Isaac Ruddell's Station

Isaac Ruddell's Station (1775-1780) - This station had a short but colorful history. John Hinkston first established a settlement here in 1775 with fifteen cabins but Indians caused its abandonment fifteen months later (1). John Townsend on Townsend Creek and John Cooper on Cooper's Run reportedly raised corn to supply the station's seed for the 1776 crop. Some other early inhabitants included William Kennedy and Thomas Dunn (2). Simon Kenton and Thomas William spent the winter of 1776-1777 and helped to build a blockhouse here (3). The site was enlarged and fortified by Isaac Ruddell in April, 1779 and became known as Ruddell's Station. A great many people lived here and at Martin's Station in 1780 when both sites were captured by the British and Indians under Captain Byrd. Drake (4) lists the following settlers who were among the residents at the time of the attack: Location: Isaac Ruddell's Station Maps & Images Lat: 38.3351 Long: -84.2749 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: Pictures from the 2006 RAMSHA meeting, on site. John Bird Frank Berry Francis Berry Mrs. Nelly Sharp Berry and children Samuel Brooks John Burger Mrs. Carroll Mrs. John Conway and seven children Mrs. Samuel Conway two Conway girls Michael Conway Samuel Conway Sally Conway Joseph Conway Benjamin Cooper Casper Karsuer Thomas Clark Sarah (Ruddell) Davis Thomas Davis and wife John Denton, wife and Miss Denton John Duncan, wife and son George Finley Capt. & Mrs. Charles Gatliff and children George Givens Michael Goodnight Peter Goodnight John Goodnight James Gray Henry Grott Misses Goodnight John Haggin Col. Benjamin Harrison Nicholas Hart Capt. John Hinkson Mrs. Honn Catherine Honn Joseph Houston and his company from Pennsylvania Robert or Charles Knox Rhoda Long and other children Mr. and Mrs. George Lail and children Mrs. Laport, son and Judy Laport John Long and wife William Marshall Jacob Markle Patrick Mahan and wife Thomas Mahan Margaret Mahan James Mahan John Mahan William Mahan Jane Mahan John Martin William McCune Robert McDaniel, wife, children John McFall, wife James Morrow William Nesbitt Mr. Purseley Elizabeth Bowman Ruddell Stephen Ruddell Abraham Ruddell Lt. Thomas Ravenscraft Capt. Isaac Ruddell Isaac Ruddell, Jr. Elizabeth Ruddell James Ruddell Mr. and Mrs. John Sellers, children Hugh Shannon William Steele Mr. and Mrs. Christian Spears Martin Toffelmire, wife, 6 children William Whitsett Anne Maria, fiancee of Mat Detroit Samuel Van Hook William Whitesides John Conovery (possibly Conway)(c) Capt. John Smith(c) A large number of settlers were taken prisoner and marched to Fort Detroit in Canada. Twenty were killed on the spot and later buried in a mass grave by piling stones over their bodies. Matthias Lair and his brother, John Lair, settled on the property after the Revolutionary War and in 1845 a Lair descendant gathered the bones of the massacre victims and placed them in the Lair family crypt where they remain today. Location: Lat: 38.3351 Long: -84.2749 The station site is located southeast of Cynthiana, Kentucky, on private property, off the old Lair Pike on the east bank of the South Fork of the Licking River. No public access. Sources: Nancy O'Malley, Stockading Up, pages 241-244 References: Ardery, Julia Spencer. Bourbon Circuit Court Records. Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. 1939:11; Lafferty, 1957:13; Perrin, William Henry. History of Bourbon, Scott, Harrison and Nicholas Counties, Kentucky. O.L. Baskin & Company, Chicago. 1882 Staples 1934 Kenton, Edna. Simon Kenton, His Life and Period. Doubleday, Doran and Co. Garden City, N.Y. 1930:76 Drake 1942:2115-216