Daniel Boone Was Here or a least he was nearby anyway.
The Daniel Boone tree was first described as being in Iroquois Park in a 1912 newspaper article. The inscription on the old Beech tree was D. Boone. Kill A bar 1803. At the time it was believed to be authentic since it was known that he did arrive in Louisville around 1803 by boat from Missouri. From there he traveled by land to Green River. His travel was paid for by a party in a land dispute case where he provided evidence that he made three hatchet marks in a tree used as a survey boundary marker.
Daniel for a time was a surveyor and he may have known that a rod = 16 ½ feet but his survey techniques were lacking which later created much litigation and as result he lost most of his land holdings. His travel party through Kentucky could have very easily passed along the woods of what is now Iroquois Park.
| In the early 1930’s the Daniel Boone tree was struck by lightning. Because of its popularity the Louisville community wanted to save the tree but a tree surgeon declared the tree 99% dead. It was then decided to try and save the inscription portion of the tree. In April 1932 a four foot section with the inscription was removed and given to the Filson Club for preservation. To this day the Filson Club still has the beech tree section displayed in a glass case in their museum. |
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D. Boone Tree Section at Filson Club
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In 1933 the carvings authenticity was challenged based on the tree rings and the elapsed time of approximately 130 years since the alleged carving year. Some also believe the carved letters would have filled in over that time. Its authenticity may have been challenged by some but it’s still an interesting bit of Louisville history. |
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The cache has been placed near where I believe the Daniel Boone tree was located before it was cut down. I base this on a description of it’s location in the June 9th 1929 issue of the Courier Journal newspaper. Unfortunately they did not have GPS units back then so it’s just an approximation. There’s a Lincoln wheat cent from the 1930’s, the decade the tree was cut down, for the first 8 to find.
You are looking for a beech tree about 75 feet off the horse/hiking trail that has a micro container hidden very nearby. The closest legal parking area is the golf course parking lot located at N 38 10.096 W085 47.271. The horse/hiking trail runs through the middle of this parking lot.
This cache was placed on Memorial Day weekend in honor of Daniel Boone a veteran who fought in the American Revolutionary War.