Mefford's Fort

Photo from the Louisville Courier Journal date unknown
This is a rare photo, click to enlarge
The "Frontier Service" of George Mefford has been accepted by the National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution - National Nos. 431610 and 431611.

"The first settler with his family near Maysville and out side of a blockhouse was George Mefford, who lived in a cabin where his son, John Mefford lived until his death on April 7, 1872, two miles due south of Maysville. The "Boathouse" as it is called was constructed from the timbers of the old broadhorn George Mefford steered down the Ohio River. The spot was known in 1787 as "Mefford's Station." George Mefford was one of the first trustees of Maysville in 1787, and his son John was the third child born in Mason County, born December 4, 1787." (From: "History of Maysville and Mason County," by G. Glenn Clift, page 55)

MEFFORD'S FORT - Historic landmark, on the Maple Leaf Road a half mile from its junction with historic U.S. 68, it is the only original fort of the Revolutionary War left standing in Kentucky, and it is the last of the flatboat houses. Early settlers so constructed their flatboats that after they floated down the Ohio to Limestone (now Maysville) they could take them apart and use the materials to build better houses on the forest-clad hillsides of Kentucky. This old fort is being restored under the sponsorship of the Mason County Historical Society and will be one of the states greatest tourist attractions and the children of this and coming generations can behold the wide cherry flatboat boards that form the walls.

The cabin has been moved to Main Street in Washington, KY