Rain and Mud in the Wilderness

Warm Tavern and Good Company

4 November, rained last night and all this morning road bad, set out and proceeded all on horseback to Mr. Bulls- .50 & then proceeded on to Mr. Freemans- cost 2.83.

The Clarks have crossed the Rockcastle River Ford approximately 3/4 mile below Livingston, KY (37.29301N, 84.22066W) on US 25. Today the old trail and US 25 passes through the U.S. Forest Service Daniel Boone National Forest.⁽¹⁾ The Sheltowee Trace, a 254-mile hiking and biking trail runs through the Daniel Boone National Forest from Morehead, KY to Pickett State Park, TN. Sheltowee, Big Turtle, is a Shawnee Indian name given to Daniel Boone by Chief Black Fish. While the trail does not follow the historical Boone Trace, it is a grand example of the sense of adventure that Boone experienced in the wilderness.⁽²⁾

The Clark party stopped at Mr. Bulls (John, Sr.; John, Jr.; Robert or Izaah) ⁽³⁾ then proceeded to Mr. Freemans Tavern. The Freeman Jackson Tavern site (37.073276N, 84.038751W) on KY 229 was built in 1804 and survived until it burned in 1962. Today the tavern site is near the Levi Jackson Wilderness Road Park, owned and managed by the City of London, KY.⁽⁴⁾⁽⁵⁾ The Tavern was a refuge from the rain and muddy road Clark had traveled. An added benefit was meeting Kentucky Congressman Benjamin Howard,⁽⁶⁾ Mr. and Mrs. (Jesse) Bledsoe,⁽⁷⁾⁽⁸⁾ and Mr. Mankin, (unidentified).

Benjamin Howard was appointed Governor of the Upper Louisiana Territory in 1810 filling the office after Governor Lewis’ death. Did William Clark and Congressman Howard discuss the death of Governor Lewis? Did Clark describe the political confusion created by Frederick Bates? Howard’s appointment allowed Clark to find an editor and arrange for the publication of the Lewis and Clark Journals before being appointed Governor of the Missouri Territory in 1812.

Sources:

(1) https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd559262.pdf

(2) https://www.sheltoweetrace.org/

(3) Knox County Kentucky Tax List 1809- (Comteck)- The Tax Lists records John Bull, Sr., John Bull, Jr., Robert Bull and Izaah Bull, Tavern or house site and exact owner is unidentified with certainty.

(4) https://levijacksonpark.com/

(5) https://visitlondonky.com/

(6) Holmberg, James, Dear Brother: Letters of William Clark to Jonathan Clark, Yale University Press, New Haven, 2002, page 250, note 6.

(7) http://apps.sos.ky.gov/secdesk/sosinfo/default.aspx?id=06

(8) Kincaid, Robert, The Wilderness Road, Bobbs-Merrill Co., Middlesboro, KY 1966, page 162.