{"id":16911,"date":"2026-03-30T08:47:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T15:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/streaming2nps.com\/?p=16911"},"modified":"2026-04-02T08:14:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T15:14:51","slug":"more-rural-kentucky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/streaming2nps.com\/?p=16911","title":{"rendered":"More Rural Kentucky"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Camping on the Kentucky River <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Where we spent our last day just hanging out on the Kentucky River, after taking a day trip into Lexington, and a day trip to…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visit 1<\/mark> new National Park Site<\/mark>:<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Camp Nelson National Monument<\/strong><\/mark> (#320), which was established by The US Army as a fortified supply depot in April 1863, to supply Kentucky and eastern Tennessee. Over the next 3 years, the site evolved into a massive recruitment and training center for United States Colored Troops and a refugee camp for their families. It served as a shelter for civilians fleeing war and for enslaved people hoping to secure their freedom and aid in the destruction of slavery. More than 10,000 formerly enslaved men became soldiers at Camp Nelson in 1864 and 1865. Camp Nelson National Monument<\/strong><\/mark>, established in 2018, has only been open to visitors for 5 tyears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lecture given by Steve T. Phan, Chief of Interpretation, Education, and Visitor Services and Public Information Officer
(Rangers wear many hats these days)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We arrived in time for the last winter lecture, “As Humanity Will Permit, the Closing of Camp Nelson”, thus getting more context and background for the Camp Nelson story. Only in existence 3 years, half of that was it’s “closing.” We spent quite a bit of time in the museum, which was great at telling the story of Camp Nelson and had some interesting “full scale” exhibits showing what it might have been like in the camp. We hiked around the grounds a bit, getting just a taste of how big the camp was (the National Monument is a fraction of what was the camp). We also briefly visited the Home for Colored Refugees Site<\/strong><\/mark> and the Camp Nelson National Cemetery<\/strong><\/mark>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n