Contrary to popular opinion, Boonesborough was not the first permanent Anglo-American community built in what was destined to become the state of Kentucky. That honor goes to a settlement established in 1774 in present-day Mercer County by hunter, scout, soldier, explorer, trail blazer, Indian fighter and all-around intrepid frontiersman James Harrod.
Harrod was born in Pennsylvania sometime in the early to mid-1740s; his exact birthdate is unknown. He was tall for his time, reportedly standing over 6 feet. Harrod led several expeditions into what has come to be called Kentucky’s Bluegrass Region, ultimately establishing his forted community at a large spring near the Salt River.
It was far from a picturesque setting. According to the noted Kentucky architectural historian Clay Lancaster, “[T]hey parceled the south slope of a stream [later Town Branch] issuing from an ample fount … and built ‘improvement cabins.’ These were pens of felled logs 10 feet square, covered by a pitched roof of clapboards. There was no chinking between the logs and only a crawl hole for entrance, but they were better than shelters of earlier scouts fashioned of already available materials. The settlement … consisted of a number of cabins on their respective lots of one half acre.”
The community James Harrod started was called Harrod’s Town—or Harrodstown—and was the first permanent non-American Indian settlement west of the Alleghenies. It was abandoned almost immediately due to Native depredations, but it was resettled the following year and grew rapidly. When the Virginia Assembly responded to a petition by some 150 residents in 1785 and officially recognized the town, it stipulated that “all persons acquiring in-lots were required to ‘erect and build thereon a dwelling-house of the dimensions of twenty feet by sixteen, at the least, with a brick or stone chimney.’ ” Within 10 years, the small settlement had grown from a cluster of open-slatted shacks to a respectable community of properly built structures.
In 1780, Harrod’s Town became the county seat of newly established Kentucky County, Virginia. When the legislature formed Mercer County five years later, Harrod’s Town again was named the county seat. Harrod himself was a prominent member of the community, playing an active role in local politics. He subsequently served as a county justice, a town trustee and a representative to the Virginia House of Delegates. Harrod was also an unflagging proponent of statehood for Kentucky. Well-to-do farmer though he became, he never lost the urge to venture off into the woods, often alone.
Perhaps James Harrod would be as well-known and widely sung today as his contemporaries Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton had he not had the misfortune to walk into the woods one day and simply vanish. To this day, his disappearance remains a mystery, with folktales and oral history providing several possibilities. One version has him slain by Indians, while another avers that he simply left after finding evidence of his wife’s alleged serial infidelity. Perhaps the most reasonable explanation stems from a trapping foray he made with two companions—one of whom was the respondent in a lawsuit brought by Harrod. Presumably, the two men left camp, whereupon a shot was heard, and only one returned.
Harrod was gone, but the town he had established continued to prosper and grow. For reasons that remain unknown, the name of the settlement was changed in the early 1800s. Two hundred fifty years after its founding, situated in an idyllic setting, James Harrod’s town exists as the picturesque community of Harrodsburg. This year marks its quarter millennial—or semiquincentennial—anniversary. According to the most recent census, the population hovers just south of 10,000. Community spirit runs high, as witnessed in the upcoming anniversary observances.
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Harrodsburg has planned a full schedule of events commemorating its 250th. On June 8, activities will kick off with a parade and pageant sponsored by the Mercer County Chamber of Commerce and a vocal presentation by the 250th Birthday Celebration Choir at St. Peters AME Church. The following day, and continuing through June 11, Harrodsburg’s Centennial Baptist Church will hold a street revival on Broadway Street in honor of the city’s birthday.
The city’s Celebration Festival officially begins on Thursday, June 13, and continues through June 16. Along with other attractions, it will include a concert series featuring an impressive roster of singers and musicians. Headlining is noted country singer Drew Baldridge, whose song “She’s Somebody’s Daughter” has been streamed more than 100 million times and has been named Certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. Drew’s drummer, Chris Flick, is a native of Harrodsburg.
Kentucky singer/songwriter/guitarist Daniel Craig will offer his blend of folk, country, blues and rock. The four belles of the Femmes of Rock—who have performed with Beyonce, Rod Stewart and Stevie Wonder—will perform their interpretations of classic rock tunes.
On a more country-grounded platform, the three multitalented women who make up Runaway June not only write and sing their own material, they also accompany themselves on guitar, fiddle, mandolin, autoharp, piano, banjo and harmonica, and have charted a number of their singles. One of the trio, Jennifer Wayne, is the granddaughter of film legend John Wayne.
Other performers who will bring their musical talent to Harrodsburg’s 250th Celebration Festival include Mercer County native Dillon Carmichael, Kentucky’s own J.D. Shelburne, on-the-rise country artist Chayse Abrams, and Nashville-based Kate Colosimo.
Old Fort Harrod will be a hub of activity throughout the four-day celebration. The central attraction of 15-acre Old Fort Harrod State Park, it is a full-scale recreation of the palisaded 1774 settlement built by James Harrod and his compatriots. The cabins and blockhouses are replete with tools, weapons and other implements of the period. The cemetery at the fort dates to the settlement’s founding and—as with Harrodsburg itself—is the oldest Anglo-American graveyard west of the Alleghenies.
Throughout the festival, reenactors and craftspeople will be camped outside the fort’s walls, offering demonstrations and selling crafts. Culminating the activities, the reenactors will stage a raid on the fort. For our readers inclined to don buckskins or headdresses, you are welcome to apply to participate!
A complete list of the happenings planned for Harrodsburg’s blowout— including a vintage car show and a production of The Trial of James Bridges, a play about the man accused of killing James Harrod—can be found at harrodsburghistorical.org/harrodsburg-250th-calendar-of-events.
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Fans of local history should consider a trip to Harrodsburg’s Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, Kentucky’s largest national historical landmark. The restored community was established more than a century ago by the Pleasant Hill Shakers, and some 34 of the original 260 buildings still stand, making it the nation’s largest private collection of 19th century buildings. Aside from providing glimpses into a simpler way of life, as well as displays of the exquisite crafts for which the Shakers are so widely known, Shaker Village offers visitors overnight accommodations and an outstanding dining experience. The farm animals are a treat for kids, and the 3,000 acres of grounds beg for a hike or stroll.
At the Old Mud Meeting House, a commemorative 250th anniversary church service will be held on June 16 at 10 a.m. Built around 1800 by a colony of Dutch settlers, the building stands as a large, imposing white-frame structure with a red roof, green shutters and stone foundation. It was the first low Dutch Reformed Church to be built west of the Alleghenies, and it has served a number of denominations through the years. Local legend has it that the ghosts of former congregants haunt the old church. It is said that if you press your ear to the wall, you can hear a ghostly sermon from times past.
As written in the annals of the Kentucky Historical Society, “Adjacent to the church is the graveyard ‘where rest the ashes of those who starved with Washington at Valley Forge; who faced the Britons at Monmouth and Brandywine and crossed the Delaware and stormed the Hessians at Trenton; and staked their all upon the field at Princeton and in the trenches at Yorktown.’ ” The cemetery is rumored to be haunted as well.
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Annual events in and around Harrodsburg include the July Mercer County Horse Show and Pioneer Days, held in August at Old Fort Harrod State Park.
Whether celebrating its 250th anniversary or simply enjoying its rich history, a trip to Harrodsburg—which WorldAtlas.com recently named one of the historic towns in Kentucky—is well worth the visitor’s time.