When Meriwether Lewis departed Pittsburgh on Aug. 31, 1803, and headed down the Ohio River toward Louisville and his rendezvous with William Clark, he carried a full agenda from President Thomas Jefferson.
One thing on the list: The president wanted some bones from Kentucky.
Specifically, Jefferson wanted a sampling of bones and fossils from a salt lick and marshy region about 80 river miles upstream from Louisville. The science of paleontology was in its infancy, and Big Bone Lick, as the area was known, reportedly was littered with bones from ground sloths, mammoths, mastodons and other critters from a world that no longer existed.
Lewis followed the president’s orders and, with the help of some local experts, collected and shipped several boxes of bones to Jefferson. Unfortunately, the boxes never made it to his Monticello home. But Jefferson, whose scientific interests might have equaled his political ambitions, later dispatched Clark to Big Bone Lick in 1807, after he, Lewis and the Corps of Discovery had triumphantly returned from their journey up the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean. Clark assembled a crew and collected some of the ancient relics. This time, the boneyard treasures reached Jefferson. A few of the fossils, including a jawbone from a mastodon, are on display at Monticello today.
Big Bone Lick eventually became regarded as the birthplace of vertebrate paleontology in North America.
Today, Big Bone Lick is a state historic site managed by Kentucky State Parks. And while mastodons and mammoths won’t be seen, a few bison still prowl the grounds.
Big Bone Lick State Historic Site recently was bestowed a new title, being designated a National Historic Landmark. This is a significant honor, but it hardly makes the Boone County property unique. The Department of the Interior, which hands out the designation, elevated Big Bone Lick to landmark status in December, along with 19 other properties.
Nationwide, there are more than 2,600 National Historic Landmarks. Most are privately owned. Kentucky is home to 33 NHLs, including the recently enshrined Big Bone Lick. What makes them special? That depends on where you’re going.
According to the National Park Service, which oversees the program, National Historic Landmarks are “historic properties that illustrate the heritage of the United States.”
When it comes to “illustrating the heritage of the United States,” Churchill Downs (designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986) speaks for itself. However, Ohio County’s Indian Knoll (another NHL site) is a shell-midden archaeological motherlode that outdates the racetrack by several millennia and literally is littered with history but isn’t much to look at.
Big Bone Lick gives visitors a glimpse into the last Ice Age. Native Americans had long visited the area for the same reason the Ice Age animals had come: for the salt. They were undoubtedly aware of the large bones scattered about. When Europeans arrived, the boneyard began to attract attention. A 1784 map, prepared by John Filson, notes, “Big Bone Lick; Salt and Medical Spring. Large bones are found there.”
Big Bone Lick State Historic Site (and National Historic Landmark) is located near Union and is open daily. It has a full-facility campground, 4.5 miles of hiking trails, two orienteering courses, a visitors center and a history that extends to the Ice Age. It’s worth a visit. Find details at parks.ky.gov/explore/big-bone-lick-state-historic-site-7807.
For more information about the National Historic Landmark program, go to nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks/index.htm.
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Following an agreement between the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and the University of the Cumberlands, a new public-use area has been established in Whitley and McCreary counties.
The mostly wooded, 10,273-acre University of the Cumberlands Wildlife Management Area is a three-tract property. Hunting for deer, bear and coyote is archery only. Other game species are open under statewide regulations.
Access to the property is walk-in only. The agreement prohibits nighttime hunting, horseback riding, off-road driving, target shooting, baiting, feeding and commercial guiding on the new WMA.
For more information, including a map of the area, visit app.fw.ky.gov/Public_Lands_Search/detail.aspx?Kdfwr_id=9727 or contact the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources at 1.800.858.1549.
Readers may contact Gary Garth at editor@kentuckymonthly.com