Tanner's Station, 1789
Boone County, Boone County, Kentucky
Marker Inscription
Tanner's Station 1789. First settlement in Boone County. The Rev. John Tanner built blockhouse, and town began on 2,000 acres he and John Taylor owned. Shawnees captured Tanner's 9-year-old son here, held him until grown. An ardent Baptist, Tanner preached in Carolinas, Virginia; came to Kentucky in 1781; moved to Missouri, 1798; died there, 1812, age about 80. Town was named Petersburg, 1818.
Erected by Kentucky Historical Society
The Story
Tanner's Station, founded in 1789, was the first settlement in Boone County, begun when the Baptist preacher Rev. John Tanner built a blockhouse on 2,000 acres he owned with John Taylor. Shawnees captured Tanner's nine-year-old son here and held him until he was grown. Tanner, who had preached in the Carolinas and Virginia before coming to Kentucky in 1781, later moved on to Missouri and died there around 1812; the town was renamed Petersburg in 1818.
Why it matters
The station marks Boone County's first foothold of settlement and the painful reality of frontier captivity that shaped so many early Kentucky families.
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Related people
- · John Tanner
- · John Taylor
Themes & tags
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