SALLY BROWN NATURE PRESERVE – SOME NOTES ON SPECIAL FEATURES

SALLY BROWN NATURE PRESERVE – SOME NOTES ON SPECIAL FEATURES
The Sally Brown Nature Preserve in north Garrard County on the Kentucky River is part of the Kentucky
Chapter’s Palisades initiative. While generally referred to as the Sally Brown Preserve, this protected area
includes the original Sally Brown acreage as well as the expansions upriver that are the Crutcher and Wallace
Preserves. For purposes of this reporting, the Sally Brown label will be intended to cover all three properties.
The Nature Conservancy website and other publications adequately describe the characteristics of this Preserve,
location, overview of acquisition history, and hiking trails. The site also reviews the special flora and fauna that
make this Preserve worthy of protection and truly unique.
The purpose of this summary is to describe some other characteristics of this Preserve, which while outside the
traditional foci of The Nature Conservancy, are noteworthy and may be of interest to visitors to the Preserve.
Topics covered are:

• Bowman family history
• Commerce and culture
• Geology
Anyone should feel free to utilize this information in any way beneficial to the Kentucky Chapter and visitors.
Some sources for this information are listed at the end.
While every effort has been made to insure that these notes are accurate, any refinement, correction, or
amplification would be appreciated. Please contact the author:

Ken Brooks, Sally Brown Preserve Monitor
1596 Bowmans Bottom Road
Lancaster, Ky 40444
[email protected]
BOWMAN FAMILY HISTORY
Bowmans Bottom Road (the road leading to the Preserve parking lot) and Bowmans Bend (the sweeping bend in
the Kentucky River forming the northern boundary of the Preserve) are named for the Bowman family who
settled the land that is now the Preserve. The Bowman family is important in the history of this land.
The Bowman family was from the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. Three Bowman brothers and a cousin fought in
the Revolutionary War. Following the war, they formed a land surveying company, and surveyed the area where
the Dix (or Dick’s) River and Kentucky River meet. They received deed to some of this land from the
Commonwealth of Virginia in the form of land warrants as partial payment for their service in the military
including during the French and Indian War. In 1790, 30 Virginia families -- including the Bowman extended
family -- moved to this area and settled Bowman Station near the current town of Burgin just on the other side
of the Dix River from the Preserve. Bowman Station was a settlement similar in nature to Fort Boonesboro and
Fort Harrod (Harrodsburg). As these families were able to clear home sites and secure the land from Native
American incursions, they dispersed and settled into the immediate area. While there were apparently no
Native Americans living on this land, they hunted here regularly.
The Jacob Bowman family was the only one to move to the west side of the Dix River, settling the land that is

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now the Preserve. Jacob Bowman actually died after surveying the site but before he could move here. His
widow and seven children came with their extended family to settle this site. The family continued to live here
until after the Civil War and from census data had a very successful farmstead.
The house visible from the parking lot includes the original historic structure built in the early 1800’s. The house
is a traditional federalist style and faced towards the River rather than Bowmans Bottom Road because the River
was the primary way to access the property when it was settled. The house was constructed with a limestone
cellar and foundation quarried on the site and with solid brick walls likely made from the clay excavated to dig
the cellar. The wood framing, flooring and trim was also harvested on the site and includes mainly ash and
poplar, trees common in the area and easy to work with hand tools.
The house has not changed much from original construction. Three wooden additions were added over the
decades. The current owners purchased the house from The Nature Conservancy in 2000, demolished the later
frame additions, restored the original brick structure and added a new contemporary expansion.
In addition to settling this area of Kentucky (at the same time Kentucky was becoming a state), the Bowman
family was important in the history of Kentucky. For example, Andrew Jackson’s wife, Rachael Lewis Robards)
was living at Bowman Station when she married Andrew Jackson. Their marriage was controversial for the rest
of their lives – Jackson even fought a duel over the matter, as there was some dispute as to whether Rachael
was ever divorced from her first husband. The Bowmans were also involved in the founding of both the
University of Kentucky and Transylvania University and one of them served as the president of the University of
Kentucky for a time.
The marble obelisk in the field above the Preserve records the deaths of a number of Bowman family members
who died between settling here in the 1790’s and the Civil War. It is likely that graves were originally marked
with smaller wooden or stone markers but as the farm became more settled and successful the family was able
to purchase this fine, large obelisk to mark the graves of family members.
COMMERCE AND CULTURE
The land in the area of the Preserve was settled primarily for agricultural purposes and that has remained
unchanged for more than 200 years. Livestock including horses and cattle, and crops including corn, wheat and
tobacco, were primary products in 1800 and remain so today. George Bowman, son of Jacob Bowman and
builder of the historic house, raised horses as noted. His estate had a number of horses include one identified as
a “Copperbottom.” This Copperbottom strain of horse was essentially a pure breed of the times and this farm
apparently help lay the foundation for this strain, which was to be important in the formation of quarter horses.
Obviously, the nature, processes, and details of agricultural production have evolved, but there are two very
significant changes worthy of note. First, hemp was a primary crop on the land now part of the Preserve and
adjacent to it until declared illegal following World War II. The land and climate are well suited to this crop and
it would likely return if permitted in the future.
The second change was even more significant. From settling of the land through the end of slavery following the
Civil War, slaves were used on the land. The Bowman farm, central to the Preserve, had slaves from settlement
prior to 1800. While the median slave owner in Kentucky had fourteen to nineteen slaves, the Bowman
plantation had twenty-nine according to the 1830 census record, indicating its success and prominence.
Another interesting change related to agriculture involves hay and pastures. When settled and for the first
hundred years of operation, hay and pastures would have been native grasses such as indian grass, big blue

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stem, little blue stem, rye, and switch grass. In the first half of the twentieth century, fescue was heavily
promoted by state and federal agencies with the result that virtually all of the hay fields and pastures on or near
the Preserve were planted in this grass. In recent years (with the help of the Kentucky Chapter of The Nature
Conservancy), a number of the fields in the area have been replanted with native grasses. In fact, the fields
visible from the hiking trails in the Preserve are all primarily indian grass today.
There was also agriculture related commerce in the immediate area of the Preserve and evidence of these
activities remain today even if we do not know exact locations and details of operation. In 1818 the Garrard
County Fiscal Court established a road down to the Kentucky River. We assume that this is the roadway
included as part of the Brown Hiking Trail at the Preserve. The Court also awarded George Bowman the
opportunity to have a warehouse with inspection of tobacco, hemp, and flour. At this same time, William
McQuie was granted a permit to operate a ferry. He owned land on both sides of the River in Jessamine and
Garrard County with the ferry operating between the two.
Agriculture products would be transported down the road and if need be across the River by ferry for inspection
and storage at the warehouse on the banks of the River. During most of the 1800’s, items stored in the
warehouse would then have been shipped by flat boat, keel boat, or even timber rafts downriver to New
Orleans. Items were stored in the warehouse until high water permitted floating downstream. During most of
the year there were lots of places on the River where it was shallow enough to allow fording. High water was
necessary to float produce down River. In the early 1800’s, boatmen walked back to Kentucky to start the
process over. Later steamships would have provided travel some of the way. The lock and dam system was not
completed past Bowman’s Bend in the River, the site of the Preserve, until after 1900. The section of the river
adjacent to the Preserve was never used extensively for commercial purposes; by the time the dam were
completed most shipping in the area was by rail.
At the warehouse, inspection was also provided for flour. Throughout this part of Kentucky large and small mills
were common for grinding of wheat and corn to produce flour and corn meal. At the end of the loop portion of
the Crutcher Trail, there is a small spur trail that follows a creek towards Bowmans Bottom Road. In this creek
today are two millstones. Residents of Bowman’s Bottom living here for the last 70 years report that there were
originally at least 6 millstones on the property. In the 1960’s during the harvesting of timber, four of the stones
were removed. Two are in the woods in the Preserve not far from the creek. One millstone is located at each of
two houses in the immediate area.
Millstones were not only used for milling in Kentucky; there also was a significant millstone manufacturing
presence nearby. Anderson, Woodford, and Madison Counties, all adjacent to Garrard, had millstone quarry
sites but the most active location for manufacture was in Powell County, upriver from Bowman’s Bottom. It
seems likely that the site on the Crutcher hiking trail was a mill site and not a millstone production site since the
aggregate and binder in the six stones are quite varied.
There is no real evidence of a mill today but that is not surprising. Many mills, especially small ones serving only
surrounding farms, were of timber construction. Dams were also often timber cribs with rock or dirt fill. The
large dams and locks on the Kentucky River upriver and downriver from the Preserve were of the wood crib
type. With wood as a primary construction material, the mill and dam may simply have rotted away and no
longer be identifiable. However, downstream from the current location of the two millstones in the creek bed is
a significant amount of limestone block on both sides of the creek that may have served as abutments for a
timber crib dam. There is also evidence of a road to this location to move raw materials and finished products
from a mill site.

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The millstones in the creek and one of the stones in the woods are unusual for those found in Kentucky in the
1800’s in terms of raw material. The binder material is sandstone and the harder material embedded in the
sandstone is large fragments of chert or flint. These millstones probably represent attempts to use local raw
materials. The other three millstones are conglomerates of sandstone containing numerous quartz pebbles,
which are typical of those produced in Madison County and Powell County, a large millstone manufacturing
center as noted earlier.
In these kinds of mills, the lower stone (bedstone) would remain stationary while the top stone was turned with
water power. The stone on top had deep rectangular groves around the center hole to grip a drive shaft while
the bedstone had only the round hole in the center. Grain would be dropped in the center hole. It would then
be ground between the two stones. Grooves in the stone surfaces aided in the grinding but also moved the
finished flour or corn meal to the edge of the stone where it would have been gathered in a wooden housing
and a chute leading to bags. If groves are not visible on a stone (as is the case for one of the two in the creek),
this likely means that you are looking at the bottom of the stone and the grooves are on the other side. There
were probably more than six millstones originally at this site since millstones were prepared in matched pairs
and the six millstones do not seem to match to three pairs.
The financial panic of 1819 was particularly disruptive to operations such as those by McQuie – roads, ferries,
and mills. By the mid-1820’s he had lost his holdings on both sides of the river and disappeared from Garrard
County records.
GEOLOGY
The area of the Preserve involves a weathered and eroded surface of sedimentary rock. In the Preserve this rock
is very, very old limestone, some of the oldest exposed rock on the earth. This geology is often referred to as
karst geology. The limestone has eroded over millions of years creating small and large surface streams. In the
Bluegrass Region, the largest of these is the Kentucky River, the northern boundary of the Sally Brown Preserve.
The River at the Preserve is at an elevation of about 500 feet above sea level. The upper level of the Preserve –
such as where the parking lot is located – is just over 900 feet in elevation. This 400 foot difference is
accommodated mainly by the tall limestone cliffs referred to as the palisades. These cliffs and the changes in
elevation help to create this unique environment where many special and unusual – in some cases rare – plants
and animals live.
The cliffs also have made development of the River frontage very challenging. Today from the development
below the US 27 bridge near Camp Nelson on the east to the mouth of the Dix River on the west there is almost
no evidence of contemporary life on the River. A very few structures along the cliffs or in bottom lands at the
River edge are visible, especially in the winter with the absence of leaves on the trees, and there are a half dozen
utility line crossings in the nearly 20 miles of the River – it is mostly wooded and undeveloped except for some
farming of a few of the river bottoms.
Along the hiking trails of the Preserve it is possible to see a number of interesting results of this karst geology.
There is lots of exposed limestone. The limestone is often very near the surface with minimal topsoil so with
erosion the stone is exposed. This stone was used in construction from the earliest settling of the land by
Europeans. It was used for building foundations and a small area of dry laid stone fencing exists but is not visible
from the hiking trails. No quarries have been identified in the area of the Preserve – likely because the stone is
so close to the surface it could be simply gathered without the need for a real quarry.

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A second observation one can make is the presence of sink holes. Sink holes develop when water erodes the
underlying rock and a depression appears. Along the hiking trails such as where the old roadway leads to the
River, one can see sink holes a few feet across as well as those dozens of feet wide. Sink holes are not fixed in
size and nature. Erosion is continuing all the time so the sink holes grow, get deeper, and cave in causing the
surface to be constantly – if very slowly – changing. Along the Crutcher hiking trail where the creek spur nears
Bowmans Bottom Road, there is an example of a newly forming sink hole. It is immediately adjacent to the trail
and defined by a barrier for safety reasons. It was not visible when the trail was first built in the late 1990’s. By
about 2005 it appeared as a small hole. By 2012 it has grown to be about six feet across. Most times water can
be heard rushing in the bottom of this new sink hole. This is likely the new location of the stream that used to
run in what is now a dry creek bed about 30 feet east of the new sink hole. The water route has probably
moved with erosion and opened to the surface forming this sink hole. It is impossible to know what will happen
in the future. It could continue to grow and become a large sink hole. It could be joined by other sink holes
along the water route eventually collapsing to form a new creek. The sides could collapse plugging up the flow
of water and cause the stream to return to its former location. It could simply stay as is. Across the Preserve
and along the hiking trails, you can see lots of examples of the continuing erosion of the surface. Surface creeks
form and disappear as the water finds new routes. That is one reason some of the creek beds have running
water and others do not.
Another characteristic of limestone is the presence of lots of fossils. Along the trails and in the exposed rock you
can see large and small fossils. The fossils include evidence of animals and vegetation of all kinds.
There are no lakes or ponds in the Preserve. This is because the limestone rock at and under the surface erodes
and creates a way for the water to run away and eventually flow into the River. Along the trails there are holes
that go down where water has eroded a route. One such hole can be easily seen on the side of the loop portion
of the Crutcher hiking trail where the trail is near the cliff overlooking the River. Below the surface of the
Preserve are likely caves. Some may be filled with water and some may not. Eventually they may collapse from
erosion forming a new sink hole.
SOME SOURCES USED IN PREPARING THESE NOTES

William F. Grier, The Fine Lives of the Kentucky River, Jess Stuart Foundation, 2001.
John E Kleber, Editor in Chief, The Kentucky Encyclopedia, The University Press of Kentucky, 1992.
John W. Wayland, The Bowmans, A Pioneeering Family in Virginia, Kentucky, and the Northwest Territory, The Mc Clure
Company, 1943.
Charles D Hockensmith, Kentucky Heritage Council retired, expertise on mills and millstones.
Fred Simpson, Garrard County Magistrate, Garrard County Historical Society member, local historian.
US Census Data, Garrard County, 1830.

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