Wilderness Road Inn ~ London, Kentucky
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PersonsMD
N 37° 04.363 W 084° 02.316
16S E 763274 N 4107042
A marker noting the location of the 1804 tavern built by American Revolutionary War Patriot John Freeman near the historic Wilderness Road.
Waymark Code: WMA155
Location: Kentucky, United States
Date Posted: 10/29/2010
Views: 9
The text of the marker is duplicated on both sides of the marker and reads:
“Wilderness Road Inn ~ Site of home~tavern built, 1804, by John Freeman on Revolutionary War land grant. The tavern stood beside historic Wilderness (wagon) Road built by Kentucky between Cumberland Gap and Crab Orchard in 1796. A principal highway, it promoted settlement of Ky. And the West. Operated as a toll road for about 80 years. Inn burned, 1962. Freeman (1761-1841) grave nearby. 1966 Kentucky Historical Society Kentucky Department of Highways 927”
John Freeman and Levi Jackson settled in what is now Laurel County, Kentucky. Freeman came to southeast Kentucky in 1802 and claimed an extensive tract of land bordering the famous Wilderness Road as payment for his Revolutionary War service. He built a large two-story house that he licensed as a tavern in 1803. Freeman’s daughter, Rebecca, married Levi Jackson (1815-1879) the first judge of Laurel County. Jackson and Freeman became partners and the two men ran the Wilderness Road Tavern and the Laurel River Post Office. Upon Freeman’s death, Jackson continued to run the tavern. The Wilderness Road divided the Freeman/Jackson property and Kentucky Highway 229 follows the historic roadway.
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