Salt Spring Trace and Other Pioneer Era Roads on Lower Howard’s Creek, Clark County, Kentucky

Book excerpt: One of the earliest roads in Kentucky led from Fort Boonesborough to a prime hunting location known as the Lower Blue Licks, or the Lower Salt Spring. Salt licks attracted buffalo in large numbers and were favored spots for hunters. Licks also provided a valuable source of salt that was critical for preserving meat. In 1775, Kentucky's settlement year, the hunters at Boonesborough discovered the Lower Blue Licks by following a series of connected buffalo traces. The path crossed the river near Boonesborough and went up Lower Howard's Creek in present-day Clark County. There it traverses the Lower Howard's Creek Nature & Heritage Preserve. This report describes the history and geography of the Salt Spring Trace, as well as other early roads in the Preserve.