Author: Nate Kissel

Lincoln County Courthouse – Stanford, Ky.


Stanford was a big surprise. Driving into town, I saw a big Super Walmart, which tends to be the death knell for any sort of cool downtown area. But Stanford is an amazing little downtown. Perhaps you could chalk it up to it being the oldest Main Street in Kentucky (because it’s on the old Wilderness Trail), or perhaps its due to the fact that there are tractors parallel parked across from the courthouse. Whatever it may be, there’s only one word to really describe Stanford -it’s charming. I sat on a park bench right in front of the courthouse and enjoyed a few minutes of the afternoon.
The courthouse pictured above is the fourth courthouse on this spot, built in 1909. Lincoln County is named after Revolutionary War hero Benjamin Lincoln, and is one of the original three Kentucky counties. According to materials from the Lincoln County tourism folks, the architecture is classical Beaux Arts influenced, and its archives are “a genealogy goldmine” as their records date back to 1780. These are the oldest records in the state.

Garrard County Courthouse – Lancaster, Ky.

Lancaster is kind of a mess. The traffic is crazy for the size of the town, and its really difficult to get around. Maybe it was the overcast day, or the empty buildings I saw, but Lancaster kind of depressed me.
There is a pretty cool plaque on the courthouse that details the gifts of Captain William Early Buford, a veteran of the American Revolution who gave the original 20 lots and the public square in Lancaster.

Jessamine County Courthouse – Nicholasville, Ky.

Ah, Nickytown. . . home of my good friend Peter, who serves as the primary writer for this blog. I promised him that I would wait to do Nicholasville with him, so we headed into town one evening last week. The Jessamine County Courthouse is beautiful, and is quite a complex building.
Here at the right you can see the back of the building, which shows a lot of its complexity. I particularly like the lady justice that faces (I believe) west on the side of the courthouse. The folks in the courthouse were extremely friendly, offering to let us see the Circuit Courtroom and show us around. The courthouse was originally built in 1878, and was remodeled in 1964.
I thought this little tidbit was pretty interesting. According to the county historical marker, Jessamine county was named for the Jessamine flower that grows so abundantly in the area, as well as the Jessamine Creek. Local legend apparently attributes that name to Jessamine Douglass, the daughter of an early settler to the area, who was allegedly “stealthily tomahawked” to death by a Native American as she rested on the creek. That seems to me to be a strange way to name a creek/county, but hey, who am I?

Madison County Courthouse – Richmond, Ky.

I love Main Street in Richmond. It’s hilly, and as you come into town, it all spreads out in front of you. Today it hit me what makes some downtowns prettier than others – the really nice ones are like Richmond, where all the utility lines have been put underground. It really cleans up the view.
Richmond has done a great job in mapping out its history. In the few moments I spent at the courthouse square I learned a ton. The courthouse square in Richmond has a pretty great story. According to the historic markers, during the Civil War the courthouse square was used to house Union prisoners of war. More than 4,300 soldiers were kept here for a week until they were paroled. I particularly liked this. When a confederate colonel was asked by his superiors how many had been captured, his response was “I have not counted them, but I have a ten-acre lot full.”
The bust pictured above is a pioneer monument erected in 1906 by Richmond native David R. Francis, who was Mayor of St. Louis, Governor of Missouri, an ambassador to Russia and the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.
Also, a plaque on the courthouse commemorates U.S. Supreme Court Justice and Richmond native Samuel Freeman Miller, who served from 1862-90. He was a Lincoln appointee who studied the law WHILE HE WAS PRACTICING MEDICINE. Doctor and Supreme Court Justice…makes me feel like a slacker. According to the plaque, Justice John Marshall Harlan said of him, “It is safe to say that, with the exception Chief Justice John Marshall, no American judge has made a deeper impression upon the jurisprudence of this country than he.”

Jackson County Courthouse – McKee, Ky.

Believe it or not, this was not the first time I’ve been to McKee. It’s a quaint little town, but something seemed different this time. Then I realized that the building you can see in the background on the right is brand new. It appears to me to be a new courthouse building, and the last time I was here I’m pretty sure it was a parking lot.
Much has changed since I was here two years ago. At that time, the courthouse contained the Ten Commandments (which have since been removed following a federal lawsuit), and the proceedings were overseen by Judge R. Cletus Maricle (who was recently arrested by the FBI for some alleged RICO violations).
The courthouse you see here was built in 1950.

BONUS PIC FOR PETER – As mentioned above, McKee was most recently in the news when the Ten Commandments were removed from the courthouse after a federal lawsuit was filed. As a result, the Ten Commandments are EVERYWHERE in Jackson County, including this monument on private property just off the courthouse square.

Estill County Courthouse – Irvine, Ky.

So…yeah….that’s the Estill County Courthouse. A little bit of a disappointment I think, but I know it won’t be the last disappointing courthouse that I see. I don’t know much about this building, except that the cornerstone says that it was built in 1939 but the sign in front of the building says 1941. Either way, it looks like a lot of the public buildings I’ve seen from that time period (think Erickson Hall at UK).

The best part about visiting the Estill County Courthouse was the drive. The road from Winchester to Irvine is awesome. It’s the first during this project that I’ve really felt like I was in the mountains.

Clark County Courthouse – Winchester, Ky.


I think it’s interesting that I’ve been in Winchester a handful of times, and never really went downtown. It’s a very lively downtown area, with tons of active businesses and some really interesting architecture. Most of the buildings seem pretty well preserved, and a couple were undergoing some extensive renovations. I was really impressed by not only how big downtown Winchester is, but by how busy it was.
Not to mention that the drive from Lexington to Winchester is among the prettiest I’ve been on yet. It’s like something out of a horse country theme park – if such a park were to exist.
Anyway, this courthouse building is massive. The oldest part of it was completed in 1855, costing $40,000. The clock tower was put in in 1889, and the back part of it that you can’t see in this picture was built in 1938. The coolest part about the addition though, is that it perfectly matches the and mirrors the front you see here. Based on some of the other courthouse expansions I’ve seen, this one is pretty stellar.

BONUS PIC FOR PETER – This appears to be a courthouse annex or “judicial center” in Clark County. I thought Peter would like this one, because it’s not your typical annex. This building was built by the Federal Government in 1912 and was used as a post office for almost 90 years.

Nelson County Courthouse – Bardstown, Ky.

I didn’t know this before, but Bardstown is the second-oldest city in the Commonwealth, having been settled in 1780. As was already mentioned by Peter in a previous post, Nelson County’s Old Courthouse sits in a roundabout at the center of downtown, and the current “justice center” has been built closer to the BG. Currently, the old courthouse functions as the visitors’ center. When I first came into town and was trying to navigate the roundabout, I thought Peter had to have been mistaken about this building being the courthouse, because from almost any angle it looks like a church. But it is in fact the old courthouse.
Bardstown was the first place I’d visited that had a ton of tourists, and they were everywhere. But I guess there’s a lot to see here with the Old Talbott Tavern, a ton of bourbon distilleries, Federal Hill and the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral – at one time the center of the Catholic Church from the Allegheny Mountains to the Mississippi River.

Washington County Courthouse – Springfield, Ky.


The Washington County Courthouse was the second courthouse I saw today that was undergoing some historic preservation. Additionally, the 1816 date on the front of the building would make this the oldest courthouse I’ve yet seen. Much like the rest of the state, Springfield is pretty Lincoln obsessed, being that his parents were married here, he lived here when he was younger, etc. I only wish that Springfield had won the contest on “The Simpsons” a few years ago to become the official Simpsons hometown. I mean, it’s already right next door to a Shelbyville. It makes perfect sense.


BONUS PIC FOR PETER – I’ve decided that I’m only going to post pictures of the current “judicial centers” that now serve as county courthouses if they contain something notable. I really liked the new Washington County Judicial Center, particularly this Lincoln statute. So there you go.