Meet Scott New

Winner of 2 History Awards From the Kentucky Historical Society

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	Meet Scott New
		By Helen McKinney

From the very first time Scott New was asked to portray Daniel Boone, he was hooked.

New has been portraying the legendary frontiersman for the past ten to twelve years and is on the current roster of performers for the Kentucky Humanities Council.

“I have always been an admirer of Boone,” said New, who is originally from Berea, Ky. A strong background in Theatre Arts adds to his performance, bringing a silent history to life as told through the eyes of the man who lived it.

When asked why he picked Boone to portray, New said the character just sort of picked him. So serious is he in his dedication to teaching history that “I do this as a career, instead of a hobby,” he said. “I am a historian who teaches history by way of character interpretation, as well as other means.”




	Scott New, outside Fort Boonesborough

New has two programs developed around the life of Daniel Boone. Coming into Kentucky is his first program. This program tells the story of the crucial role Boone played in the exploration and settlement of the state of Kentucky and the American west. From his first serious trek into Kentucky in 1769 as a hunter to his founding of Fort Boonesborough in 1775, Boone and his family played a pivotal role in the early days of Kentucky’s settlement.

The Court Martial of Daniel Boone is a second program New has put together for the Kentucky Humanities Council. It centers on the year 1778 when Boone and a party of approximately 30 men were captured by Shawnee Indians while on a salt making expedition at the Blue Licks. He was able to escape and lead the defense of Fort Boonesborough against a Shawnee and British siege. Boone was later accused of siding with the enemy.

New offers two Kentucky Humanities programs on Boone because “There is too much to tell about Boone in a single program,” said Virginia G. Carter, Executive Director of the Kentucky Humanities Council, Inc. “Boone lived long and accomplished much. There really could be six Boone programs and still Scott wouldn’t have time to tell the whole story.”

New brings a level of authenticity to the Kentucky Humanities Council roster offerings, said Carter. Audiences “feel that they are in the company of Daniel Boone. Scott’s language includes words Boone would have used, pronounced in the manner of the 1700s.”

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New, 44, is constantly researching and refining his presentations. “I try to change the programs a bit to keep them fresh,” he said.

He has appeared many times at Fort Boonesborough State Park in Richmond, Ky. After living in Tennessee for a time, New and his wife Berni are happy to move back to Kentucky where New will work closely with Fort Boonesborough as a historian and through character interpretations.

This year marks Daniel Boone’s 275^th birthday, and will no doubt mark a busy year for New, as he is booked with many performances already. As a testament to the high level of quality of his Chautauqua programs New said, “Boone keeps me pretty busy.”

New has been employed in the past by Martin’s Station at Wilderness Road State Park in Ewing, Virginia, and Colonial Williamsburg, American’s largest outdoor history museum dedicated to the 18^th century. He will be in residence at Fort Boonesborough throughout the 2009 season (April 1-Oct. 31).

“His experiences at Martin’s Station and Colonial Williamsburg, along with continued research and experience have improved his abilities as a historian and interpreter beyond the level he had when he worked at Boonesborough earlier,” said Bill Farmer, Living History Coordinator at Fort Boonesborough.

“Scott will be doing a lot of first-person interpretation as Boone, including the processes involved in land acquisition by early settlers in Kentucky,” Farmer said. “He has done extensive research on Boone as a surveyor, and will be interpreting the functions of a land office much of the time.”

Since Boone was the main character associated with Fort Boonesborough, “Visitors from all over the world, literally, visit the fort and always ask, ‘Where is Daniel?’” said Farmer. “Having a first-person representation of Boone will make the experience more complete, more educational and more fun for all our visitors, wherever they come from.”

Carter summed up New’s portrayal by stating, “It took us twelve years to find someone who could represent Boone for Kentucky Chautauqua, and when we found Scott, we knew our search was over. There are Boone reenactors, of course, but Scott New is Kentucky Chautauqua’s one and only Daniel Boone.”

The original Fort Boonesborough was built by Daniel Boone and his men in 1775


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