Camp Nelson National Monument

Join the National Park Service (NPS) for the 5th Annual Winter Lecture Series at Camp Nelson National Monument! The special programs feature guest speakers who present on a variety of topic related to the Civil War Era. The presentations take place at the park's Reconstructed Barracks on select Saturdays. The programs are free and open to the public.   January 17, 2026
11:00 AM - An Army of Benevolence: The US Sanitary Commission at Camp Nelson   At the outbreak of the Civil War while thousands of soldiers joined the US Army, even more women and civilians joined together to support them. Members of the US Sanitary Commission would go on to serve on the battlefield, in hospitals, and at military camps like Camp Nelson   Ava Goetz, Lead Interpretive Park Ranger at Camp Nelson National Monument, delivers the program.     Camp Nelson National Monument
6614 Danville Road Loop 2
Nicholasville, KY 40356

Join the National Park Service (NPS) for the 5th Annual Winter Lecture Series at Camp Nelson National Monument! The special programs feature guest speakers who present on a variety of topic related to the Civil War Era. The presentations take place at the park's Reconstructed Barracks on select Saturdays. The programs are free and open to the public.   February 21, 2026
11:00 AM - Women and Landscapes of Power at Camp Nelson   Between 1864 and 1872, African American refugees of Camp Nelson used their agency to take control of their lives away post-emancipation. By using the landscape, and the resources within the army base, women created food, money, education, and safety for themselves and their families.   Dr. Sarah Stapleton, Historian and Administrative Assistant at Camp Nelson National Monument, delivers the program.   Camp Nelson National Monument
6614 Danville Road Loop 2
Nicholasville, KY 40356

Join the National Park Service (NPS) for the 5th Annual Winter Lecture Series at Camp Nelson National Monument! The special programs feature guest speakers who present on a variety of topic related to the Civil War Era. The presentations take place at the park's Reconstructed Barracks on select Saturdays. The programs are free and open to the public.   March 28, 2026
11:00 AM - "As Humanity Will Permit": The Closing of Camp Nelson in 1865-66   The US Army officially deactivated Camp Nelson in 1866 after the Civil War. The base was dismantled, the materials of war were removed, and most US soldiers were mustered out of service. However, the future for US Colored Troops soldiers and their families and other recently emancipated people was uncertain, precarious, and deadly as unofficial reconstruction emerges in post-war Kentucky.   Steve T. Phan, Chief of Interpretation, Education, and Visitor Services at Camp Nelson National Monument, delivers the program.   Camp Nelson National Monument
6614 Danville Road Loop 2
Nicholasville, KY 40356

Join the National Park Service (NPS) for the first evening program of the year at Camp Nelson National Monument starting at 7:00 pm on Saturday, April 4, 2026! 

NPS staff will explore the experience of 17 US Army soldiers who served in units organized at Camp Nelson and were sentenced to hard labor and imprisonment at Fort Jefferson in Florida during the Civil War. Today, the masonry fort is managed by the NPS as part of Dry Tortugas National Park. 

The campfire program is free and open to the public and will take place in the field adjacent to the Visitor Center and Museum. Visitors should bring camping chairs. 

For more information, please contact the park at 859-881-5716 or you can send us an email at cane_info@nps.gov  

The National Park Service (NPS) at Camp Nelson National Monument and Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument, in partnership with sites and organizations in Kentucky and Ohio, including the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, Brigadier General Charles Young Foundation, Kentucky African American Heritage Trail, Brigadier General Charles Young Memorial Historical Corridor, Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, City of Maysville, Visit Maysville, Mason County Fiscal Court, John Rankin House, John P. Parker House invite you to celebrate the life and legacy of Brigadier General Charles Young and the Young family.

The event commemorates the 160th Anniversary of the Gabriel Young's discharge after serving in the 5th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery during the Civil War and the establishment of the Black Regular regiments in the U.S. Army, also known as the Buffalo Soldiers. The program features presentations by guests and historians, informational tents, children's activities, and a food truck.

The program is free and open to the public.

Date: Saturday, April 18, 2026

Time: 11:00 am - 3:00 pm

Location: 

Brigadier General Charles Young Birthplace Cabin

6319 Helena Rd, May's Lick, KY 41055

 

Join the National Park Service (NPS) for the 6th Annual Park Day at Camp Nelson National Monument!

Since 1996, the American Battlefield Trust (ABT) has sponsored Park Day as an annual preservation event for Civil War and Revolutionary War sites throughout the country. Park staff and volunteers work together on much-needed maintenance and preservation projects.

We’re calling for volunteers to assist with a few projects around the park, including painting the cannons on display at Fort Putnam, painting the free library book, and cleaning waysides and the memorial obelisk at Graveyard No. 1. 

Volunteers should wear clothes for painting and bring a water bottle. Meet NPS staff at the Visitor Center. 

If you're interested in participating, please RSVP by emailing the park at cane_info@nps.gov

#NationalParkService #Kentucky #FindYourPark #ParkDay

The National Park Service (NPS) at Camp Nelson National Monument in partnership with the 12th US Colored Heavy Artillery, descendants, and community members invite you to a special dedication at Green Hill Cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky starting at 12:00 pm on Saturday, May 30, 2026.

The cemetery was established in 1865 and honors Frankfort’s rich African American history and heritage, including US Colored Troops [USCT] who served during the Civil War. The burials include soldiers who served in USCT regiments organized a Camp Nelson.

NPS staff and special guests will be dedication a wreath at the USCT Monument. Wreath Laying at US Colored Troops Monument at Green Hill CemeteryThe program is free and open to the public.

Green Hill Cemetery

East Main Street (U.S. 60) and Versailles Road (U.S. 421)
Frankfort, KY, 40601

Join the NPS for the 5th Annual History at Sunset series at Camp Nelson National Monument! The 2026 Lineup features special programs which mark the 160th Anniversary of Camp Nelson in 1866. The series features 3 programs starting at 7:00 pm. All programs are free and open to the public.   Thousands of civilians, both free and enslaved, were tasked with constructing, operating, and maintaining Camp Nelson, a massive supply center and recruiting depot for the US Army during the Civil War. By war’s end, the base extended to over 3,000 acres and featured 300 buildings to supply miliary campaigns and 16 regiments organized here.   Who were these people? What were their roles and duties? Find out on Friday, June 12, 2026!   The campfire program will take place in the field adjacent to the Visitor Center and Museum. Visitors should bring camping chairs.   #NationalParkService #Kentucky #FindYourPark

The National Park Service (NPS) at Camp Nelson National Monument, in partnership with the Camp Nelson Foundation, Huntertown Community Interpretive Park, National Coalition of Black Veteran Organizations, Kentucky Center for African American Heritage, Jessamine County Public Library, Visit Jessamine, Huntertown Community Interpretve Park, and the Kentucky Historical Society invites you to the 2nd Annual Freedom Day Festival from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on Saturday, June 20, 2026.

The special event commemorates Freedom 250 by marking the Independence Day celebration organized by African American soldiers and refugees at Camp Nelson on July 4, 1865, and the Brigadier General Charles Young Memorial Historical Corridor—the 170-mile route from Camp Nelson National Monument in Jessamine County to Mays Lick—and concludes at the Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument in Wilberforce, Ohio.

The festival features live music featuring The Marshall Law Band, food, arts and crafts, children’s activities, guided talks and walks, and cultural demonstrations. It's free and open to the public!

 

The National Park Service, in partnership with the Department of Veteran Affairs, is organizing a guided tour of Camp Nelson National Cemetery. This program details the stories of the US Army veterans interred in the years after the Civil War, including soldiers who served in regiments organized and trained at Camp Nelson.

The program is free and open to the public.

Meet NPS staff outside the cemetery caretaker lodge and visitor center.

Camp Nelson National Cemetery 
6980 Danville Road
Nicholasville, KY 4035