Daniel Boone Homestead facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
Daniel Boone Homestead Site and Bertolet Cabin
|
|
This house stands over the site of the log cabin that Daniel Boone was born in. The basement in the house is original to the log cabin.
|
|
 Location in Pennsylvania
Location in the United States
|
|
| Nearest city | Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Area | 577 acres (234 ha) |
| Built | 1730 |
| NRHP reference No. | 72001090 |
| Added to NRHP | March 24, 1972 |
The Daniel Boone Homestead is a special museum and historic house. It is the birthplace of the famous American frontiersman, Daniel Boone. The homestead is managed by the Friends of the Daniel Boone Homestead. It is located near Birdsboro in Berks County, Pennsylvania. The property covers almost 600 acres (about 2.4 square kilometers). It is the largest site owned by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Staff at the homestead teach visitors about the lives of three main families. These families were the Boones, the Maugridges, and the DeTurks. The park is just off U.S. Route 422 north of Birdsboro. It is in Exeter Township.
Contents
The Homestead's History
Squire Boone's Home
In 1730, Daniel Boone's father, Squire Boone, built a log cabin. This cabin was in the Oley Valley in what is now Berks County. It was near the city of Reading. Daniel Boone was born in this log house. It was a one-and-a-half-story building. One wall was made of local stone. The basement of the house was a spring house. This meant it had easy access to water. The spring house was used for cleaning, cooking, and drinking. It also helped keep food cold.
Squire Boone bought more land in 1741. He added 25 acres (about 10 hectares) for his dairy cattle. Squire Boone worked as a blacksmith and a weaver. Daniel was in charge of looking after the cattle. During the summer, he stayed in a simple cabin. This cabin was at the edge of the pasture. From there, he could protect the cattle. He kept them safe from animals like black bears, bobcats, and mountain lions.
The Boone family had some disagreements with their local Quaker community. In 1742, Daniel's parents had to apologize publicly. This happened after their oldest child, Sarah, married someone who was not a Quaker. In 1747, Daniel's older brother, Israel, also married a non-Quaker. Squire Boone supported his son. Because of this, he was no longer a Quaker. However, his wife and children continued to attend meetings. Perhaps because of these issues, Squire sold his land in 1750. The family moved south. The Boones eventually settled on the Yadkin River. This area is now Davie County, North Carolina. It is about two miles (3 km) west of Mocksville.
New Owners: Maugridge and DeTurk
In 1750, the Daniel Boone Homestead was sold to William Maugridge. He was a relative of the Boones from Philadelphia. He also knew Benjamin Franklin. Maugridge was a shipwright (someone who builds ships) and a carpenter. The house was made bigger around the time Maugridge bought it. This addition created a two-story house. The house had a typical hall and parlor layout. It also had a small "bible closet."
Maugridge passed away in 1766. John DeTurk then bought the property. DeTurk completely changed the house. He removed the log cabin walls. He had them rebuilt with stone. DeTurk might have also built the smokehouse you can see at the park today. Several other farmers owned the land after DeTurk's death. Then, in 1926, people started working to save it for history.
Saving and Restoring the Homestead
In 1926, Reverend A. B. Vossler from Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, bought the farm. He had help from William C. Foote of East Orange, New Jersey. They later sold it to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1937. Their goal was to protect Daniel Boone's homestead. Restoration work began soon after. Many examples of colonial life from the Oley Valley have been moved to the homestead site. A blacksmith's shop from around 1769 has been restored there. Also, the "Bertolet House" is at the park. It shows what early 18th-century Pennsylvania German homes looked like.
Daniel Boone's Early Life
Daniel Boone was born on October 22, 1734. Later in his life, the calendar changed. So, his birth date is sometimes given as November 2, 1734. However, Boone always used the October date. He was the sixth of eleven children. His family belonged to the Quakers. His father, Squire Boone (1696–1765), came to Pennsylvania from Bradninch, England, in 1713. Squire Boone's parents, George and Mary Boone, followed him to Pennsylvania in 1717. In 1720, they built a log cabin at Boonecroft. In 1720, Squire married Sarah Morgan (1700–1777). Her family were Quakers from Wales. Squire worked mainly as a weaver and a blacksmith.
Boone spent his childhood on the western edge of Pennsylvania. This was the frontier at the time. The pacifist Quakers usually had good relationships with Native Americans. But more and more white settlers moved in. This caused many Native Americans to move further west. Daniel got his first rifle in 1749. This started his lifelong love of hunting. Many folk tales talk about Boone's amazing hunting skills. In one story, young Boone is hunting with other boys. The scream of a panther scares the boys away. But Boone stays calm. He aims his squirrel gun and shoots the animal right through the heart. He does this just as it leaps at him. Like many stories about Boone, this one might not be completely true. But it was told so often that it became part of his famous image.
See also
- Open-air museum
