Our next stop was of very personal interest to me. My great-great-grandfather, Silas Dinsmore (correct spelling), had served as an Indian Agent for the US Government. I was pleased to see this sign at the site of the Choctaw Agency, located here from 1807 to 1820, though the building no longer exists.
Silas Dinsmore later convinced his son, James, to buy nearly 400 acres near Burlington, KY, in 1838. James built a house there completed in 1840. As the years passed, a family graveyard was established on a hill above the house. Silas, James, and their descendants, including my grandmother, grandfather, mother, and uncles are all buried there. My first husband and I were married in the house’s main parlor in December, 1974. In 1988, my mother sold most of the property to the Dinsmore Homestead Foundation which has created The Dinsmore Homestead, a living history museum depicting Ohio River Valley life from 1850 through the early 1900’s. The website is:
Over 100 acres of woodland was donated to the Nature Conservancy to preserve it as an example of “climax forest”, a mature forest community. Several acres were sold to Boone County for use as a park.
We hope that Silas is pleased with the outcome.
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