ancestors, researching to write a book of early Kentucky History, you will find that all roads lead to Logan's Fort in Lincoln County. It was in Logan's Fort that the most early records of this state had their beginning. Visitors will come and see the fort and spend several days researching their family history. We have a Web Site on the Internet to draw interest for Logan's Fort. Already we have had E-mail from folks in the western states supporting our endeavors and offering money.

In January 1997 we were awarded $100,000 grant from the Federal Government. Now, we need to raise $25,000 for matching funds which will give us a total of $125,000 to be used for purchasing of the property. This grant contract arrived in July 1998. While raising this match we will continue our archival research. We plan to continue the search of deeds and court orders, and reviewing the journals of the early pioneers. We will do an extensive search of the Draper Papers for references to Logan's Fort. We need your help, please donate to this project.

All contributions are made payable to Logan's Fort/Lincoln County and sent to P.O.B. 1775, Stanford, KY 40484.

If you would like to join the Logan's Fort Foundation send a check payable to Logan's Fort and send to the same address. Membership fees are $10.00/person.

Today millions of American Citizens descend from settlers who came through Logan's Fort. These folks live in every state of our great Nation. We can pay tribute to all those pioneers, who traveled over the Wilderness Road and other trails, with the reconstruction of Logan's Fort. Millions of visitors will come back to see this mighty little fortress. They will learn more about the early history of Kentucky. They will learn that the road to statehood began at Logan's Fort. This Fort had a great impact not only on the making of the Commonwealth of Kentucky but the making of our Nation. It was one of the most important gateways to the west. We need your financial support. This mighty little fort is important to all Americans because it is our Heritage and "Our Heritage is the Key to Our Future".

Lynda W. Closson (Mrs. Spencer W.)
Director, Logan's Fort Foundation