Uncategorized – Page 74 – The Kaintuckeean

No Destination: John Hunt Morgan Bridge

John Hunt Morgan Bridge, Cynthiana, Ky.

General John Hunt Morgan, the Thunderbolt of the Confederacy, is a favorite Civil War general among many Kentuckians. In Lexington, the statute of him upon his steed is the only one in Kentucky with a mounted Civil War soldier or officer.

In Cynthiana, site of two Civil War battles (both involved JHM), a bridge “honor[s] famous Confederate calvary leader.” Opened to traffic on October 8, 1949, the General John Hunt Morgan Bridge was dedicated in 1950. It replaced a wooden, covered bridge which had been erected in 1837. Closed in 1944 and the flooring and sides removed, daring teenagers attempted to cross the skeletal remains of the covered bridge in 1946. Four drowned. In December 1948, that bridge was pushed into the river and construction began on the present bridge. [*] [*]

The bridge crosses the south fork of the Licking River.

Fourth of July Celebrations

On Friday evening, I enjoyed the sounds of the Lexington Singers and the Lexington Philharmonic at the Patriotic Concert held on the steps of Transylvania University’s Old Morrison with the crowd filling Gratz Park. Saturday, July 3, included the annual downtown festival, parade and fireworks. Lexington always puts its best foot forward on the Fourth of July and I always love being downtown on this day. On this day, all of Lexington comes together to celebrate – in one place. The politics, the people watching, the food – everything makes for a terrific day.

I’m not posting any histories today, but I am encouraging you to post comments here about how you celebrated the Fourth of July. Also, check out all the pictures I took over the weekend in my flickr Fourth of July Festivities set.

And Happy Independence Day!

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Happy Weekend; Happy Fourth of July on the Third

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! Lexington is celebrating today (it started last night with a terrific Patriotic Concert). I’ll be there taking pictures and uploading them to flickr when time permits (Already posted last night’s pictures…enjoy)!

Lexington celebrates its Fourth of July activities today, July 3rd. There is a lot going on downtown. Come and see. [LFUCG]

Future of Centrepointe as permanent downtown greenspace? If we preserve it, will they come? [Lexington Streetsweeper]

An artshow at the Hopewell Museum, Paris, features Kentucky’s artists of the past and present. Admission is cheap. [Tom Eblen]

Exhibit on Lewis and Clark Expedition housed is housed until mid-August at the Boone County Public Library. A lot of Kentucky connections [NKy]

Horse Mania and Horse Play foals will soon be appearing around downtown Lexington and in the libraries. [Herald-Leader]

Blogging with Substance

The Kaintuckeean has been awarded the “Blogging with Substance” award. Thank you to SSW of La Fin des Haricots for bestowing this high honor on us! To accept this award, we must (1) thank the award presenter, (2) share our blogging philosophy in five words and (3) bestow the award on ten other blogs. Having already thanked SSW, we now move forward to our other tasks at hand.

As for a blogging philosophy, we obviously love Kentucky. So too did Daniel Boone. In fact, he once said: “Kentucke, which I esteemed a Second Paradise.” The more we explore our Commonwealth, the truer we believe this claim. And so, our blogging philosophy: Exploring Kentucky, Our Second Paradise.

Now, to recommend ten blogs. First, there are several great Kentucky blogs (I hope to learn of more in the future!). It is true evidence that Kentucky, to so many, is truly a “Second Paradise!”

Unusual Kentucky is fantastic as the author finds the most bizarre Kentucky sites. His book, Weird Kentucky, is a must read!
My Old Kentucky Backroads is another site exploring Kentucky’s backroads and finds unique, historic sites.
LEXplore focuses on my friend’s new discoveries in the Lexington area. A variety of history, business/restaurant and &c. It is a new site, but it has much promise!
Bluegrass Romance Project is one of my new favorite sites. The author loves life and lives it passionately here. In so doing, she finds the amazing, unique Kentucky.
Genuine Kentucky is a beautiful site “celebrating the Bluegrass.” That, they do!
Broken Sidewalk is bizarre only because the author remains intimately involved with the details of Louisville while living in Brooklyn, NY. In May, he took a hiatus from writing and has returned to a limited extent and I’m hoping for more!
The Bluegrass & Beyond is essential for Kentuckians. Written by Herald-Leader columnist Tom Eblen (a lover of Kentucky, of its history and its future), this site is a fantastic resource (and at times, inspiration).
UrbanUp is a Cincinnati blog, but it doesn’t ignore the happenings in Northern Kentucky.
The Lexington Streetsweeper is a little political, but it is striving for a better (and preserved) Lexington.
History Burgoo is the official blog of the Kentucky Historical Society. Not surprisingly, it is quite an interesting read!

Happy reading!

Happy Fourth of July!!

The Fourth of July celebrations are upon us! As usual, I’ll be celebrating Lexington-style. I know there are lots of traditions around Kentucky on the Fourth of July and different communities have wonderful, unique festivities. Tell me what you and/or your community does to celebrate our Nation’s independence!

No Destination: Griffith Woods

Griffith Woods, Cynthiana, Ky.

745 acres of protected Harrison County land provides the purest glimpse of what Europeans first saw when the entered the Bluegrass region. This is what the land looked like when the Native Americans lived here. Griffith Woods is a cooperative effort between the Nature Conservancy, the University of Kentucky and the Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission. It is the centerpiece of the Bluegrass Restoration Project, an effort dedicated to returning as much of the Bluegrass to its original state. This effort is particularly important as the Bluegrass region was listed as endangered in 2006 by the World Monuments Fund (of course, the WMF was referring to horse country, not the natural habitat).

Originally called Silver Lake Farm, both the farm and the Griffith family were key figures in the early days of both the Commonwealth and the county. In the early 1900s, owner and farmer William Griffith preserved a portion of his land which today stands as the largest oak-ash savanna in Kentucky. Many of the blue ash, chinquapin oak, bur oak, hickories and black walnut trees are over 300 years old. In fact, the world’s largest chinquapin oak is at Griffith Woods. Fenced off, except for private tours, the view above is from the gate. There is also an abandoned home/tavern which was built around 1822.[*] It appears that UK and the Harrison County Fiscal Court might restore the tavern as well. Check out my other pictures of Griffith Woods @flickr.

No Destination: Silas Baptist Church

Silas Baptist Church, Cynthiana, Ky.

In 1798, land was given to the Cooper’s Run Church by Charles Smith, Jr. Two years later, 20 congregants left Cooper’s Run to form Silas Baptist Church. For fifty years, the church worshipped in a log structure. In 1850, the present brick structure was erected (with significant remodeling done in 1902). It is the oldest, continuously operating church in Harrison County.

The church is a member of the independent, Elkhorn Baptist Association. Marker 1596 reads:

Organized by 20 members of the Cooper’s Run Church in 1800, with the help of Ambrose Dudley, George Eve and Augustine Eastin. They built at this site on land given, 1798, by Charles Smith, Sr. The log structure was replaced by a brick house of worship in 1850 and redecorated in 1902. It is the oldest church in the county continuing without interruption.

Check out my other pictures of the Silas Baptist Church on Flickr!

No Destination: Death Valley Scotty

Death Valley Scotty historic marker, Cynthiana, Ky.

Walter Scott, aka Death Valley Scotty, was an adventurer in the greatest sense of the word. He was a part of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, held the record for rail travel from 1905 to 1934 (44h:54m; LA to Chicago), and was a fantastic schemer. His fictitious Death Valley gold mine brought in many investors, including the president of National Life Insurance Company of America (Albert M. Johnson).

Johnson followed Scott to Death Valley and Johnson’s wife convinced him the weather was good for his health. Though Scotty claims it was built for him (and is so named), Johnson erected Scotty’s Castle (left, photo by K. Repanshek). The castle was constructed at a cost of $1.4 million is now owned by the federal government.

Scott, for all his frauding and scheming, never spent much time in jail. He is buried on a hill overlooking Scotty’s Castle.

No Destination: Joshua Fry Bell

Joshua Fry Bell historic marker #198, Pineville, Ky.

Joshua Fry Bell, for whom Bell County is named, was born in Danville and is a 1828 Centre College alum. Bell, a lawyer, was elected to the U.S. House as a Whig. Seeking to return to Kentucky, he served a short time as secretary of state under Governor Crittenden. But history tells us that the Whig Party disappeared. Before the rise of the Republican Party, however, Bell (and others) identified with the Opposition Party. It was under this banner that Bell ran for governor, losing to Beriah Magoffin.

Bell served alongside fellow Kentuckians William Butler and John Crittenden at the Peace Conference of 1861, a last-ditch effort to avoid Civil War.

From 1863 to 1867, Bell served in the Kentucky House of Representatives. During this time, the county bearing Bell’s name was formed. In fact, the county’s official name was “Josh Bell County” until 1873.

No Destination: Capitol

Kentucky State Capitol, Frankfort, Ky.

A group of five commissioners selected in 1792 that Frankfort should be the state’s capital (the question was revisited in 1904). Since that selection, four capitol buildings have been constructed. The current structure was completed in 1910 (Happy 100th Birthday post) and is in the Beaux Arts style. Inside are housed all branches of the government: executive (first floor), judiciary (second floor) and the legislature (third floor)

Parts of the building reflect Kentucky’s love of French architecture. For example, architect Frank Mills Andrews modeled the capitol’s grand staircase after the staircase at the Paris Opera. From 1910 until 1927, the Capitol was Kentucky’s tallest building (replaced by Louisville’s Heyburn Building).

On the first floor, under the rotunda, are statutes of Abraham Lincoln, Henry Clay, Ephraim McDowell, Jefferson Davis and Alben Barkley. The statues of Clay and McDowell are replicas of those in the U.S. Capitol’s statuary. Above, the recently painted and restored dome shines over the four pendentive murals: Nature, Industry, Culture and Civitas.

Check out all my Pictures on Flickr of the Capitol!