The Blue Licks Battlefield State Park and Nature Preserve was a great surprise. I did not intend on stopping, but the NoDestination gods had other plans. I stayed for an astonishing 25 minutes – walking to the lodge and taking a few steps down a trail. I could have spent a significant amount of time here.
Pictured above is the Shorts Goldenrod Solidago shortii), a federally endangered species that grows only along a small portion of an old buffalo trace trail in the Nature Preserve portion of the Park. The buffalo trace once extended from the Ohio River to the salt springs at Blue Licks. The species was discovered by Dr. Charles W. Short in 1840.
On August 19, 1782, a bloody battle was waged between Kentucky pioneers and a force of Indians and British-Canadians. Daniel Boone’s son, Israel, died in the struggle. Although the surrender at Yorktown had occurred the prior year, frontier battles of the Revolution continued. The Battle of Blue Licks was quite bloody and, among other losses, about 70 Kentucky pioneers were tomahawked in minutes by Wyandot indians.