CAMP NELSON During the winter of 1770, Daniel Boone lived in a cave in what is now Camp Nelson., about eight miles south of Nicholasville, using it as a base from which to hunt and explore. There was a natural break in the palisades along the river and a fording place for travelers was soon quickly established. The Virginia Legislature opened a ferry, operated by James Hogan, across the river at the point years before Kentucky became a state. In 1798, the first commercial vineyard was started in the area by James F. DeFoure. It was not a success because the vines were not suited to the area and cimate. In 1791, William Orlando Butler was born here. He graduated from Transylvania in 1812. He ran for vice president on the Democrat ticket with Lewis Case in 1848. He was firmly for the preservation of the Union, calling himself a Union Democrat. Agricultural products of all kinds were stored here to be shipped to New Orleans, "when the tide came in." In 1817, the first steamboat to come down the river was built in and sailed from Camp Nelson. Camp Nelson got it's name from Major William Nelson, first commander of the camp during the Civil War. (This distinguished soldier was later killed in Louisville by Gen. Jefferson C. Davis, whom he had insulted). Camp Nelson was on the Jessamine side of the river as far as installations were concerned. A strategic area was Fort Bramlette, standing 932 feet above sea level, with rough terrain of a treacherous nature. It was ideally located for a defensive position, that of keeping the Confederates from crossing the river from the Garrard County side. Thoudands of slaves from Kentucky were brought to Camp Nelson to build railroads for the Union Army. When drafting of blacks began, it became the most important recruiting station and training camp for them. Hundreds of women and children followed them but were ordered from the camp. Ill clad, many of them died from exposure in the freezing weather. John Fee, founder of Berea College, son of slave-holding parents, waged a war against slavery and for social equality. He came to Camp Nelson, intent on doing something for the blacks. He founded a church, established Ariel College and a preparatory school for the dependents of black soldiers. Later he invited many blacks to settle in Berea. A permanent reminder of the War Between the States is the Camp Nelson National Cemetery in which approximately 5,000 Federal soldiers, as well as servicemen from World War I and II, the Korean War and the War in Vietnam are buried. Because of its unusual subterranean stream of water that surfaced at Camp Nelson--on the Jessamine side-the distilling of spirits became a profitable industry, flourishing until 1973. The Kentucky River Distillery, in time, gave way to Canada Dry and Old Fitzgerald. Camp Nelson's claim to fame practically ceased to exist by 1972, especially with the coming of the new bridge on US 27, which bypassed it. The final blow came when the river flooded, covering many buildings. By 1975, Father Ralph Beiting and the Christian Appalachian Project undertook to rebuild the area, buying much of the land that had once been the Civil War Camp area, and erecting buildings. CAP helped to set up many people in businesses. On the Jessamine side of the Kentucky River there were; Old Music Hall, Boone's Cave, Memorial Park, Fort Bramlette, Tack Shop at Boone's Lodge, Foster Home for Boys, and farming operations. Camp Nelson was booming. Then came another flood, a major one, and when waters finally receded, Camp Nelson was back where it was in 1972. The final blow came a few years later when the old stone distillery building, which could have become a museum or hotel, was burned, possibly by vagrants. Today Camp Nelson is once again a quiet community except for the US 27 traffic on the bridge above. No more does one have to travel down the winding, narrow old road around the cliffs to get to the other side. It is still used by people in the valley and those who go down it to "remember when." Submitted by Robin Fain to "Jessamine County, Ky, 1798-1993"