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STORY OF OLD FORT HARROD
by Larry Catlett
In the mid-1700's, Kentucky was inhabited by a native, prehistoric, Allegheny Indian tribe. Unfortunately, tribes like the Shawnee, Iroquois, Delaware, Cherokee and Chickasaw inadvertently discovered Kentucky when hunting parties, traveling by canoe down the Ohio and Kentucky Rivers, came upon it. They found fresh water, abundant wildlife and rich soils. Realizing the treasure they had discovered, the northern tribes methodically killed the Alleghenies to extinction and took their land. No Indian tribes ever lived in Kentucky after that. The tribes shared Kentucky as a hunting ground for many years, but all was not well. Kentucky would become known as the "Dark and Bloody Ground".
As early as 1767, James and Samuel Harrod came to the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky in search of furs. They explored the headwaters of the Salt River in what is now Mercer County and returned to their homes in the Pennsylvania border country enthusiastic about the possibility of claiming land in the new territory, which was part of Virginia.
The Harrods recruited about 50 men to accompany them to Kentucky to establish a town. The group descended the Monongahela River to Fort Pitt and then moved down the Ohio River to the mouth of the Kentucky River. They left the Kentucky River at Harrods’s Landing to proceed inland to the Big Spring where they laid out Harrodstown on June 16, 1774. For more info on Harrod's Men, check out this article by Kathryn Harrod Mason in the Filson Club Quarterly in 1950. 
Each member of the company received one in-lot of ½ acre on the main street and one 10 acre out-lot on the outer limits of the town. They constructed temporary log and brush structures to live in while they made improvements on their land.
At first there were no violent encounters between Harrod’s company and the Indians. Soon, however, surveyors passing through Harrodstown reported an increasing number of Indian attacks along the western borders of Virginia and Pennsylvania. Dunmore, the British governor of Virginia, dispatched Daniel Boone to recall the government’s surveyors until the hostilities ended. James Harrod had started the fort in 1775. Shortly after Boone came through Harrodstown, on July 20,1774, a party of four men was ambushed near a Mercer County spring. After this event, Dunmore called up the militia. Harrod and his men left to join the campaign to defend the western border of Virginia.
The skirmishes between the whites and the Indians were called “Dunmore’s War” and the governor and his agents were alleged to have incited both sides. Dunmore's War or Lord Dunmore's War was a war in 1774 between the Colony of Virginia and the Shawnee and Mingo American Indian Nations. Lord Dunmore, the Governor of Virginia, asked the House of Burgesses to declare a state of war with the hostile Indian nations and order up an elite volunteer militia force for the campaign.
Tecumseh (a Shawnee Chief)
The conflict resulted from escalating violence between British colonists, who in accordance with previous treaties were exploring and moving into land south of the Ohio River (modern West Virginia and Kentucky), and American Indians, who held treaty rights to hunt there.
As a result of successive attacks by Indian hunting and war bands upon the settlers, war was declared. The war did not last long and ended with the Battle of Point Pleasant on October 10, 1774, when the Virginia militia kept the Indians from taking a strategic fort located on the promontory between the Kanawha and Ohio Rivers. The Virginia Militia, which included the men from the Kentucky Settlements, suffered heavy casualties. But they declared victory and dictated the peace terms. As a result of this victory, the Indians lost the right to hunt in the area and agreed to recognize the Ohio River as the boundary between Indian lands and the British colonies.
Although the Indian national chieftains signed the treaty, conflict within the Indian nations soon broke out. Some tribesmen felt the treaty sold out their claims and opposed it, and others believed that another war would mean only further losses of territory to the more powerful British colonists.
Harrod’s men returned to Harrodstown in March of 1775. Flooding had ruined the structures built the previous summer. These were abandoned and the decision was made to construct a log fort on the hill west of the Big Spring. The fort would not only be safe from flooding, but would also offer protection to the settlers. It became an important haven to the pioneers of Kentucky because, as the American Revolution intensified, the British encouraged the Indians to raid the Kentucky settlements.
Harrodstown was one of the largest forts in Kentucky and had more able-bodied defenders and ammunition than Boonesborough or St. Asaph’s, also known as Logan’s Station. The settlers were confined to the fort for most of 1777 due to the frequency and ferocity of the Indian attacks. The next year, George Rogers Clark planned an extended expedition to Ohio and the Northwest Territory to break the Indian menace. Harrod and many of the Kentucky pioneers were with him when he captured Chillicothe and Vincennes. The organized Indian attacks ended with the Battle of Blue Licks in 1782.
Indian attacks would continue until about 1793 with the Indians mostly harassing travelers on the old dirt roads or rivers. By 1794, only remnants of the Indians remained in the hills. To rid Kentucky of the final Indians, bounties were offered for their scalps. Bounties were around $50 each. And, $50.00 would buy the best, handmade Kentucky long rifle!
The dried scalps were worn proudly by the pioneer men, like badges of honor. Those with the means had large numbers of scalps sewn together to make coats. Scalps were also used as "napkins"! They were softened by rubbing them over and over with the hands. The scalps were prized in the Eastern Colonies and many were sold there.
With resolution of the Indian problems, the pioneers’ attention was turned from defense to developing the land they had claimed. By 1784, there were six grist mills in operation as the production of corn and other grains increased. Two new towns with warehouses for the storage of tobacco and hemp were established on the Kentucky River. Harrod’s Landing became Warwick. The town of New Market was established at the juncture of the Dix and Kentucky Rivers. Water was the easiest route to the southern market since the roads were only slightly improved Indian and animal trails.
By 1808, the poplar, maple, and beech trees were cleared from the present site of Pleasant hill to build log houses for the elders who came to Kentucky from the original colony. Today, a replica of the fort is located in the center of Harrodsburg. The fort stands on an area designated as Old Fort Hill, where the original fort was built. Along with the fort, there are many historic homes and buildings throughout Harrodsburg. The Old Mud Meeting House, Morgan Row, and Clay Hill are a few highlights.
First Pioneers
From 1750 to 1773, Kentucky was a vast wilderness under ownership of the British Empire. Various explorers like James Harrod, Daniel Boone and George Rogers Clark traveled cross the Allegheny Mountains from the Eastern Colonies, across the Cumberland Gap from the Tennessee area and by canoe and flat barge down the Ohio, and Kentucky Rivers to Kentucky, mostly in search of furs. They soon realized the treasure they had found and set about to survey and claim it. The Indians took note of their presence.
The Promise of Free Land
In 1774, Kentucky was part of Virginia and under the Virginia Frontier Settlement Act, if you could travel West across the Appalachian Mountain Range to the land that is now Kentucky, mark your claim by cutting your "mark" into the trees at the four corners of your land and live on it one year, or plant a corn crop upon it, the land was yours!
The promise of free land brought the pioneers to Kentucky. Mostly, they wanted to be "farmers" or "fur traders". In 1774, about 32 men, led by Capt. James Harrod, of the Colonial Militia based in the Pennsylvania Colony, canoed down the Ohio, Kentucky and Salt Rivers to what is now Kentucky, under orders from Lord Dunmore, the British Governor, to survey and claim the lands of Kentucky. The Indians were very angry! For 20 years the Indians tried, unsuccessfully, to kick us out of their hunting grounds. Their attacks were frequent and hanging onto your scalp became a priority. Old Fort Harrod was built for protection from those attacks.
My Theory Of Forts
Here's my theory about forts. Men in the wilderness want women. Men would be content to live in caves if there were no women. I think that's a proven fact! But, women want comfort and security. Thus, men invented the fort! The men would proclaim that they were strategic "military" bases, and they were, but they were also "nests", nests built so that the women would come, and so that the children born would be safe. The children would be needed to continue their parents' pioneer mission to settle, claim and farm the lands. Whether made of mud, or of stone or of wood, forts were built to protect the women and children, and usually your favorite community watering hole!
Kentucky's Forts
There were three forts in Kentucky: Fort Harrod, Fort Boonesborough and Logan's Fort also known as St. Asaph's. Fort Harrod was never overrun or taken by the Indians. As many as 800 Indians would attack Fort Harrod at a time and the fighting was fierce, often hand to hand with knives and tomahawks. Wooden forts were only temporary, lasting maybe 25 years or so. They were especially prone to fire and cannon shot, and the British had plenty of cannon.
1777 - Year of Despair
In May 1777, there were 198 men, women, children and slaves living inside the stockades at Fort Harrod. Indian attacks were frequent and extremely violent. The Indians regularly set fire to the Fort, stole all the horses and either ate, stole or burned all of the crops. They scalped the pioneers, dead or alive. Many pioneers and their children, died and were buried beyond the south wall of the fort. The pioneer cemetery still exists today in its original location.
The year 1777 was the most difficult year at the Fort. Not only were the Indian attacks the most frequent and violent that year, but the winter of 1777-78 was the worst ever endured by the pioneers. The temperatures dropped to 20 degrees below zero. The rivers and springs froze solid to their bottoms. Travel was impossible. Even the wildlife froze to death. The bears, the buffalo and smaller wildlife were found starved and frozen to death.
There was no food or water and Indian attacks were almost daily. Many pioneer men, women and children died of starvation and dehydration. The pioneers were able to survive but they lost all of their livestock and many friends. The Fort held.
1780's - The Settlers Come
In the early 1780's, about 2000 people lived in or around Fort Harrod and by 1783 Indian attacks were starting to subside.
In 1941, the University of Kentucky along with the staff at the Old Fort Harrod State Park created what is considered to be one of the best and most accurate re-enactments of true pioneer life in and around Old Fort Harrod called Kentucky Pioneers. This video is posted on Youtube and is interesting because it gives you a real sense of what life was like in the 1780's. It shows pioneers traveling to Fort Harrod and it shows the pioneers' lifestyles once inside the fort. To see the full video, here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRlboyKxSb4
Early Pioneer Weapons
Early settlers carried the British made "Brown Bess" rifle and eventually the colonial made "Pennsylvania long rifle". They also carried the rifle accessories, a good hunting and/or scalping knife and a blacksmith made tomahawk. A good English Sheffield scalping knife was highly prized.
Kentucky Flintlock Long Rifle
Although known for years as the "Kentucky rifle", the celebrated long rifle of muzzle-loading days was developed on a Pequea Valley farm in the Mennonite region of southern Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It was a Swiss gunsmith, Martin Meylin, whose pioneer work during the early 1700's marked the appearance of a new type of firearm, the Pennsylvania rifle.
A typical Pennsylvania rifle weighed from seven to nine pounds with its overall length a symmetrical fifty-five inches from muzzle to butt plate. Its .45 caliber ball, at 300 yards, could kill man and beast or "bark" a squirrel from the tallest tree. Making a rifle in the 1700's was a slow, painstaking task requiring about a week's time. Their cost would vary from $10.00 to $50.00 or more depending upon the ornamentation and engraving given it. The early locks were entirely handmade down to the smallest screws, springs and pins. The stocks which were made of native curly maple were selected for the beauty of its grain. Many were embellished with intricate carved designs. Patch boxes, thimbles, trigger guards, butt plates and the various inlays which were found on the long rifles were fashioned from brass or silver and usually decorated with delicate engravings.
Of the forty to fifty parts that went into its construction, the barrel was the most important and required the most skill. Superstition dictated that welding of the barrel be done from the middle toward both ends in order to purge any devils that might be up to troublesome pranks. The barrels which were forged from iron bars in charcoal fires were later placed on primitive wooden rifling machines for cutting spiral grooves into the bore.
The last step was browning or blacking the barrel with cider vinegar or a combination of chemicals to prevent rusting. This also lessened the chances of a rifleman betraying himself to game or enemy by reflected sunlight glinting along the barrel. When finished, The Pennsylvania Rifle, would have individual characteristics that would distinguish it from all other guns made in the period.
Most often, its owner would give the rifle a name expressing pride of endearment such as "Old Sure Fire", "Indian Lament", or "Deer Killer", thus imparting to this individually made weapon a personality. The Pennsylvania long rifle which became the Kentucky Long Rifle, was the primary defense and hunting weapon at Old Fort Harrod.
Old Fort Harrod Built 1775-76
The original Old Fort Harrod was built in 1775-1776. It was built of hand hewn logs 10-12 feet tall in a "parallelogram" configuration measuring 264 feet by 264 feet. Thousands of trees were cut and the bark peeled off. The bark had to be removed because it made the fort more prone to fires set by the Indians. First, the base wall was built with a blockhouse on each end. The cabins' south walls formed the actual south base stockade wall. The chimneys were kept inside the walls so Indians could not stop them up. Then the three remaining walls, called stockades, and the blockhouses in each corner were built.
 
James Harrod's Blockhouse
The blockhouses measured about 25 feet by 44 feet. Only three of the usual four blockhouses were ever built at Fort Harrod. The northwest blockhouse was never built because of a large fresh water spring located in that corner of the Fort. The southwest blockhouse was the home of James Harrod. The southeast blockhouse was the Kentucky home and office of famed pioneer and explorer, George Rogers Clark. The northeast blockhouse was home to a true pioneer lady, Anne McGinty.
It took about three months to build the fort. At its height, Fort Harrod contained about 18 cabins measuring 20 feet by 20 feet. The cabins were built of notched logs which had to be "chinked", which is where mud mortar and wood chips were put into the cracks between the logs. The first floors were dirt. Later, hewn logs would be used but they were notorious for painful splinters. Every cabin had a huge stone fireplace. The first chimneys were made of wood which proved unsatisfactory because they caught on fire. Later, they were made of stone too like the fireplace.
Blockhouses - Main Fort Defense
The blockhouses were the main defense system of the Fort. Each contained two levels with five or more gun ports on each wall, from which the pioneers fired their rifles. They overhung the fort wall by about two feet on both sides and in the overhang, they placed a trap door. From the blockhouses, the defenders could shoot attackers off the stockades if they got too close or tried to climb the walls. Also, the trap doors were used to pour water down to put out fires set by the Indians, or to drop boiling water or animal fat down upon attacking Indians who had gotten too close to the wall to shoot from the stockades or blockhouse gun ports. Long poles were used to push the hostiles back off the walls and roofs. The stockades had scaffolds from which one could fire down from the top of the walls. Once the fort gates had been locked during an Indian attack, they were not opened until the attack was over. If you got caught outside the gates during the attack, well, your scalpless body might be found there after the attack.
There were gates on the North and West stockades. The gates were 2-part folding gates made of the sturdiest logs available, all about 10 feet in length. A heavy gate was made and placed over the main gate to secure it better during times of Indian attacks. The water source, animals and horses were housed inside the fort walls.
Last Days Of The Fort
Once the Indian threat had subsided, Old Fort Harrod fell into disuse. By the end of the War of 1812, all that remained was the George Rogers Clark blockhouse. It was used for years as a young men's school and then it too was torn down to make way for a new public school. The site of the original Fort was eventually cut down and quarried to make room for city streets and to obtain stone for the roadbeds and foundations. The last known account of the Fort was 1815.
The 1927 Reproduction of Old Fort Harrod With A Photo Tour
In 1927, local residents and members of a group called the Pioneer Memorial Park Committee raised funds and acquired land under 13 deeds. They got the present day 2/3 scale reproduction fort built near the site of the original fort. Contractor Peter Nolan Wilson built the reproduction. It had to be located a little further southwest of the original site due to the location of the cemetery.
President Franklin Roosevelt came here in 1934 and dedicated a Memorial to honor James Harrod and George Rogers Clark, which still stands today in front of the Fort.
The Pioneer Memorial Park Committee eventually dedicated the property to the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the Park became known as the Pioneer Memorial State Park. Later, the name was changed to Old Fort Harrod State Park.
Below is a link to a short photo tour of the 1927 reproduction of the Fort set to a little music typical to the times. It is short video at less than three minutes and will show you what the Fort actually looks like today. The music "Song of the Pioneer" is by Annie & Mac at annieandmac.com.
http://youtu.be/tl37hQFsfJ4
Stories and Legends
There are many well known stories and legends about Old Fort Harrod and its occupants, such as the mystery of the disappearance of James Harrod in 1792, the death of old Barney Stagner who had guarded the Fort's fresh water spring, the grave of the first white child buried in Kentucky, and the tragic story of Anne McGinty who was married four times and each husband died. My favorite story is a true story about a pig that would become the Fort's official mascot.
On one occasion, about 400 men from Fort Harrod were called into service to the Colonial Army to fight the British and Indians in the North. Those 400 Kentucky riflemen started marching North from Fort Harrod to muster up with the main army of about 4,000 troops. About 10 miles North of Fort Harrod, they came up two "shoats" fighting to the death. A shoat is simply a young pig that has been weaned. The men watched with curiosity as those two pigs fought. Eventually, one shoat prevailed and the other lay lifeless. Thinking the excitement was over, the men marched on.
But, that pig wanted to "Join Up"! He fell in with them and marched beside them all the way to Canada. The pig lived on scraps thrown out to it by the 400 men. He marched when they marched. He took breaks with them. He slept when they slept. The men adopted him as their official "mascot". When they came to the Ohio River, the pig jumped in and swam all the way across by himself. He would not ride the ferry with the men. He swam faster than the ferry and was waiting for them on the other side.
When they came to Lake Eerie, that pig balked! He would not cross the Lake! No amount of coaxing would persuade him. The troops had to march on without him and all thought that would be the last time they would ever see him.
Those 400 men fought valiantly for 10 months against the British and Indians and succeeded in defeating them. After the battle, the survivors returned across Lake Eerie and could not believe their eyes! There, on the South Bank was that pig, still waiting after 10 months! As they marched by, the pig fell back in with them and marched beside them all the way back to Fort Harrod.
When the men had arrived a Fort Harrod weeks later, they were met by the residents of the Fort with a big pig roast! But, that pig didn't have to worry. He was not eaten. Governor Isaac Shelby personally took that pig in and put him on his farm, where he lived out his life eating to his heart's content.
If there had been no Fort Harrod, then there would have been no Harrodsburg or possibly even state of Kentucky. The story of Old Fort Harrod is the story of the hardships and sacrifice endured by the early frontiersmen like James Harrod, who is due much more recognition than he has been given in history. Our goal at Friends of Fort Harrod is to preserve Old Fort Harrod and the legacy of James Harrod.
Please come visit the Old Fort Harrod State Park and get a sense of what life was like on the Kentucky frontier in the 1780's!
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