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.

Marion County Courthouse – Lebanon, Ky.


After visiting Lebanon for the first time, I know two things – first, this town loves ham, and secondly, John Hunt Morgan is all over the place here. I thought the famous Kentucky Confederate calvary officer and general was well represented in Lexington, buy Lebanon is another story. And I guess that makes sense, because Morgan burned much of the town during the Civil War, and according to the historic markers, he was also responsible for the burning of the courthouse that used to stand on this spot. His goal was to destroy treason indictments in the courthouse issued against his men. This courthouse was built in 1935.
Apparently Lebanon was a bustling railroad town, until the Civil War, and later the end of the railroad age brought it the quiet status it enjoys today. Oh, and it’s annual town festival is called “Ham Days.” Seriously. Like I said, this town loves its country ham.


BONUS PIC FOR PETER – Now this is the coolest thing about Lebanon’s courthouse. What you see above is the courthouse square. These buildings, several of which are occupied by the offices of attorneys and engineers, literally sit on the courthouse lawn, with just this little sidewalk separating them. While several of them have clearly been well maintained, a couple could use some work. One of the buildings on the square had a big hole in the door, and a couple of cats were hanging out inside sunning themselves.

Boyle County Courthouse – Danville, Ky.


Ah Boyle County. One of my favorite places on earth. I spent 4 years here in Danville and I think it’s what really cemented my love of small-town Kentucky.
I love the Boyle County Courthouse mostly for what you cannot see in this picture. The courthouse square is pretty large, and the building is L-shaped, with the doors and cupola pictured here at one end of the L. When Peter and I visited here earlier in the summer, he commented about how strange this makes the courthouse look. It’s not the standard square or symmetrical building you see in any other county in the state, and for that I love it.
Anyway, this present courthouse was built in 1862, and according to historic markers, it served as a hospital during the Civil War.

Mercer County Courthouse – Harrodsburg, Ky.


UPDATE: apparently the “massive historic preservation” I spoke of in this post isn’t historic preservation at all. According to the Herald Leader’s recent courthouse series this building is being torn down and replaced. Really, really sad.

I apologize for my lack of any photo editing software to lighten this one up a bit (one thing I miss about working for the paper is the access to cool photo software) but I just had to choose this picture of the Mercer County Courthouse. Mercer is one of two courthouses I saw today that appears to be undergoing massive historic preservation, and the effect created by the absence of the clock in the clock tower was pretty cool.
I have to be honest here – Harrodsburg is one of my favorite little communities in central Kentucky, mostly because I spent some time here during an internship with the local paper during my senior year at Centre. Harrodsburg has a combination of all of my favorite elements – well-maintained buildings, tons of history and friendly people. In addition, Harrodsburg seems to have a very active historical society, judging from the wealth of historic markers and tour guideposts throughout. Anyway, the present courthouse is the fourth to occupy the spot, and it was built in 1928.


BONUS PIC FOR PETER – One thing that I hate to see in any downtown area is the giant hole that develops when a building is taken down in a row of buildings. With historic commercial blocks you always get that great line of buildings with different heights and styles, and when one gets knocked down, it tends to look like someone knocked out a tooth from a beautiful smile. These buildings usually make way for parking lots, and when one building comes down, sometimes the whole block starts to deteriorate – think Rosenburg Block in Lexington. Anyway, Harrodsburg’s got the right idea here. This park sits in the middle of a block between two buildings. Pretty cool.

No Destination: Jessamine (Aug. 16, 2009)


With thirty minutes to kill, I went for a quick drive today in my home county of Jessamine. I picked a couple of roads I had never before traveled – and, as always, was amazed at what I saw.

Corn fields to the left and right, access to a beautiful creek with rapidly moving water (I love the sound of moving water) and a small, country Baptist church. Even standing outside, I could imagine earlier in the day the Bible-preaching going on in that small country church. Here are a selection of the few pictures taken from the trek:

Also, I realized something really cool. My new iPhone knew exactly where I was when I took the pictures so they were automatically geotagged. Pretty cool.

A No Destination Map

Filling in the map for the Kentucky120 Project is much more definite than doing so for No Destination. Of course, that’s because the Project has a specific goal in mind – the courthouse of each county.

No Destination meanders, wanders down Kentucky paths – beaten or otherwise. I’ve been to many of Kentucky’s other counties, but I won’t claim it as a No Destination unless it gets at least a mention here.

No Destination: 5-6-09

I just realized that I never wrote about my first “No Destination” drive. It occurred in early May – immediately after my last law school exam. I picked up two Pepsis and a bag of Fritos and hit the road. The purpose of the drive was simply that – to drive. Consequently, I didn’t take as many pictures as I have on more recent No Destination sojourns.

I traveled down U.S. 27 from Nicholasville past Camp Nelson and across the Kentucky River in order to take KY-152 over Lake Herrington and to Burgin and even further, to Harrodsburg. While I gloss over the drive down 152, one cannot easily forget the beautiful topography of this part of the Commonwealth – rolling hills and seemingly endless praries, streams and rivers.

Once in Harrodsburg, I drove down a busy Main Street with its many shops. The most fun of my trip came up US-127 from Harrodsburg. With an eye open for historical markers, I finally decided to take breaks with my camera. In the small Mercer County ville of McAfee (est. 1779), I saw a nice little church. New Providence Presbyterian – so named because during a 1773 exploration of the area, the McAfee Company neared starvation until a deer was found, killed and eaten. The current church was built from 1861-1864 and the church cemetery was amazing – truly calming.

Down one small road, I saw a farmer using his horses to prepare the soil for tilling. Down another small road, I meandered down to the Kentucky River (and saw a wild turkey!). I’m not sure if I met the river at Warwick or Oregon – each was a ‘major’ shipping port for flatboats and steamboats destined for New Orleans. I sat down a few feet away from the river and watched it pass by. It was exactly the calm I needed. After leaving my spot by the river, I worked my way up a different road (Cummins Ferry) to make my way back to US-127 – then to Lawrenceburg. US-60 to Versailles and then my usual path home to Nicholasville.

I did manage to snap a few pictures: