This Geocache is part of an annual Geocache Challenge put on by the Heritage Program at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area as part of our outreach to the public, to get people to explore their forest and their history, and to share the unique heritage of the families from Between the Rivers.
This Geocache is part of the “2020 Land Between the Lakes Heritage Geocache Challenge: Trigg County Bicentennial Celebration”. There are 6 geocaches placed in Trigg County in Land Between the Lakes related to the Trigg County Heritage of the area. If you locate each geocache, and collect a numbered aluminum tree tag from each cache, you can turn them in at the Golden Pond Visitor Center for one of 200 Challenge Coins created for this event.
The Geocache is a 6” x 6” orange watertight plastic box marked “Heritage Geocache” on the top. The geocache is placed under a fallen log.
The Nathan Futrell Geocache
The nearby cemetery to this geocache includes the remains of Nathan Futrell, who was born in Northhampton County, North Carolina. Married to Chastity in 1798, they moved to Kentucky that following year. At first, they settled on the east side of the Cumberland River, but moved between the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers in 1820. He and his family built a cabin just opposite of the site of Laura Furnace, just a short walk from here at the bottom of the hill, probably close to the modern blacktop road.
Nathan was probably the youngest drummer boy in the Revolution. When Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown in 1781, Nathan would have bee only 8 years old. This means he was probably 7 years of age when he joined the North Carolina Continental Militia—8 years of age at best.
More Than Just a Boy Drummer
The Futrell Family were pioneers of the Between the Rivers area, starting with their lands near what would become Laura Furnace and the nearby Lick and Donaldson Creeks. Nathan Futrell was a farmer and probably planted the first apple orchard in Trigg County along with one of the first grist mills—possibly the very first Between the Rivers.
In addition to farming, Nathan was a surveyor and an election judge. He died in 1829 at the age of 56. His wife, Charity, lived to be 96 years old and they’re both buried here at Nathan Futrell Cemetery.