# Davy Crockett, "King Of The Wild Frontier"



## Meanderer (Jul 19, 2017)

In the early 19th century, David “Davy” Crockett emerged from the wilds of Tennessee to become one of the United States’ first living folk heroes. 

Though best known for his 1836 death at the Alamo, he was also a writer, hunter and U.S. Congressman whose reputation as an adventurer made him a legend in his own time. 

Explore 10 surprising facts about the man often called the “King of the Wild Frontier.”


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## Meanderer (Jul 19, 2017)

The Alamo - Davy Crockett Playing Violin


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## Aunt Bea (Jul 19, 2017)




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## Meanderer (Jul 19, 2017)

"Incredibly rare footage! Robert Kennedy watches a test of the _Davy Crockett_ (the smallest nuclear weapon ever made), from a 35mm original color negative released as a result of a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act)". 







"On July 17,(1962) a Davy Crockett was fired from a stationary 155 millimeter launcher (in tandem with simulated battlefield manuevers under Operation IVY FLATS) and detonated about 20 feet above the ground at a distance of 9,357 feet (1.7 miles) from the launch point (yield was 18 tons). This test, the last atmospheric detonation at the Nevada Test Site, was observed by Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and presidential adviser General Maxwell D. Taylor".


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## NancyNGA (Jul 19, 2017)




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## NancyNGA (Jul 19, 2017)

Girls did it too.


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## IKE (Jul 19, 2017)

I stand to be corrected but I think the television series only ran a year back in the 50's but I recall watching Fess Parker (as Davy Crockett) and Ed Ames as his Indian buddy (Mingo).......and yes when I was a pup I had a coon skin cap.


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## Pappy (Jul 19, 2017)

I remember when Daveys  hat was all the rage. The stores were running out of stock.


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## NancyNGA (Jul 19, 2017)

IKE said:


> I stand to be corrected but I think the television series only ran a year back in the 50's but I recall watching Fess Parker (as Davy Crockett) and Ed Ames as his Indian buddy (Mingo).......and yes when I was a pup I had a coon skin cap.


Buddy Ebsen was his partner in the Disney TV series.


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## Meanderer (Jul 19, 2017)

Pappy said:


> View attachment 39440 I remember when Daveys  hat was all the rage. The stores were running out of stock.


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## Aunt Bea (Jul 19, 2017)

IKE said:


> I stand to be corrected but I think the television series only ran a year back in the 50's but I recall watching Fess Parker (as Davy Crockett) and Ed Ames as his Indian buddy (Mingo).......and yes when I was a pup I had a coon skin cap.



It gets confusing because Fess Parker played Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone.


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## Meanderer (Jul 19, 2017)




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## JaniceM (Jul 19, 2017)

I'm sorry, but I have to add my Davey Crockett anecdote...  
One of my brothers had the Bill Hayes version of the record-  45 rpm.  For the longest time, I'd get teary every time I played it, thinking 'Oh, poor poor little Davey!'  Eventually it occurred to me:  'how did he become King of the Wild Frontier if he only lived to be three years old?'  and then 'what was a 3-year-old child doing in a bar in the first place?!?'  Because as B. Hayes was singing 'killed him a bear,' I always heard it as 'killed in a bar, when he was only three!'  
Was glad to learn Davey Crockett did not indeed die in a bar fight at age 3.  layful:  lol


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## Mrs. Robinson (Jul 19, 2017)

One of the biggest thrills of my childhood (and my sister`s as well) was when our parents went on a trip to Reno(?) (not sure about that) and brought us both back a coonskin cap and a suede fringed jacket. Now that I  think about it,it must have been Reno and they must have had a big win LOL!


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## RadishRose (Jul 19, 2017)

The article said Davy was born in a state that doesn't exist- that being Franklin. Sounds like that area went from NC to TN but for a brief time it was called Franklin.  That was so interesting to me.


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## Meanderer (Jul 19, 2017)

RadishRose said:


> The article said Davy was born in a state that doesn't exist- that being Franklin. Sounds like that area went from NC to TN but for a brief time it was called Franklin.  That was so interesting to me.


"...yeah, I guess he wasn't really born on a mountaintop, in _Tennessee_".


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## NancyNGA (Jul 19, 2017)

David Crockett Birthplace State Historic Park
1245 Davy Crockett Park Road, Limestone, TN*




*


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## Meanderer (Jul 19, 2017)

NancyNGA said:


> David Crockett Birthplace State Historic Park
> 1245 Davy Crockett Park Road, Limestone, TN*
> 
> 
> ...



Separating fact from fiction is a daunting task, when we look at Davy Crockett.





"_Despite song lyrics to the contrary, Davy Crockett was not born on a mountaintop but on a floodplain along a gently meandering river in 1786._ From his own recollections his birthplace was "at the mouth of Lime Stone, on the Nola-chucky river." This seems fairly specific however no written record exists to link him to the location. We do know his father lived in the area (he appears in county records during the 1770's and 80's) so even if this isn't the exact location, the place of his birth was certainly nearby". 

"Added to the discrepancy in location is the centerpiece of the park, the old Crockett cabin. The original owners of the property, the Stonecypher family, had as proof of its authenticity but one single foundation stone. Through subsequent excavations no trace of a cabin was found on this spot but tradition won out and the site was chosen for the reconstruction".

"_Finally, with only a single stone to go on, no one really knows what the Crockett cabin actually looked like so what you see at the site today is a generic replica of a design commonly used during the time period of Crockett's birth"_. 







"According to Stonecypher family lore, Samuel Stonecypher, who purchased the land in 1824, dismantled the Crockett cabin and used the logs to build a small house nearby that became known as the Stonecypher cabin". 

"The Stonecyphers claimed that the footstone of the original Crockett cabin, however, remained at that cabin's original site". 

"Sometime in the 1880s, the footstone was adorned with an inscription reading, "On this spot Davy Crockett was born Aug 17 1786." In the 1950s, the Davy Crockett Birthplace Association used the logs from the Stonecypher cabin to build the Crockett cabin replica. The inscribed footstone was placed in front of the cabin replica, where it remains today".


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## NancyNGA (Jul 19, 2017)

Meanderer said:


> Separating fact from fiction is a daunting task, when we look at Davy Crockett.
> 
> "_Finally, with only a single stone to go on, no one really knows what the Crockett cabin actually looked like so what you see at the site today is a generic replica of a design commonly used during the time period of Crockett's birth"_.


I sort of expected that might be the case.  Thanks for clearing it up.


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## Meanderer (Jul 19, 2017)

NancyNGA said:


> I sort of expected that might be the case.  Thanks for clearing it up.



Most of history has always been that way,Nancy.  A cleaned up "Disney" version, of someone's "blog".


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## NancyNGA (Jul 19, 2017)

Remember "Betsy"?

Featuring Fess Parker and Buddy Ebsen


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## Meanderer (Jul 20, 2017)

The Truth behind What Really Happened at the Alamo.


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## Meanderer (Jul 20, 2017)

US postage stamp, issue of 1967






A knife purportedly used by Davy Crockett during the Battle of the Alamo.







David Crockett clipper ship card.


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## Meanderer (Jul 21, 2017)

"Not Yours to Give" Davy Crockett's Speech before the House


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## Meanderer (Jul 22, 2017)

[h=1]Tarzan, Jesus, and Davy Crockett?[/h]
Tom Lemming catches up with Ron Ely (Tarzan), Jim Caviezel (Jesus), and Fess Parker (Davy Crockett).


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## Meanderer (Jul 22, 2017)

2010:  "A few years ago, I produced a travel film for Petra Haffter, a Director friend of mine, about the Central Coast of California ("Highway One - Street of Dreams"). I suggested we interview Fess for the film, as he realized his dreams living in Santa Barbara. It was fun meeting him and very moving, as he still embodied a quiet and steady heroic quality. Although some of his land use development strategies were controversial to some folks, Fess was a cool guy who built an enduring legacy on and off the screen".


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## Meanderer (Jul 22, 2017)




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## NancyNGA (Jul 22, 2017)

Early Peanuts  - June, 1955


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## Ruth n Jersey (Jul 22, 2017)

I loved the  Davy Crockett series and had the coon skin hat as well. Great interview with Fess Parker Meanderer, I never saw him in later years. Does anyone remember another Disney production called The Swamp Fox? It wasn't as popular, but I enjoyed it as well. Francis Marion,the main character was portrayed by Leslie Nielsen. My Dad use to say it's time to watch Uncle Frankie when the show was about to come on because our last name,my maiden name, was Marion. I'm 99% sure he wasn't a distant relative but my Dad liked to think so.


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## Meanderer (Jul 23, 2017)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> I loved the  Davy Crockett series and had the coon skin hat as well. Great interview with Fess Parker Meanderer, I never saw him in later years. Does anyone remember another Disney production called The Swamp Fox? It wasn't as popular, but I enjoyed it as well. Francis Marion,the main character was portrayed by Leslie Nielsen. My Dad use to say it's time to watch Uncle Frankie when the show was about to come on because our last name,my maiden name, was Marion. I'm 99% sure he wasn't a distant relative but my Dad liked to think so.



Francis Marion is a redcoat who turns into a turncoat!  This one is new to me, Ruth.  Thanks.


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## Meanderer (Jul 23, 2017)

Fess Parker Sings Fare Thee Well (Daniel Boone)


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## Meanderer (Jul 26, 2017)

Fess Parker Sings - Abraham Lincoln (The Tall American)


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## Meanderer (Jul 26, 2017)




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