Author: thekaintuckeean

No Destination: Preachersville

When I saw this little town on the map, I wanted to drive through and see a church called “Preachersville [Blank] Church.” Special thanks to the United Methodists for fulfilling my photographic curiosity.

Preachersville, Kentucky is a quiet farming community in Lincoln County between Lancaster (Garrard) and Crab Orchard (Lincoln). Near the Dix River, it was unsurprisingly named because – there were a lot of preachers who lived in the area. Apparently, the concentration of ministers was more dense in this area then in any other region of the country as Preachersville is the only community in the United States to hold this unique name.

Today, it is the home of two churches. The Drakes Creek Baptist Church (c. 1860, but the building burned and the new church was built in the 1960s) and the Preachersville United Methodist Church. The Methodist Church, pictured above, was established and built in 1891.

This area of Lincoln County is beautiful. The foothills of the Appalachians lie on the horizon and the rolling hills are fertile. I made this trip a couple weeks ago and on that Sunday, the weather was perfect: the grass greener and the skies bluer.

Before leaving Lincoln County, I travelled through another small community: Crab Orchard. Near the end of the Logan Trace of the Wilderness Trail, Crab Orchard was famed for its mineral springs. Apparently, it was not uncommon for 400-500 guests to visit the springs each day through the 1920s. Crab Orchard also had at least one curiosity: the water tower evidences the divide experienced by families in this area during the Civil War. The water tower reads “Crab Orchard: Embracing our Past” with the American and Confederate flags painted on either side.

No Destination: The Roebling Bridge

I had plans to go with a friend to last weekend’s Kentucky-Miami (OH) football game at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. To get there, I took the interstate but only as far as the river. We parked in Newport, had a pitcher of beer at the Beer Sellar on the river, and boarded a water taxi which ferried us across and down the river to a spot between the stadium and the baseball ballpark (they do the same thing before Reds’ games).

Aside from enjoying a few minutes on the water, one of the biggest perks was traveling under the Roebling Bridge. Named after its architect, John A. Roebling, the bridge was constructed over a ten-year span and was completed in 1867.

If either the name Roebling or the appearance of the bridge seem familiar to you, they are. After finishing the Cincinnati-Covington bridge, Roebling’s services were utilized in the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge which began in 1870 and concluded in 1883. The similarities between the two bridges are clear.

At 1,224 feet, the Roebling Bridge was (at the time of its completion) the world’s longest suspension bridge. This record was surpassed by the Brooklyn Bridge which spanned 1,595 feet.

Also pictured (far left) is the Ascent at Roebling’s Bridge, a 22-story condominium project that was designed by Daniel Libeskind. The structure won world-wide aclaim and was named the best high-rise in America in 2008 by CNBC. I first noticed the Ascent from the Reds’ ballpark during a July 2008 game and it is certainly a beautiful building.

Oh, and Kentucky won the game, 42-0. Go Cats!

No Destination: Winchester

After leaving the Howard’s Creek area in southern Clark County, I traveled north on Boone Avenue (KY 627). After his courthouse visit, Nate had told me about the great oddity of Winchester: College Street.

Look far and wide, but there is no remaining college on College Street or elsewhere in Winchester. But, from 1890 to 1954, Winchester was the home of Kentucky Wesleyan College; it has since relocated to Owensboro. Among its most notable alumna, Supreme Court Chief Justice Stanley Reed (1902).

The old college grounds are now a city park and some of the campus buildings remain. The Carnegie Library (c. 1914) is now a community center (a child’s birthday party was going on during my campus visit) and the Spencer Memorial Gymnasium is currently being expanded and converted into the city natatorium.

Downtown Winchester has many small, locally owned and operated businesses. The historic buildings are mostly well-kept, in repair and freshly painted. The downtown area is dominated by, as Nate put it, a “massive” whitewashed courthouse.

Leaving Winchester, I drove past the Ale-8-One bottling plant. Ale-8-One is a Kentucky soft drink that is most like a ginger ale, but that would still be an inaccurate description. Introduced in 1926, the soda has a limited distribution area but it is “the drink” in Winchester. I saw countless young teenagers milling around drinking from the iconic glass green bottle.

A final note: Helen Thomas, journalist and White House correspondent for every President since John F. Kennedy was born in Winchester. Regrettably, there is no historical marker related to Ms. Thomas in Winchester.

No Destination: Howard’s Creek (Providence) Church

I continued without destination by heading east from Athens. I have found that a No Destination trek is made more comfortable with the GPS feature on the iPhone as I could take a few extra turns with the knowledge that I was merely on a detour and not going down a dead-end.

I found Grimes Mill Road – just inside Clark County – to be breathtaking. The beautiful stone home, the red barns and the bridge over the stream all captured eras past. Minutes later, I find myself peering in the windows of a cafe & bakery at Combs Ferry. It was closed, but not out of business as large sacks of organic sidamo coffee beans lay on the floor.

Uncertain as to whether my destination for the day would be McKee, Winchester or Paris, I saw a historic marker and followed the path down which it led. The church at Howard’s Creek was regularly attended by Daniel Boone. In 1790, the church was renamed “Providence” and the present stone structure was contructed by William Bush, who was a member of Boone’s second Kentucky expedition. According to the historic marker, the church “passed to Negro Baptists, 1870.”

After a heavy rain, the road to the church would be under water at two points. It was a beautiful, short drive to the church and the old, stone building was picturesque. As I walked up to the church on a Saturday, I noticed the freshly mowed grass. As I snapped a few pictures, the minister came out and we exchanged greetings.

He had been preparing the Sunday sermon for his flock at the Providence Missionary Baptist Church. About 14 attend weekly, and the church remains a black baptist congregation. It also remains as the oldest Baptist church west of the Alleghenies.

No Destination: Athens

Leaving my home in Nicholasville, I traveled through eastern Jessamine County and southern Fayette County before arriving in the small community of Athens (pronounced with a long “A”, AY-thÉ™nz). Located in rural Fayette County (but part of Lexington-Fayette due to the 1974 merger of city and county), Athens was first settled in 1786 and was chartered in 1826.

Originally known as “Cross Plains,” it has been suggested that the name “Athens” is a reference to Lexington’s old nickname, “The Athens of the West.” The nickname was a statement of Lexington’s educational and societal strength during the early- to mid-1800s.

The village was a manufacturing center until most of the town had burned by 1860 (according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which listed the Athens historic district in 1979, a major fire occurred in 1853-54). Today, Athens is nothing more than a crossroads. The old Athens Elementary School was closed a few years ago and is now used as an antique mall.

What remains of the historic district sits at the crossroads: the Aubrey Inn (c. 1800) and the Marshall Tavern (c. 1840). These two brick structures have been well-cared for and are surprisingly imposing for this little hamlet; clear evidence of what once was.

No Destination: Liberty

This sleepy town of about 2,000 is – and always has been – all about its name: Liberty. A number of Revolutionary War veterans received land grants in the area and named their community after that which they had sacrificed. Liberty was selected as the county seat in 1808 and was finally incorporated in 1830.

Looking down Main Street from the courthouse, I noticed a small park (Veteran’s Park) with many waving American flags. In that park, too, was an exact replica of the Liberty Bell (sans the infamous crack). The original bell, which hung in Independence Hall arrived in America from its manufacturer (the Whitechapel Bell Foundry) in 1753. The Liberty replica was also cast by Whitechapel and, with its African teak headstock, weighs 2,700 pounds. It is dedicated to the “Citizens of Liberty” (a great double entendre).

No Destination: Lincoln & Casey Counties


Not only was Stanford a surprise, but several areas of historic Lincoln County prompted me to stop the car.

A historic marker noting the site of McKinney’s Fort: a fort established in 1792 which became an important stop on the Cumberland Trace. The area is now known as McKinney’s Station.

Once in Casey County – just just north of Yosemite – we crossed over an unimpressive tributary of the Green River. A tree under which the cattle relaxed was, however, a beautiful site.

On the return home – but once again in Lincoln County – I spotted a town I wanted to visit: Chicken Bristle. Driving through, there was no sign evidencing the name of this small community. In this rural area, I was surprised to see an old A.M.E. [African Methodist Episcopal] church. I supposed that Chicken Bristle might have been one of the black communities that dotted the region in years past. Sure enough, Chicken Bristle was one of three black Lincoln County communities founded in the post-Civil War era.

Also in Lincoln County was the small community of Hustonville – site of what must be a crazy-scary year-round haunted house.

No Destination: Stanford


After a disappointing visit to Lancaster, I wasn’t sure what to expect upon my arrival in the county seat of Lincoln County. Adding to my dilemma was that I was immediately drawn to one of the most dilapidated strucutures: the old Baughman Mill. Built in 1884 with logs from the first steam mill in the county, the mill operated until consumer demands and and market supply changed. The mill is located next to the old L&N Depot (which FDR visited while campaigning for President in 1932). In researching for this post, I came across another picture of the old mill taken only last year; note that an entire wing has since been demolished.)

History is very important to Stanford (and to Lincoln County). The county was one of three originally created when the Virginia legislature divided the Kentucky territory into three counties (5 counties existed in 1792 when Kentucky became a state). Stanford is the second oldest community in the state and its Main Street was once part of the Wilderness Road (making it the oldest Main Street in Kentucky).

Another neat structure was the First Presbyterian Church – the congregation was organized in 1788 and the structure (original destroyed by a 1838 tornado) was built in 1888. Pictured left, it seems oddly reminiscent of a courthouse.

But history is not all that is left for Stanford. Despite not having rail service for many years, the economy of the county seems relatively strong. The tourism director seemed quite positive and excited about the current state of the county. The optimism seemed warranted – a large, new library is under construction.

No Destination: Garrard County & Lancaster


Nate often mentions how he loves approaching the county seat, scouring the horizon for the courthouse. Lancaster is the perfect example of this. The picture above was taken as we we were leaving Lancaster from the grounds of the Gov. William Owsley’s “Pleasant Retreat.” Owsley, a fiscal conservative, was a major proponent of public education, an opponent of the Mexican War (though he still, as governor, called for volunteers) and was crticized for his pardoning of Delia Webster (who had been convicted of abetting the escape of slaves).

I had never before been past the “Pleasant Retreat,” though I have driven through Lancaster several times before. Each time, I had always been impressed by the little downtown. This time, however, I got out of my car and found walking the central area very challenging. Despite the challenges, little Lancaster had a few bright spots: First Presybyterian Church (established 1816; current structure built 1879 and pictured at right) and the old Garrard County Jail (built 1873, now the Historical Society).

Despite these and a Farmer’s Market (coming soon) and a revitalization of the Grand Theater, Lancaster left me a little disappointed. Apparently, I am not alone. A conversation today with a Garrard Countian revealed the most sobering fact of all: No grocery stores (a sore spot for this particular resident, at least).

No Destination: Nicholasville

I traveled with Nate on a Courthouse tour and walked around four communities. Often, I would get out of the car a few blocks away from the courthouse and explore the little towns for about 20 minutes. Also, No Destinations will begin to examine the landmarks found rather than only the day’s journey. This should allow me to delve into each discovery a little more.

Nicholasville was named after Col. George Nicholas, a veteran of the Revolutionary War who authored Kentucky’s first Constitution. The city was laid out in 1798 – the same year in which Jessamine was carved from Fayette County. A number of historic churches are within a block of the courthouse, but it is the courthouse that dominates this little ville.

Being a resident of little Nicholasville – one of Lexington’s bedroom communities – is both a blessing and a curse. Despite its pitfalls, however, Nicholasville’s central business district is improving and has several great little jewels. One of those jewels is Main & Maple, a small coffee house and cafe that is housed in a renovated pharmacy. I pictured a corner of Main & Maple above along with the school bus. Despite its storied past (look for a future post on the Chaumiere des Praries), I feel that this picture captures the pace and attitude of Jessamine, i.e., a working class bedroom community with schools and a few other things too.