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Morgan's Station to Frenchburg
The material from the Morgan's Station stockade and structures was used to build the house that sits near the station site today. This house was completed in 1795. The lower level walls are nearly two feet thick. The walls narrow in thickness at the second floor and attic levels. The plank flooring is in excellent condition. Many of the walls have their original plaster intact. Much of the interior decorative molding has been removed for restoration. The old house has a lot of historical preservation potential. There is an old cemetery a short distance from the house, and the old well still produces cool, clear spring water, just as it has done for nearly 220 years. The precise route followed by the raiders upon leaving Morgan's Station is something of a mystery. The most obvious escape route to Ohio would have been down the Licking River to the Ohio River. While this was no doubt a well known trail, the raiders chose not to take it. It is known that the raiders spent the night in the area of Hope, Ky. In all probability they headed east along Slate Creek. This would have led them directly to the area of Hope. The trail south from Hope, Ky. would have followed Salt Well Branch and the west fork of Slate Creek. There is no difficult ground to traverse, and although they were retreating in a direction opposite to their ultimate destination (central Ohio), there are several good reasons why this was probably the best routing they could have chosen. The raiders then turned east in the area of present day Means, Ky onto Slate Creek and followed it upstream to Bull Fork. A short transition brought then to Beaver Creek, which in turn led them to the Licking River in the Cave Run area.
In planning their escape, the raiders had many factors to consider. Although they had stolen some of the Morgan's Station horses, there weren't enough horses for all members of the raiding party and their hostages. It would seem it was a poor choice to take the very young children as hostages. They would have only delayed the escape, and incensed the pursuers. The children could have been left at the Station in the care of one of the women. This would have facilitated a more rapid escape. In this respect, the raid does not seem to have been well planned. Ultimately, a number of the hostages were murdered because they could not keep up with their captors. Although the Licking River was close at hand, it did lead to the northwest, somewhat away from their central Ohio destination. Perhaps more importantly, there were already a number of permanent settlements in the area of the Licking and the raiders may have feared encountering them with their hostages in hand. Also, once it became clear to the pursuing Morgan's Station men that the Licking River was the intended escape route, the raiders were vulnerable to being cut off by pursuers riding ahead of the hostage-slowed raiders. Slate Creek and the lesser-known watercourses leading to the south would have reduced the chance that the pursuing Morgan's Station men could anticipate the raiders intended escape route. In any case, it couldn't have been very difficult for the pursuers to track a large number of men, women, children and horses. In that respect, it's somewhat surprising that the raiders decided to spend the first night of their escape in the Hope, Ky. area. They really weren't that far removed from Morgan's Station, and they surely knew that their pursuers would make every effort to find them. They may not have believed that their track would be difficult to find by moonlight alone, or perhaps the raiders were not confident that they could follow their intended trail in the darkness, (although it was the second night of a full moon). The general direction of their escape is well documented, so I believe I have been able to deduce their route with a high degree of confidence.
Morgan's Station trail public access Access to the Morgan's Station property is only possible with the prior approval of the current renters and the owners. Please try to avoid disturbing them, they are not tour guides. Much of the Slate Creek trail route is now private farmland. Although it flows near private property in all areas, access to Beaver Creek is generally good.
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