Blue Licks Battlefield State Park Blue Licks Battlefield State Park is a park located near Mount Olivet , Kentucky in Robertson County . The park encompasses and features a monument commemorating the August 19 , 1782 Battle of Blue Licks . The battle was regarded as the final battle of the American Revolutionary War . History . The earliest accounts of Blue Licks describe it as a place where animals gathered to lick the salt deposits flowing from the springs in the area . The Reverend James Smith provides this account in his 1795 – 97 diary : " As you approach the Licks , at the distance of 4 or 5 miles from it , you begin to perceive the change . The earth seems to be worn away ; the roots of the trees lie naked and bare ; the rocks forsaken of the earth , that once covered them , lie naked on the neighboring hills , and roads of an amazing size , in all directions , unite at the Licks , as their common center . Here immense herds of buffalo used formerly to meet and with their fighting , scraping etc . , have worn away the ground to what it is at present . " In 1782 , British Captain William Caldwell led a force of Indians against the small Kentucky settlement of Bryan ' s Station . Caldwell met stiff resistance , and after two days , retreated toward the Ohio River . The pioneers – Daniel Boone among them – were inclined to wait for reinforcements before pursuing the enemy , and although under the general leadership of Major John Todd , Major Hugh McGary of the Lincoln County contingent made a brash and fateful decision to pursue immediately ( after an insult for being timid from Todd ) , engaging Caldwell at Blue Licks . In the battle that followed , 60 of the 176 men who followed McGary were killed , Boone ' s son Israel among them . Another 7 were captured . Reinforcements under George Rogers Clark eventually arrived and drove Caldwell ' s forces from Kentucky for good . By the mid - 19th century , the Blue Licks area had become a health resort , due in large part to the nearby saltwater springs that had been used for " salt making " since the 1770s . The mineral water found in the springs was rumored to cure everything from asthma to gout . By 1896 , however , the area ' s last spring had gone dry . Efforts to locate another spring unearthed several geological and historical artifacts . A more extensive excavation of the area was conducted in 1945 . The battlefield was once on the National Register of Historic Places , but the National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program determined in the 1990s that the site ' s integrity was too destroyed , causing the removal of the battlefield from the Register . However , a team from Morehead State University is to search the battlefield using modern equipment to explore for artifacts relating to the battlefields . Enough success in this endeavor could mean the return of the battlefield to the Register . Activities and amenities . The park is located along the Licking River , and offers canoeing and fishing . The Licking River Trail offers a one - mile ( 1 . 6 km ) hike along the riverbank . Overnight stays can accommodated at the 32 - room lodge or the 51 - site campground . State Nature Preserve . The park also features a nature preserve containing a cedar glade . This glade was previously maintained as an open area by the large numbers of herbivores , such as bison , elk , and woolly mammoths who frequented the area . Today much of the glade has transitioned into forest , but the remnant areas are being maintained by controlled burn s and removal of Eastern redcedar . These remnants are home to the federally endangered Short ' s goldenrod and the state threatened Great Plains Ladies ' - tresses . Pioneer Museum . The Pioneer Museum is the park ' s major attraction . It houses a variety of artifacts , from a mastodon tooth found during an excavation of the site to relics from the American Civil War . Exhibits focus on the area ' s natural and cultural history , including prehistoric animals and fossils , area Native Americans and 18th century pioneers , as well as a diorama of the battle . The museum was dedicated in 1931 and was closed for restoration as of 2013 . Events . The Battle of Blue Licks celebration is held annually in mid - August and features a re - enactment of the Battle of Blue Licks . The Short ’ s Goldenrod Festival — a celebration of one of the rarest plants in Kentucky and the United States — saw its 30th anniversary in 2006 . It was held annually on the last week of September until 2008 .