John Strode first came to the Kentucky wilderness in 1776 to claim land and begin his fort near the Kentucky River. He then returned to Virginia Colony and enlisted to serve under General Washington. Following Valley Forge in 1777, crossing the Delaware, and the Battle of Monmouth in 1778; Captain John Strode migrated permanently from Virginia Colony to Fort Boonesboro, Kentucky. He finished Strode's Station in 1779 [KY Historic Marker # 1047 (one mile west of Winchester, US 60, Clark County)]. NOTE: a fort had four block houses, a station had one or two. . . . Strode Station had two block houses.

John Strode's 1st cousin, Rebecca Bryan Boone, lived at Boonesboro with her husband, Daniel Boone. Her brother, Strode's 1st Cousin William Bryan, lived at Bryan's Station (William was married to Daniel Boone's sister, Mary Boone). The Bryan siblings' mother was Martha Strode, Aunt Martha to Captain John Strode. John was first cousin to Rebecca and William Bryan. John Strode's father & his Aunt Martha were siblings. A beaten path between Fort Boonesboro and Strode's Station is still visible today, Strode's Trace.

Strode's Station was the largest and most important fortified area in Clark County during the early settlements and bloody Indian Wars. Simon Girty and Shawnee Indians attacked the station in 1781, and again in 1783. The very famous Shawnee, Tecumseh, was part of these raids in the latest attacks. Two men were killed in the 1781 attack on Strode Station, none in 1783. Strode's Station didn't get attacked as hard or often as sites that were built right on buffalo traces. Strode built his fort off the beaten paths the Indians used for transportation. The fort's burial ground was unearthed in 1965. The remains were re-interred in the Winchester Cemetery. John and his wife, Mary Boyle Strode, were buried at Strode Station. Our direct line to the Strodes, Captain John Strode, and Strode Station is Letitia Strode Lander (Captain Strode's daughter). She was born at Strode Station. She married William Lander and died at their farm in Gracey, Christian County, Kentucky. Filson Quarterly, January 1988. The Clark County Public Library also has numerous files on the Strodes

Kentucky's Pioneer History  The Boones, Strodes, and Bryans were cousins and in-laws. The Strodes came from Virginia Colony, Boones & Bryans from North Carolina Colony during the Revolutionary War and built their stockades within hiking distance of one another. Before Virginia & North Carolina, the Boones & Bryans knew each other in Pennsylvania. These three families are the framework of Kentucky's pioneer history during the Indian Wars. Many of the events that happened to my ancestors & their fellow settlers have been used in movies and novels (examples: The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper and Drums Across the Mohawk by Walter D. Edmondsm. Oh, Kentucky by Betty Layman Receveur gives a riveting description of defending a fort with 500 British & Indians attacking.) Daniel & Rebecca Boone plus the Strodes survived the Indian Wars. William Bryan wasn't as lucky. His wife, Mary Boone Bryan returned to North Carolina after William's death, before the Battle at Blue Licks, but returned to Kentucky in her elder years.

Fort or Station: Pioneer History  The fortification that Daniel Boone built was called a fort because he put a block house in each corner of his structure. Captain John Strode's protection was called a station. He had only two block houses (northeast corner and southwest corner). Boone built right on the Kentucky River. Strode stayed away from major tributaries and choose a small creek instead. Strode also stayed away from buffalo traces. Forts that were near buffalo traces took more fire from Indian attacks. The Native Americans used the buffalo traces for their foot traffic.