Next weekend Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area will play host to the kickoff for a special three-week long program to commemorate the Western Expansion of the American Frontier.
On May 7, from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., The Daniel Boone Society will launch their America’s Frontier History Expedition at the park.
From May 7-30th a reenactment of settlers braving the wilderness to seek new opportunity west of the Allegheny Mountains will take place as men and women recreate a 230 mile 18th century horseback expedition from Sycamore Shoals, Tennessee to Fort Boonesborough, Ky., representing a cross section of people and cultures, frontier men and women.
“The reenactors participating in this event are not the same folks that people who come to our events are used to seeing,” said Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area Park Manager Jennifer Bauer.
The reenactors taking part in the America’s Frontier History Expedition are affiliated with the Daniel Boone Society and Bauer said they will have different stories to tell than the ones typically shared at Sycamore Shoals.
“Our story we tell here is very much the story of what happened here,” Bauer said, adding local historic interpreters focus on events like the siege of Fort Watauga, the Overmountain Victory March and the signing of the Transylvania Purchase.
“Their story is different and they have a bit of a different perspective because they are coming from a different area of the country,” Bauer said. “Their story begins here and then it heads West. Their story progresses as they move across the frontier and share the tale of the Western Expansion.”
In 1775, Richard Henderson’s Transylvania Company commissioned Boone to blaze a trail over the Cumberland Gap into what would later become the state of Kentucky. Boone and his part left from this region of Tennessee and traveled up to the area of present-day Lexington, Ky., where they established Fort Boonesborough. Over the next few years, thousands of settlers followed him to expand across the frontier
To honor the journey made by Boone and to preserve that part of America’s history, the Boone Society planned the America’s Frontier History Expedition.
There are fourteen encampment stops planned for the three week journey at which the reenactors will deliver educational presentations for the public. The purpose of this journey is to bring awareness to the need to preserve America’s frontier history, the importance of the westward movement, and its impact on the Euro American and native peoples, and the skills necessary to survive on the frontier.
Each stop along the journey, including the kick off at Sycamore Shoals, will include live fire demonstrations of long rifles, the playing of frontier music, and a variety of demonstrations and presentations of frontier skills at the encampments. The cities of Barbourville, Ky., and Berea, Ky., will also hosts parades featuring the reenactors.
Two highlights of the event include speakers Mark Sage, representing the frontiersmen, and Rusty Cottrell as “Shawnee Chief Black Hoof” representing the Native American culture. Each stop on the trail will be a bit different and the public can plan to see this expedition several times for a different live experience.
At each stop of the journey, there will be an art exhibit by Frontier Artist, David Wright. David’s work gives us a view of life on the first frontier and his paintings capture the daily activities of both the pioneer and the Indian culture.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Bauer said. “I’m very excited to hear what stories they will tell.”
For more information and to find locations of presentation stops visit http://www.boonesociety.com/pages/americas-frontier-history-expedition/