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Take a self-guided audio tour of Camp Nelson National Monument in Nicholasville, Kentucky. Ranger Steve T. Phan will guide you through nine different sites in this historic park, beginning with the U.S. Army's Officers' Spring and ending with Fort McKee. The Camp Nelson History Walk is a partnership between the Jessamine County Public Library and Camp Nelson National Monument.
Take a walk through Jessamine County history on these self-guided audio tours from the Jessamine County Public Library. Find tour maps and more information on our website at www.jesspublib.org.
Carrie: Welcome to the Jessamine History Walks self guided audio tour of Camp Nelson National Monument, a partnership between the Jessamine County Public Library and Camp Nelson National Monument. I'm Carrie Green.
On this tour, you'll visit nine different sites of historical significance. Ranger Steve T. Phan will be your tour guide, and I'll provide directions between each stop. Allow approximately 1 hour to complete the tour.
For your safety, we recommend pausing the recording as you walk between stops. Be sure to have water and wear comfortable shoes.
Many of the stops feature historic features, including remnant earthworks. Please help us preserve the resources for future generations by remaining on the paved and cut trails. We will begin the tour at the Visitors Center.
Steve: Welcome to Camp Nelson National Monument. My name is Ranger Steve Phan, and I will be guiding you on an exploration of this new National Park Service unit.
Jessamine County, Kentucky established and administered the historic site starting in 2018. Camp Nelson was declared a national monument by presidential proclamation, becoming the 418th unit of the National Park Service.
The park encompasses 465 acres and includes a visitor center, museum, walking trails, and the Fee Memorial Church, located southwest of the parking lot and west of US 27 in the community of Hall.
The US Army established Camp Nelson as a fortified base and supply depot in 1863 during the Civil War. The site evolved to become one of the largest recruitment and training centers for United States Color troops, or USCT, and served as a refugee camp for their families. The monument is a testament to the courage, resiliency, and perseverance of those seeking freedom from slavery and pursuing selfdetermination during and after the Civil War.
Carrie: From the front of the Visitors Center, begin the walking tour on the Depot Trail. A trailhead starts directly south of the building. Look for the Depot Trail sign. This trail will take you along the commercial district of Camp Nelson. You will discover six interpretive waysides on the trail, providing historical context, information, and period photographs of the area during the Civil War. The trail slopes downhill toward the Officer's Spring. Be sure to watch your footing as you descend.
Steve: Stop one: Officer's Spring.
The US Army's Officer Spring was a dry-laid limestone reservoir built at the head of a natural spring directly south of the Oliver Perry House, or White House. The home served as officers’ quarters, and its close proximity to the spring made it a valuable resource to the men. The army added a limestone retaining wall to provide a clean source of drinking water for officers stationed at Camp Nelson during the Civil War. General Speed Fry, camp Commandant, ordered a company of United States Colored Troops to guard the spring and keep it clean from contaminants, especially soldiers watering their horses. The Officers’ Spring continues to flow at Camp Nelson and illustrates a great example of karst geology that shapes the Bluegrass region of Kentucky. The underground limestone is constantly dissolved and eroded by fast moving groundwater, which causes cave system and sinkholes to form.
The Officer's Spring flows adjacent to a small cave opening, and the pool supports an abundance of plant and animal life. A small wooden bridge provides an observation point and crossing path across the spring, which meanders southeast into the interior of the park.
Carrie: After crossing the wooden bridge and observing the spring, continue on the trail. It gradually ascends the Ridge line until you reach Stop Two.
Steve: Stop Two. You are looking at the remnants of the Provost Marshall's Ice House. It was one of three ice houses constructed at Camp Nelson during the Civil War. The subterranean structures were designed to hold large blocks of ice that extended the life of perishable foods. Before modern refrigeration, the Provost Marshall enforced military law and policies. Their duties included assisting with the recruitment of soldiers, guarding prisoners of war, and arresting and detaining deserters.
Carrie: As you move forward, notice the orange flag to the right that marks the location of Stop Three.
Steve: Stop Three: Military Prison.
As Camp Nelson evolved from a fortified supply depot into one of the largest cities in the state of Kentucky, it became necessary to expand beyond the usual buildings for a supply depot by erecting a prison. The population of the depot included both military and civilian personnel. The prison complex consisted of a 100 foot by 50 foot log jail building set within a 180 foot by 120 foot log stockade with guard towers, the Provost Marshall’s office, and several support buildings.
The prison was used to house captured Confederate soldiers as well as US Army soldiers and civilians, including women who had been arrested for breaking military laws or rules. These range from small infractions like fights or drunkenness to larger crimes, including a case of embezzlement and even murder. The prison was designed to hold 300 people, but at times was overcapacity.
Archeological excavations at the site in the 21st century have uncovered structural evidence of the former buildings and stockade, as well as many artifacts that offer insights into the lives of the prisoners and guards. For instance, archeologists were able to determine that prisoners were given lower quality foods based on the animal bones and joints uncovered in what used to be the cellers and disposal pits. Many of the artifacts are currently on display in Camp Nelson National Monument’s Visitor Center.
Carrie: The depot trail concludes after Stop Three. Walk along the sidewalk past the Visitor's Center and barracks. If you wish, stop to read the waysides on the 13th Amendment and African American Enlistment. Turn right on the grass trail by the barracks. Follow the cut grass to stop four, Fort Jackson.
Steve: Step Four: Fort Jackson.
As you walk east on the trail, you will see mounds of grass marked with yellow flags in the background. Those are remnant historic earthworks that were part of the defenses of Camp Nelson. The US Army designed an elaborate system of fortifications to protect Camp Nelson during the Civil War. The earthworks were constructed of Earth or dirt and reinforced with wooden posts and planks.
The army impressed enslaved African Americans from 14 counties in central Kentucky to construct the defenses and expand the road system. Fort Jackson was one of the largest fortifications constructed. The remnant earthworks are a tangible, physical connection to the enslaved people who labored here during the Civil War. You will also see wooden boards identifying the components of the forts, including gun platform, embrasure, salient, and magazine.
Carrie: From Fort Jackson, follow the trail east. You will see a Fort Putnam sign. Follow that through the gate.
Steve: Stop Five, Graveyard Number One.
As you continue walking east, you will see an obelisk monument marking the spot of Stop Number Five, Graveyard Number One. Camp Nelson included four different cemeteries for inhabitants, including soldiers, civilian workers, and refugees.
Deaths at Camp Nelson were often caused by disease, infection, or accidents. The camp was located so far from combat zones that battlefield casulties were not brought back for burial. Cemetery Number One, as it’s called today, originally contained graves of soldiers and refugees, including children.
Unfortunately, records were not kept or have not been discovered to identify those buried or how they died. After the nearby National Cemetery was established in 1866, the bodies of 217 US soldiers were reinterred, leaving an uncertain number of civilians and refugees behind. In the early 2010s, the Camp Nelson Foundation dedicated a memorial obelisk in the otherwise unmarked cemetery to honor the refugees fleeing from slavery and those displaced by war.
Carrie: After leaving Cemetery Number One, continue on the trail east. You will see a large fort on the right marked with a yellow flag.
Steve: Stop Six: Fort Putnam.
Fort Putnam is a large earthwork fortification located behind the main fortification line. All the forts and batteries at Camp Nelson are connected by a line of earthworks, but Fort Putnam was designed and constructed by the US Army's Engineering Corps as an experimental earthwork. Fort Putnam provided a fallback position if the other forts along the line were breached by enemy soldiers.
After the war, the land returned to private ownership and agricultural use. Unfortunately, Fort Putnam, along with two others in the area, was bulldozed and leveled in the 1960s when Jessamine County acquired the property and established a historic park. An archaeological survey was conducted at Fort Putnam to study and reconstruct the fortification.
Today, visitors can compare a reconstructed fortification close to its original Civil War appearance to a nearby site like Fort Jackson, which has naturally eroded away over the last 160 years. It helps to see the impressive engineering work that was done to protect Camp Nelson and the importance of preserving these delicate features for future generations to enjoy.
Carrie: Follow the cut path directly east of the interpretive wayside at Fort Putnam to your next stop. The path winds around. Look for the blue barn and blue flag. You will discover an interpretive wayside that features the government sheds and stables. After reading the sign, follow the path as it turns north. Keep the blue barn to your right. You will see a yellow flag on elevated ground in front of you.
Steve: Step seven: Fort Pope.
You have reached the site of Fort Pope. A small earthworks that was constructed to provide artillery support to Fort Jackson to the west and to cover a ravine to the front. From this elevated position you can see the full length of the defenses of Camp Nelson from west to east. The Fort was destroyed in the 1960s.
Carrie: From Fort Pope, follow the trail east to even higher ground. Look for the yellow flag.
Steve: Stop eight: Fort Taylor.
Fort Taylor was one of the largest earthworks constructed at Camp Nelson. Like the other fortifications it provided artillery support down the line east to west. Remnants of the fort's earthen ditch or dry moat still survive. You can see large rocks and tall grass growing from the sunken ground that encircled the Fort. Be sure to read the informational marker.
Carrie: You are almost there. From Fort Taylor, follow the path southeast to the final stop. Again, look for a yellow flag.
Steve: Stop nine: Fort McKee.
You have reached Fort McKee, the end of the Northern Defenses and one of the best preserved earthworks at Camp Nelson. Fort McKee's cannon swept the hillside to the east, your right, and covered the entrenchments that connected to Fort Taylor to the west, your left. You've come a long way. Get some shade provided by the trees at Fort McKee. Drink some water and take in the pastoral landscape that is found at Camp Nelson. Thanks for visiting Camp Nelson National Monument. We hope you enjoyed your time. Come back and see you soon. Bye.
Carrie: The trail wraps back west toward the visitor center. Take your time and work your way back to the Visitor Center and parking lot.