From this cabin, Harrodsburg is only about an hour’s drive away. Harrodsburg began in 1774, when Harrod and his companions built cabins and a small fort in what was then the western wilderness of Virginia. The settlement, first known as Harrod’s Town or Harrodstown, is widely described as the oldest permanent English‑speaking community west of the Allegheny or Appalachian Mountains, founded long before Kentucky became a state in 1792.

Downtown Harrodsburg is now listed as a National Register Historic District, with many brick buildings and homes from the 1800s still in daily use. Visitors can walk past late‑19th‑century storefronts, visit churches and houses from different eras, and stop by Old Fort Harrod State Park, where a full‑scale replica of the original fort helps explain how the town began.

Spending a few hours in Harrodsburg and then returning to this quieter pocket of Harrods Old Trace lets you experience both ends of the story: the inland town that carries James Harrod’s name and the smaller, hidden landscape where old paths and modern life still meet. At the final stop, you’ll see how this pattern—traces becoming towns and businesses—continues across Kentucky today.