Long Run Massacre & Floyd’s Defeat

Historical researchers and authors are one of the main reasons we are able to know so much about the early settlement days of the Kentucky frontier. Relying on these sources, the Painted Stone Settlers, Inc. are able to accurately re-enact the evacuation of Squire Boone’s Painted Stone Station each Sept. Several prominent authors will take part in this year’s event on Saturday, Sept. 8 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at Red Orchard Park in Shelbyville, Ky. Included will be:

·        Shawn C. Roberts. Roberts is a local author who lives in Shelby Co. with his wife and two sons. “I think I was born a storyteller,” Roberts has been quoted as saying. He has always “had a love of stories and a joy in telling them.” After the death of his grandfather, Earl Cox, Roberts began to delve into his family history. Through his research, he discovered the deposition of an ancestor named William Tipton. This provided the impetus for his first novel, Redskins & Lobsterbacks. Roberts has released a second novel, Out of the Mist:  To Kings Mountain. It tells the tale of Rice Medaris and the men of Kings Mountain. Rice was also a relative on Robert’s mother’s side of the family.

·        Eddie Price. Price is best known to many readers for his award winning first novel, Widder’s Landing. After teaching history for 36 years, Priced decided pen his own historical novel. It relates the story of Craig Ridgeway, a young gunsmith who loses his job and moves from Pennsylvania to the Kentucky frontier. Along the way he encounters an array of life experiences and meets and marries the love of his life. The setting revolves around the War of 1812 era in Kentucky history. “I have always enjoyed writing and I love frontier history,” said the western Kentucky native. One Drop-a Slave! is his sequel to Widder’s Landing. His second book, which covers the time span of 1815-1818, has just received the Gold Medal for Best Historical Fiction from the 2018 Florida Authors Publishers awards. The book deals with the issue of slavery and takes the reader to many different frontier settings.

·        Geoff Baggett. Among historical researcher and author Baggett’s passions are genealogy and Revolutionary War history. He is an active member of the Sons of the American Revolution and has discovered over twenty Patriot ancestors in his family tree from the states of Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. He writes about his ancestors in a series of novels beginning with, Brothers and Warriors, which introduces reads to the three Hamilton brothers. From his home in rural western Kentucky, Baggett divides his time between writing and in the role of senior pastor at Crossroads Fellowship in Cadiz, Ky. He is originally from the small west Tennessee town of Brownsville.

·        Sue Kelly Ballard. In terms of 18^th century history, not as much has been recorded or written about the life of women as it has men. Author Sue Kelly Ballard has changed that with her historical novel, My Blessed, Wretched Life, Rebecca Boone’s Story. Motivated by many reasons to capture Rebecca’s life story in print, Ballard also wanted to show “Kentucky pioneer life through the eyes of a pioneer wife and mother and honor her contributions to the building of our nation,” she said. According to family lore on her mother's side, Ballard is related to the Hays family; in 1775 William Hays married Susannah Boone, daughter of Rebecca and Daniel Boone. Both of Ballard's parents descend from Revolutionary War veterans. She is on the Board of Directors for The Boone Society, as well as editor of The Boone Society’s newsletter, Compass. She is a member of the Filson Historical Society, Jacob Van Meter Chapter of the DAR, Bard’s Corner and the Cherokee Roundtable writer’s group based in Louisville.

Organized in 1999, the Painted Stone Settler’s Inc.’s mission is to collect, preserve and present the history of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Through a variety of programs such as a spring Chautauqua program, classroom visits, participation in local and regional living history events and the annual The Long Run Massacre & Floyd’s Defeat, the non-profit organization strives to bring history to life for children and adults in a fun, hands-on learning experience. For more information please visit www.PaintedStoneSettlers.org or call (502) 228-3746 or (502) 487-0379. Red Orchard Park is located at 704 Kentucky St., Shelbyville, KY  40065.