It served as a major frontier outpost during the American Revolutionary War, and survived into the early 19th century before its eventual abandonment.

The area that is now Kentucky had been scouted by Daniel Boone as early as 1769, and became the subject of an illegal colonial settlement attempt orchestrated by Richard Henderson and his Transylvania Company.

Boone was hired by Henderson to cut a road into the territory, which he did, arriving with his expedition near this site at the beginning of April 1775.

After the war, the settlement became a travel stop for westward-bound settlers, and also became involved as a transit point for the flourishing tobacco trade.

The area did not undergo intensive archaeological investigation until the 1980s, when major elements of the site were identified, including Daniel Boone's initial station, the Fort Boonesborough fortification, several water springs, the foundational remains of tobacco warehouses, and the Fort Ancient village site.