This was the first time on this trip when I’ve been a little creeped out. On the way down the highway towards Campton, there was this KSP officer who swung his car out behind me as if to pull me over. I got that feeling everyone knows in my stomach, because I really really thought I was getting pulled over. Then he flew by me, and then about a mile up the road pulled another huge U-turn and went back the other way.
Then as I came into Campton, (which was a ghost town by the way) the creepiness factor went through the roof. When I pulled up to the courthouse, what I believe to be the SAME COP pulled into the courthouse square. The courthouse square was completely empty except me and this cop. He walked into the courthouse after giving me a stare and that was it. I snapped my picture and got out of there.
It was an interesting courthouse, but in desperate need of some TLC. Paint was chipping all over the place. Interestingly, this area of Kentucky was mentioned in John Swift’s journals as containing huge silver mines. However, no trace of these reputed silver mines have ever been found. Also, Wolfe County was named after Nathaniel Wolfe, who was allegedly the first graduate of the University of Virginia.
Author: Nate Kissel
Breathitt County Courthouse – Jackson, Ky.
Ouch. This is the Breathitt County Courthouse in Jackson. I’ve never quite really understood Jackson, starting with the fact that the sewage treatment plant stands right along the major road through town. The smell is as bad as you imagine. And this picture above was the best I could do of the Breathitt County Courthouse. Again, the newer Judicial Center next door, pictured below, was much more attractive.
I knew nothing about Jackson’s history, but according to the historical markers, this was the epicenter of the “feudin’ and fightin'” history of Eastern Kentucky. The courthouse that stood here from 1899 to 1963 was a landmark of this time period. From 1870 to 1920, stemming from family disagreements and political differences, more than 100 Breathitt County officials were killed. Forty men were killed in 11 months between 1901 and 1902.
Perry County Courthouse – Hazard, Ky.
Perry County was one of two places I visited today where the new judicial center is MUCH more attractive than the old courthouse. Here, the judicial center is on the left, and the courthouse on the right. I put in an extra picture of the judicial center, just so you get an idea how cool it looks
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There’s a fountain in there next to the benches, and the judicial center really fits in and enhances the downtown area.
Hazard was founded by Elijah Combs, who came here along with his seven brothers in 1790. Interestingly, Hazard and Perry County are named after the same person – Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry.
On my way out of town, I stopped in a drug store parking lot on the bypass and took the picture at the bottom of this post.
Letcher County Courthouse – Whitesburg, Ky.
Whitesburg and Letcher County hold a special place in my heart, because this is where my wife and her family are from. We travel through the mountains a couple of times each year and visit the ‘Burg, as I like to call it, and it is a uniquely charming place. From the amazing “Speak Your Piece” section of the newspaper (where anyone can write in and say ANYTHING – offensive, libelous, you name it), to the annual Mountain Heritage Festival, Whitesburg is an interesting little place. This weekend was the Mountain Heritage Festival, which was a little dampened by the constant rain showers. But, I got to listen to some country music and eat a deep fried miniature pecan pie, so all was right with the world. I also picked up some fresh peach butter and snapped this picture of Letcher’s courthouse. In celebration of Mountain Heritage, the windows up and down Main Street were filled with old pictures of the prominent mountain families, and some pretty amazing pictures of the courthouse that used to stand in this spot. My father in law tells me that this current courthouse is much better than the “purple courthouse” that was there before renovations. Apparently the windows were supposed to be blue, but in the sun, they turned purple.
Gallatin County Courthouse – Warsaw, Ky.
U.S. 42 is always a beautiful drive – I highly recommend it. When I lived in Oldham County, I would drive it whenever I had the chance, but I never made it as far up the road as Warsaw. U.S. 42 basically follows the river, and there are a ton of great old river towns along the way. Warsaw is one of those towns.
The courthouse above is on the National Historic Register, and was built in 1837.
I took this picture just two blocks behind the courthouse on the Ohio River. I thought it was pretty picturesque, so I stepped out of the car and snapped this one really quick. Just two miles up the river from here there was apparently a horrible river accident back in 1868. If you pull over to the side of the road, there is a historical marker describing the collision between the America and the United States, two passenger boats traveling between Louisville and Cincinnati. The United States had barreled coal oil on board, which ignited in the collision, spreading to both boats and coating the river in fire. There was $325,000 in damage ($5.6 million today according to an inflation calculator) and 162 people died in the tragedy.
Boone County Courthouse – Burlington, Ky.
Burlington has a really nice historic downtown area, with a wealth of markers that provide a ton of information. All government buildings are in a little cluster downtown, including a HUGE new judicial center. The historic courthouse above was built in 1889. According to the historical marker, there has been a courthouse on this spot since 1799, and this is the third such building. A few interesting things about this building:
* It was built in the Renaissance Revival style for about $20,000
* Notice how small the cupola looks? Well, that’s because the original cupola was deemed to be too heavy for the building to support, and it was removed in 1898.
* There is a nearly identical courthouse in Bandera, Texas built a year after this one, but made of sandstone.
It felt great to head out of Burlington, because it meant that I got to leave the big roads behind and get back to the little country roads.
Campbell County Courthouse – Alexandria, Ky.
At this point, I was really frustrated. Navigating Northern Kentucky is a complete disaster. Roads meander around, and there are “freeway-style” roads all over the place. After wandering around for awhile I finally found this courthouse in the middle of what I guess used to be Alexandria. It felt sort of bleak up there. It is now a history center for the county I think, but I couldn’t find the new judicial center anywhere. So I got this picture of the historic courthouse and was happy.
The courthouse’s historic marker told me that Campbell was the 19th county, was formed in 1794, and that originally the county seat was in Newport (which makes much better sense). But for whatever reason the county seat was moved to Alexandria in 1840.
Kenton County Courthouse (No. 1) – Independence, Ky.
Okay, so this was nuts. Kenton County has two county seats – one in Independence, and one in Covington. I did not know this today, and now I’m sort of upset that I didn’t get the other one in Covington when I was up there. Can anyone tell me if its prettier than this one in Independence? I was wondering the entire time I was in Independence why the seat wasn’t in Covington, and now I feel kind of stupid. I guess I’ll get it on my next trip to Cincinnati.
I have to admit that I got lost trying to find this courthouse in Independence, due mostly to the fact that Northern Kentucky is about the most confusing place in the world to drive. I had to end up calling Peter, who helped me get where I needed to go through the magic of the internet.
Grant County Courthouse – Williamstown, Ky.
Today I decided to travel up to Grant County on a little bit of what remains of the Dixie Highway (U.S. 25). For anyone living in Lexington, the next time you head up to Cincinnati, I highly recommend the route. It basically weaves around under I-75, but like many of the old highways in this country, the road follows the terrain instead of blasting through it. It’s a beautiful drive through the Bluegrass, and there are tons of great now-defunct roadside stores and shops to check out.
The courthouse above bears the date 1937 on its cornerstone, and is about to be “the old courthouse,” as there is a huge judicial center being constructed down the street. It’s pictured here below.
Casey County Courthouse – Liberty, Ky.
I’ve driven through Casey County a couple of times, but have never been downtown. The courthouse is pretty sweet, though it appears to need a little restoration, which I doubt will ever happen based on the huge new judicial center across the street. When we arrived in Liberty, it was getting ready to storm, and the downtown area was ominously quiet. I love storms, which is probably one of the reasons that I enjoyed photographing Liberty so much.
This courthouse was built in 1888, and was preceded by a different brick building and a log building. According to this historical marker, the use of stone trim and its asymmetrical design are unique for a courthouse.