Myth: Daniel Boone wore a coonskin cap.
Fact: Many famous characters in our history become "larger than life" due
more to the stories told about them after they have died almost unnoticed until years after their death. That was
not the case with Daniel Boone who's first taste of fame came in 1784 when a book was published that included
stories of his adventures.
One of the most lasting impressions of Daniel Boone was his coonskin cap. In reality though
Boone wore a beaver hat. It wasn't until the 1820's during a minstrel show called "The Hunters of Kentucky" that
the myth began. The actor playing Boone was unable to find a beaver hat so he wore the closest thing he could find
at the time, a coonskin cap. This myth was reinforced between 1964 and 1970 with the NBC series Daniel Boone where
Boone always wore his coonskin cap.
INTERESTING BOOKS ABOUT
DANIEL BOONE
Daniel Boone: The Life and Legend of an American Pioneer (An Owl
Book)
Frontiersman: Daniel Boone and the Making of America (Southern Biography
Series)
Boone: A Biography (Shannon Ravenel
Books)
Who Was Daniel Boone? (Who Was...?)
The Trailblazing Life of Daniel Boone and How Early Americans Took to the Road
(Cheryl Harness Histories)
Daniel Boone: Woodsman of Kentucky (In the Footsteps of
Explorers)
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