Berks Places: Daniel Boone Homestead is where the frontiersman was born and spent his formative years

Jul. 11—The Daniel Boone Homestead sprawls over 579 acres in Exeter Township and is where the famed frontiersman spent more than 15 years growing up.

Boone is often referred to as a founding father of Kentucky and a lauded son of North Carolina, but he is Pennsylvania born and reared.

He was born Nov. 2, 1734, in the eastern section of Exeter Township in the Oley Valley. His parents, Squire Boone and Sarah (Morgan) Boone, were Quakers.

"He was here for like 15 1/2 years, we round it up to 16," said Brad Kissam, president of the Daniel Boone Homestead Associates, the nonprofit group that manages the programming at the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission site. "These were his formative years. This is where he learned his love of the wilderness and he came in contact with frontiersmen, even though at that point, in the 1730s, '40s and '50s Berks County was no longer the frontier — that had moved west. There were still some Lenape of the Delaware living in the area and so he came in contact with them."

Squire Boone's family had left Bradninch, in Devon, England, in 1713 seeking religious freedom and settled in Pennsylvania. Berks County deed records show Squire and Sarah Boone purchased 250 acres in Exeter Township for 300 pounds in November 1730.

According to History.com, it was religion that caused Squire Boone to move his family from Pennsylvania as well. He is said to have refused to apologize for two of his children marrying outside the Quaker faith. He was disowned by the religion.

The Boones packed up their wagon and headed to North Carolina in 1750.

"Berks County, by the way, did not exist when Daniel Boone's family were here," Kissam said. "They left in 1750, Berks County was established until 1752, so Exeter Township was part of Philadelphia County at that time."

The Boone House, an impressive stone structure as it is seen today, was not where Daniel Boone was born.

"The only thing left of that structure is the foundation and the cellar under one wing of the house," Kissam said, noting Boone would have seen it as it appears today during two visits he made as an adult. "The house as you see it now is what it looked like around the time of the American Revolution."

A blacksmith shop was relocated to the homestead to depict the trade Squire Boone taught Daniel, in addition to passing on his weaving skills. There are occasionally blacksmithing demonstrations there.

Once a month during the summer the Bertolet Saw Mill is run using the onsite water from Daniel Boone Lake. Kissam said the mill is probably only one of two or three functioning water-powered vertical blade sawmills still operating in North America.

"The lake unfortunately is silting in, so there is on the books right now a project to dredge the entire lake and rebuild the trails around the lake, and they're going to be working on the dam breast," Kissam said. "They're going to be installing a silting basin at the upper end of the lake where the Owatin Creek flows in."

There have been some major capital projects completed at the park over the last few years, including repainting all of the trim of the Boone House to a reddish-brown, refurbishing the window sashes, repainting the bank barn behind the Boone House as well as refurbishing all the windows in it. The DeTurck house, which you pass coming into the homestead, is being worked on now.

Kissam explained that the park is what is called a placed site: The state through PHMC — Pennsylvania Historical Museum Commission — owns the site. Its people administer and maintain the site, but they do not run the programming or the tours.

"That is the responsibility of the Associates, who have signed a management agreement," he said.

Kissam said the homestead is losing its current site administrator, who had been under Harrisburg's control.

"Anybody going forward who is going to be a site administrator will now work for the Associates," Kissam said. "They will be an Associate employee."

The man in buckskin

While living in North Carolina, Daniel Boone married Rebecca Ann Bryan in 1756.

He served in the French and Indian War and embarked on a military expedition that would lead him to take expeditions of his own and gain a reputation as a skilled woodsman and hunter.

Boone would eventually be one of the founders of Fort Boonesborough, Ky., in 1775. He would be captured by Shawnee Indians in 1778, serve an adopted son to the chief and then escaped.

In "The Discovery, Settlement and Present State of Kentucke" published in 1784, author John Filson included a chapter called "The Adventures of Col. Daniel Boon" that was supposedly written in the frontiersman's own words.

The book became an international bestseller.

"He was known around the world in his own lifetime," Kissam said. "He was a legend in his own time."

Boone would go on to have several unsuccessful real estate deals and would move to the Femme Osage Valley in what was then controlled by the Spanish and known as Upper Louisianna. It would become the state of Missouri. He died at his son's home near Defiance on Sept. 26, 1820.

If you go to Daniel Boone Homestead

Address: 400 Daniel Boone Road, Birdsboro (Exeter Township)

Hours: Parking lot is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week. The historic buildings are open Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with guided tours at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The park trails are open year-round from dawn until dusk to walkers and bicyclists.

Admission fee: Free to walk the trails, guided tours are $10 per adult ages 18 to 64, $8 for seniors age 65 or older, $5 for children ages 6 to 17, free for children age 5 or younger. A grounds pass is $5 per group. Private tours for school groups and large groups can be arranged by appointment.

Phone: 610-582-4900

Website: Thedanielboonehomestead.org/

Size: 579 acres

Number of buildings: 6

Picnic areas: 2 pavilions available to rent for $15 per hour.

Rental areas: 2, Wayside Lodge has 23 bunk beds with mattresses, a kitchen, common room, indoor restrooms, fireplace, minimal heat, tables and benches, plus outdoor space to pitch 10 to 20 tents. Fees start at $175 for one night or $200 for two nights. The DeTurk Education Center includes indoor restroom, heat, air conditioning with a capacity of 60-70 chairs or 30-40 chairs with tables. Cost is $20 per hour.