FIELD TRIP!

Step back in time to 1781. That's what we did today. We learned all about early Kentucky history by attending the Painted Stone Settlers' Day Camp and The Long Run Massacre re-enactment. It was fascinating and fun.

We learned about pioneer cooking, spinning flax, hunting, horsemanship, survival skills, entertainment/music, surveying, frontier doctors, customs, laundry techniques of the 18th century, blacksmithing, and about the history of different flags relating to the history of our nation. We even saw a re-enactment of the Long Run Massacre and learned the history of that dreadful day in Shelby county.

There was so much to do. And so much to learn. Next year we want to do it again to see the things we missed. (Yes, we missed a lot. We missed the magician, and dying wool, and everything about the Native Americans in Kentucky.) When I asked the girls what their favorite things were, Key Lime Pie eagerly talked about the horse and the rats and the music. Kotten Kandy was impressed with the doctor and the laundress. I just loved it all! What a fantastic field trip!

Here are some men who played the fife and told us the history of the different flags that flew over Kentucky at some point...

The "actors" fired the cannon about five times. It was awesome! This is where we learned about the history of military tactics in the 18th century. If you owned a cannon, you won!

Both girls LOVED grooming the horse, April Fool. She was a beautiful horse. And we learned that horses were very valuable as a means of packing supplies used by hunters and bringing back hides from hunting trips.
This frontier doctor was amazing... He showed us standard surgical kits of the time period, which included dentistry tools and instruments to remove lead balls. He was the doctor, the dentist and the surgeon. He made us laugh when he explained about "stupid older brothers" who accidentally shot their younger brothers. He also showed us all of the teeth he had pulled.

What an AMAZING day! We love homeschooling!

For those of you who are curious, like us, here is a SHORTENED version of the Long Run Massacre story. (We live right where it all happened, here in Shelby County.)

Squire Boone, brother to the famous pioneer Daniel Boone, first came to present day Shelby County in 1775. He took a stone out of the creek and with a mill pick, he picked his name and the date on it. Then he painted the letter and figures red. That is how the place got the name of Painted Stone Station.

Squire Boone and 13 families (and several single men) came to the area. They built a large station with cabins on an acre of land.

One morning in April 1781, Indians attacked three young men clearing ground outside of the station. Other men coming to their aid were also killed. Squire Boone was wounded too. More and more Indian raids were reported and by the fall the decision had been made to abandon the station.

On the morning of September 13, 1781 the militia came to help evacuate the station. The Indian attack during the move became known as the Long Run Massacre. On the following day, 27 men under Col. John Floyd of the Jefferson County militia rode out to bury the dead. The ambush that followed became known as Floyd's Defeat. Of the 27 men that rode out from Linn's Station that morning, only 10 returned. Seventeen were either killed or captured.