Category: Uncategorized

No Destination: Minerva

I’m not sure what community in Kentucky has the highest number of churches per capita (if you know, please advise!), but it very well could be Minerva, Kentucky. This Mason County hamlet, with a population of about 250 (as of 1876), has four churches. (According to the new Minerva Baptist Church, there are six churches and 115 people today.)

The four churches – Baptist, Methodist, Catholic and Full Gospel – are each architecturally unique. The Catholic church is least impressive – a late-20th century brick church. Both the Methodist (built in 1894) and the Full Gospel churches appear to be the quintessential white-siding country churches.

The Baptist Church, though no longer in use, is the most impressive. The church began as a “Traveling Church” in 1793 and the Baptist congregation formed about 1799. Services were held regularly on the site until about 1900. Sold in 1930 for $280 and then used as a tobacco barn, the Bracken Baptist Church structure was completely restored in 2005. Constructed in 1842, this Greek Revival building was added to the National Register in 1983.

On a religious note, the Baptist congregation split on two occasions. The first time was in 1805 (over slavery). The second was in 1829 during the Campbell movement, which was the beginning of many of the Christian Churches/Disciples of Christ churches that are prevalent in Kentucky today. It is curious that a movement which sought church unity was the cause of schism.

Minerva is most notably the birthplace (Dec. 31, 1884) of Supreme Court Justice Stanley F. Reed. Nominated by FDR, Reed was the last Supreme Court justice to not graduate from law school (he outserved the later-nominated Robert Jackson by three years). He served on the High Court from 1938 to 1957 and is the longest-serving Justice in Supreme Court History. One of Reed’s most famous quotes comes from his dissent in Illinois ex rel. McCollum v. Board of Education, 333 U.S. 203 (1948) (first case to declare that a state had violated the Establishment clause): “A rule of law should not be drawn from a figure of speech.” Reed was referring, of course, to the wall of separation between church and state.

No Destination: Arnold Gragston


Although not a destination, Arnold Gragston deserves a post. I learned of him from a historic marker in Germantown, Kentucky. First, Germantown is a fine community located on the Bracken-Mason county line. The community, though small, was laid out in 1784 and later settled by the Pennsylvania Dutch (recall that the Pennsylvania Dutch are of German descent).

Arnold Gragston was a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Though a slave himself, he risked his own life by transporting other slaves from near the farm where he was in servitude (Germantown) to Dover and across the river to freedom in Ripley, Ohio. Gragston would make three to four trips across the river each month, always returning to his own servitude. It is estimated that he helped some three hundred slaves to freedom. Eventually, however, Gragston (believing he could be of no more good in Mason County) did not ferry himself back to Kentucky. Ultimately, he moved to but returned to Germantown in the 1880s. Gragston tells his story here.

Pictured below is the Ohio River from the port of Dover.

No Destination: Mount Olivet


Robertson County is Kentucky’s smallest county by population (2000 census: 2,266 people). Geographically, it is also quite small (100 square miles). As of the same census, the county seat (Mount Olivet) had 289 residents. Needless to say, this is smalltown USA.

Mount Olivet was founded in 1820 and was named after the Mount of Olives in Israel. The town consists of a crossroads, a church (probably more, but I only encountered one), a golf driving range and government offices.

I will leave the description of the courthouse up to Nate. The new judicial center is complete and it was constructed adjacent to the old courthouse. Together, it is quite a large structure. A Mount Olivet resident living across the street from the courthouse remarked that “it is four-times the courthouse we need.” The old courthouse seems to have been gutted so that a modernized courthouse can sit inside the historic building.

The office of the mayor, city clerk and police appears to be a remodeledd two-bedroom house. It screams smalltown. I especially loved the identifying sign, pictured above.

Golf driving range? Yes. Goddard’s Driving Range will not be found on any listing of golf courses or driving ranges: the two tees direct into the back yards (downhill) of who I assume would be the Goddard’s. A note tells you the distances of the three holes, where to put your $5 and where you can find a bucket of balls (in a nearby shed). I loved it. If only I had brought my clubs…

No Destination: Johnson Creek Covered Bridge

Located just north of the Blue Licks State Park on KY-1029 in Robertson County, the Johnson Creek Covered Bridge once carried the state highway until it was closed to vehicular traffic in 1966. The Smith-truss design bridge was constructed in 1874 and spans 131 feet; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

In the early 1910s, the bridge was overhauled by the Bower Bridge Company. The bridge was the target of a 1968 fire (arson); repairs were not made for four years. Today, however, the Johnson Creek Covered Bridge has just undergone a two-year renovation. The renovation was done by the Arnold M. Graton Company New Hampshire, a company that exclusively repairs and renovates historic bridges for preservation purposes. The Graton Company did a terrific job; the bridge is beautiful.

Note: Updated and Corrected on 22 Feb. 2010.

No Destination: Blue Licks


The Blue Licks Battlefield State Park and Nature Preserve was a great surprise. I did not intend on stopping, but the NoDestination gods had other plans. I stayed for an astonishing 25 minutes – walking to the lodge and taking a few steps down a trail. I could have spent a significant amount of time here.

Pictured above is the Shorts Goldenrod Solidago shortii), a federally endangered species that grows only along a small portion of an old buffalo trace trail in the Nature Preserve portion of the Park. The buffalo trace once extended from the Ohio River to the salt springs at Blue Licks. The species was discovered by Dr. Charles W. Short in 1840.

On August 19, 1782, a bloody battle was waged between Kentucky pioneers and a force of Indians and British-Canadians. Daniel Boone’s son, Israel, died in the struggle. Although the surrender at Yorktown had occurred the prior year, frontier battles of the Revolution continued. The Battle of Blue Licks was quite bloody and, among other losses, about 70 Kentucky pioneers were tomahawked in minutes by Wyandot indians.

No Destination: Carlisle

Oops. Didn’t mean to end up in Carlisle. Nate has already visited the Nicholas county seat, but I was not hardpressed to find different foci in Carlisle.

First, Carlisle is the home of the Kentucky Doll and Toy Museum. Now, I know we all have different interests – and that is great. Some people love bric-a-brac, but I’m not a huge fan. And, to be honest, porcelain dolls kind of scare me. I don’t know if this is a natural fear or the product of the “Chucky” films, but the dolls and their beady tin eyes frighten me just a bit. If they don’t frighten you, however, come to Carlisle – there is an entire museum just for you.

Second, Carlisle is the home of a C.M.E. Church. Although the sign indicates that services are still conducted weekly, the building is in a terrific state of disrepair (this is the best view of the cupola). In fact, the church reminds me of a painting in my parent’s home: a country church with overgrown weeds and a sign reading “Closed Due to Rapture.” I’m sure this C.M.E. congregation would wear the analogy with pride.

Of course, I was also curious in that I have not previously heard of the C.M.E. church. The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church was originally known as the Colored Methodist-Episcopal Church and, like the A.M.E. churches, was a predominately black denomination. Both denominations adhere to Wesleyan doctrines and discussions of consolidating the two denominations have taken place.

No Destination: Tollgate House


Although no longer in existence, the historical marker for the “Tollgate House” sits at the Bourbon-Nicholas County line. According to the marker, 13 toll gates lay on the private road between Maysville and Lexington. The counties found that private enterprise was not best suited to operate the roads and they bought the turnpikes. Today, the marker sits along U.S. Highway 68. (A true microcosm of the development of roads and the highway system!)

A small cemetery sits near this historic marker. Somewhere near here, I made a wrong turn – thus beginning the day’s No Destination (even when I set out with a Destination, I end up with surprises).

No Destination: Millersburg


The hardest thing about driving with No Destination is having a Destination, mainly because I must pass by some cities and towns that I otherwise would love to visit. This was the case with Paris. Paris: I will return.

Traveling on, I approached Millersburg – a town in northern Bourbon county which was founded in 1798.

Millersburg native Mae Street Kidd served in Kentucky’s General Assembly from 1968-1985. Kidd was instrumental in Kentucky’s symbolic ratification of the Civil War Amendments (Constitutional Amendments 13, 14 and 15) – 112 years after the Amendments went into effect. She was also instrumental in Kentucky’s adoption of fair housing laws and other civil rights efforts.

Pictured above is Miller’s Block – which based on its name I can only guess that it relates back to the family for which the town is named (albeit 1885 is 87 years after the town was founded). Any Bourbon Countians or Millersburgites care to offer some background on Miller’s Block?

walkLEX: The Old Courthouse & Lexington History Museum

On my tour of the Old Fayette County Courthouse, my guide stopped to take pictures of children eating birthday cake. Whose birthday? The Lexington History Museum celebrates this month its sixth anniversary – happy birthday! During this busy day, I had the opportunity to walk and talk with Jamie Millard, the President of this great museum. Thanks to Jamie and the staff of the Museum for coordinating this tour on such a busy day!
The old Courthouse was finished in 1900 and is the fifth Courthouse to stand on the site. In the courthouse’s infancy, the the county required only one courtroom. But as dockets grew, room was made within the structure for additional courtrooms. By the 1950s, however, it was obvious that the courthouse was not sufficient absent significant change. A massive renovation of the building was done in the late 1950s.

Prior to the renovation, visitors inside the courthouse would have marveled at a grand staircase as they gazed up 107 feet to the dome ceiling. The dome, picture above, was painted a blue with dozens of lights which would have illuminated the dome – then one of Lexington’s tallest structures – and the surrounding area. The use of these electric lights in 1900 was groundbreaking; only Paris, France (the “City of Lights”) was using lightbulbs in such innovative ways. The lights would also have illuminated the beautiful interior – the carvings and paintings reminiscent of a 14th century Tibetan palace.

But during the renovations, the grand stairwell was removed and the dome sealed off. The area now below the dome is filled with HVAC and mechanical systems. Although I was disappointed that the remodeling done in the 1950s had hidden from view these great architectural attributes, Millard was quick to point out that this “adaptive reuse” resulted in the preservation of the building’s exterior. And it likely saved Lexington from having at its core a Soviet-era courthouse.

walkLEX will certainly visit the Lexington History Museum and the old Courthouse again – there is so much more to see.

walkLEX: Downtown Horse Fence


Bounded by Main, Upper, Vine and Limestone Streets lies a block of green grass and a four-rail fence. Fences like these dot the landscape of central Kentucky, but this rural landmark now appears in the heart of downtown Lexington.

The site was home to a block of buildings of varying degrees of historical importance, but with all needing significant inflows of time and money to be restored. In the end, the block was razed with the yet unfulfilled promise of a 40-story CentrePointe mixed-use development.

Regardless of its past or its uncertain future, this block (urban for 200 years) has returned for now to being undeveloped greenspace.

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