Pioneer Cemetery

Nestled within the grounds of Old Fort Harrod State Park lies Pioneer Cemetery, one of the most historically significant and emotionally moving sites in Kentucky. Used from 1775, the year Fort Harrod was completed, until approximately 1833, this burial ground is the oldest cemetery in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Here, in this quiet field marked by weathered stones and handmade markers, rest the men, women, and children who carved the earliest permanent settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains. Their stories—some known, many forever silent—form the foundation of Harrodsburg’s frontier legacy.

Notable Stories and Burials

The Mystery of James Harrod

Though many of Harrod’s companions and fellow settlers are believed to be buried here, the town’s founder James Harrod lies in no known marked grave. Harrod vanished during a hunting trip, and his fate remains one of Kentucky’s enduring frontier mysteries.

T.J. Head, Son of Rev. Jesse Head

Among the marked graves is one said to belong to Thomas Jefferson Head, the son of Rev. Jesse Head, the minister who married Abraham Lincoln’s parents, Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks, in 1806.

Revolutionary War Patriots

Adjacent to the cemetery is Memorial Acre, a special area honoring Revolutionary War veterans buried in Mercer County. Dedicated in 1930 by the Daughters of the American Revolution, it pays tribute to those whose frontier service shaped early Kentucky