8 Daniel Boone Facts for Kids

Daniel Boone was an American frontier man! He was an explorer and helped to “discover” what was beyond the east in the US. Daniel Boone was born in 1733 in Pennsylvania. He was described as a restless boy that liked to wander.

1. Apparently his wanderlust did not die with his youth. His parents set out for North Carolina when Daniel was still a boy but he loved the idea of moving and exploring new places. He went along joyfully. He loved North Carolina but he loved the thrill of the hunt and traveling through the woods and discovering things more.

2. He was not formally educated but did learn a bit about the black smith trade although he never put it to use other than for personal use.

Why is He Famous?

3. Daniel Boone helped to settle Kentucky but more than that he was an adventurer and an explorer who wrote his own story and became a legend long before he died. News of his travels spread quickly in the new world. His expedition to what was then “Kentuck” in 1769-1771 are legendary and were key in the settlement of Kentucky. He is credited with bringing the first real colonists to Kentucky.

4. He explored and hunted through the mountains and into what is now Kentucky. He made the trip largely on foot without any money or anything to trade. He lived off the land. He was captured by Native Americans and escaped. The lists of his adventures are plentiful.

5. As a Col in the militia he is credited with saving the forts of Kentucky and defending the colonies. He served honorable and was instrumental during the war of leading his soldiers to safety. He hacked away by hand to create the Wilderness Trail linking east to west.

6. He was a war hero, he lived an extraordinary life and helped to build America. He has been immortalized in many writings, songs even movies were made about his lifetime adventures.

7. Unfortunately he was an adventurer and explorer and one of the best frontiers men ever known but he was not a good businessman. He was granted free land in Kentucky for helping to settle the “colony” but lost it so he traveled with his wife to Missouri which is where he died. He and his wife’s bodies were exhumed many years later and returned to Kentucky to be buried.

8. Daniel Boone was one of the sets of hands that helped to build America.