DID YOU KNOW?
By 1767, Boone led his expedition for the first time. The hunting trip along the Big Sandy River in Kentucky worked its way westward as far as Floyd County in May 1769, Boone then led another expedition with John Finley, a teamster Boone had marched with during the French and Indian War, and four other men. Under Boone's leadership, the team of explorers discovered a trail to the far west through the Cumberland Gap. The trail would become how settlers would access the frontier. Fascinated by the rich lands beyond the Cumberland Gap, Boone became determined to settle there. He convinced five other families to accompany him, and in 1773 he led a party along the trails he had used while hunting. His wife and children traveled with him.
Boone's party of about 50 travelers attracted the notice of Indians in the region, who were becoming angry about encroaching whites. A group of Boone's followers who had become separated from the main party were attacked by Indians. Several men were killed, including Boone's son James, who was captured and tortured to death. The other families, as well as Boone and his wife and surviving children, returned to North Carolina.
A land speculator, Judge Richard Henderson, had heard about Boone and
In August 1756, Boone wed Rebecca Bryan, and the couple set up stakes in the Yadkin Valley. Over 24 years, the couple would have 10 children together. At first, Boone found himself content with what he described as the perfect ingredients to a happy life: "A good gun, a good horse, and a good wife." But adventure stories Boone had heard from a teamster while on march ignited Boone's interest in exploring the American frontier.
Painting of Daniel Boone
guiding settlers westward
Boone’s slightly altered boyhood home in Pennsylvania is now two stories tall
Daniel Boone’s final home in Femme
Osage Creek, Missouri
French and Indian ambush on horseback.