It might be a stretch to call this post a “no destination.” I was in Bardstown, Kentucky for a wedding this past Saturday and I had about an hour-and-a-half to kill. I headed into downtown, parked the car and began to explore.
Bardstown is best known as the site of Federal Hill, a/k/a My Old Kentucky Home. Relaxing on the grounds of this property, composer Stephen Foster wrote the words and music of the song that would become Kentucky’s state anthem.
Downtown is marked by a large rotary with the old courthouse in the middle. Bardstown, a ville strongly focused on historical preservation, now uses its old courthouse as a visitors center. (The new courthouse is not downtown; it’s next to the Bluegrass Parkway.)
The focus on historical preservation is everywhere – older homes and business are marked with plaques indicating the history of the structures. All in all, Bardstown is a great little ville. I hope to return to see the proto-cathedral of St. Joseph; apparently Bardstown was an important center of American Catholic life.
Without adieu…the pictures (be sure to read the captions):
Oh, and one more interesting fact. The first successful leg amputation (at the hip joint) was performed on a 17-year-old patient in Bardstown in 1806.