Old Fort Harrod State Park is a park located in

Harrodsburg, Kentucky Harrodsburg is a home rule-class city in Mercer County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 9,064 at the 2020 census. Although Harrodsburg was formally established by the House of Burgesses after Boonesbo ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The park encompasses and features a reconstruction of Fort Harrod, the first permanent

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

settlement in the state of Kentucky. The park was founded in November 1934 as Pioneer Memorial State Park, and dedicated by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

and Governor

Ruby Laffoon Ruby Laffoon (January 15, 1869March 1, 1941) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Kentucky from 1931 to 1935. A Kentucky native, at age 17 Laffoon moved to Washington, D.C., to live with his uncle, U.S. Rep ...

. The fort was named after

James Harrod James Harrod () was a pioneer, soldier, and hunter who helped explore and settle the area west of the Allegheny Mountains. Little is known about Harrod's early life, including the exact date of his birth. He was possibly underage when he served i ...

, who led an early party of settlers into

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

Attractions

The park features several attractions: the replica of the old fort, the Mansion Museum, the George Rogers Clark Federal Monument, Lincoln Marriage Temple, and oldest cemetery west of the Alleghenies. The reconstructed fort contains several log structures representing various aspects of military frontier life, including a militia blockhouse, a family blockhouse, several cabins demonstrating pioneer life, a

blab school A vocal school, blab school or ABC school or old-time school was a type of children's primary school at some remote rural places in North America, outdated and obsolete as the 19th century progressed. The school children recited ''(blabbed)'' ...

, the minister's cabin, and the leader's cabin. (The actual site of the original fort is under the current parking lot.) The Mansion Museum is a

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

home that contains

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

artifacts, a McIntosh gun collection, paintings, documents, music collections,

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

memorabilia and Native American artifacts. The Lincoln Marriage Temple is a brick structure, housing the reconstructed log cabin where Abraham Lincoln's parents,

Thomas Lincoln Thomas Lincoln (January 6, 1778 – January 17, 1851) was an American farmer, carpenter, and father of the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Unlike some of his ancestors, Thomas could not write. He struggled to make a succes ...

and

Nancy Hanks Nancy Hanks Lincoln (February 5, 1784 – October 5, 1818) was the mother of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Her marriage to Thomas Lincoln also produced a daughter, Sarah, and a son, Thomas Jr. When Nancy and Thomas had been married for j ...

, were married. The George Rogers Clark Federal Monument (not to be confused with the

George Rogers Clark National Historical Park George Rogers Clark National Historical Park, located in Vincennes, Indiana, on the banks of the Wabash River at what is believed to be the site of Fort Sackville, is a United States National Historical Park. President Calvin Coolidge authorized ...

Vincennes, Indiana Vincennes is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Indiana, Knox County, Indiana, United States. It is located on the lower Wabash River in the Southwestern Indiana, southwestern part of the state, nearly halfway between Evansville, Indi ...

) was designed by architect

Francis Keally Francis J. Keally (1889 - 1978) was an American architect and pioneering preservationist, based in New York City. Keally's design credits include the Oregon State Capitol in Salem, Oregon in 1938, in a one-time association with Trowbridge & L ...

and sculptor

Ulric Ellerhusen Ulric Henry Ellerhusen (1879–1957) first name variously cited as Ulrich or Ulrik, surname sometimes cited as Ellerhousen) was a German-American sculptor and teacher best known for his architectural sculpture. Ellerhusen was born on April 7, 1879 ...

. Parking lot for Old Fort Harrod State Park.jpg, Parking lot for the fort, under which the actual fort site lies

History

1773–1774

The history of Old Fort Harrod can be traced back to they year 1773, where it is said that Captain James Harrod felled the first tree that signaled the beginning of human habitation in the Kentucky territory. The fort itself was built in June 1774 by James Harrod, Abraham Hite, Jacob and James Sandusky, and thirty other men including General James Ray and Captain William Pogue. For the construction of the fort and Harrodsburg itself, one half-acre lot was laid out within the fort walls, and five acres of land were plotted outside the walls, one for each member of Harrod's crew. After the cabins were erected for each plot, they were distributed to each man in a lottery system.

1780s–1790s

In 1780, after the establishment of Harrodsburg, the Kentucky territory had been separated into three counties: Fayette, Jefferson, and Lincoln; Harrodsburg was then a part of Lincoln County. In 1785, the counties were further divided and Harrodsburg was made a part of Mercer County, in which it remains today. Multiple county court meetings were held in the Harrodsburg courthouse between September 22, 1789, and April 27, 1790. Some of the most notable members of the court justices were Samuel McAfee and Samuel McDowell.

Layout

''The layout of the buildings within the fort remain the same, however, some of the landmarks, such as the springs are in different locations due to the forts relocation.'' Fort Harrod itself spans an area of 264 square feet. The walls of the fort are composed of pickets measuring 14 feet tall and more than a foot in diameter; they are buried 4 feet in the ground, making the wall stand at about 10 feet tall all around. Gates are located on the North and West walls, spanning 10 feet wide. Inside the fort walls, there are blockhouses sitting at the Southwest and Southeast corners, where the upper stories extend 2 feet beyond the walls; they were built this way to allow for gunfire along the walls, where other gunmen may not have been able to reach from the stockades. Between these blockhouses sit seven story-and-a-half tall houses, measuring 20 feet by 20 feet, with 10 feet of space between them. A single story tall cabin was built next to the east corner, which was used as a school. Two springs were located within the fort, one at the Northwest corner and one on the eastern side. Currently, the spring near the Northeast wall is the only one within the fort walls. A blacksmith shop is located on the southern wall of the fort.

References

External links

Old Fort Harrod State Park
Kentucky Department of Parks {{authority control State parks of Kentucky Forts on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky Open-air museums in Kentucky Museums in Mercer County, Kentucky Historic house museums in Kentucky Military and war museums in Kentucky Pre-statehood history of Kentucky Protected areas of Mercer County, Kentucky Harrodsburg, Kentucky National Register of Historic Places in Mercer County, Kentucky Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky 1934 establishments in Kentucky Replica buildings 1774 establishments in Virginia Protected areas established in 1934