Henderson County’s Fourth of Five Courthouses

Henderson County Courthouse – Henderson, Ky. Photo: NRK

For me, the Henderson County Courthouse was a breath of fresh air. So often, when a county decides to build something new to replace the old courthouse, they build something that looks like a Soviet-era bunker.

Former Henderson County Courthouse Source: KDL

Regardless of my opinion of the new courthouse, the demolition of the previous courthouse (pictured at right) was hotly disputed. The decision in the 1960s to destroy the former, circa 1843, courthouse occurred only after a major dispute with preservationists.

In the end, preservationists succeeding only in delaying the demolition of the ca. 1843 courthouse by four years through the use of a restraining order.

That previous courthouse was a two-story brick Greek Revivial with cupola which served as a prison, cookhouse, fort, and Civil War headquarters and hospital during its 120 years as the heart of Henderson County.

The above courthouse is the fourth in Henderson, and it sits on an enormous courthouse lawn. In fact, the site is allegedly the site of an ancient Indian mound.

Bronze Reliefs. Photo: NRK

This courthouse has these amazing dark marble columns around a semi-circular portico that are both modern and reference to the past. It was built in 1964-65 and cost just over half a million dollars. There are some amazing bronze reliefs near the entrances that detail a few notable events history of the county. The one below shows the surveying of the land that would become Henderson.

As has become the standard in Kentucky, what we have described as the Henderson County courthouse is not, actually, the current courthouse. Like so many other counties, the newer Henderson Judicial Center was completed in 2003 for just under $10 million.

Ohio River at Henderson, Ky. Photo: NRK.

Henderson was established on an existing settlement known as Red Banks. Due to its position on a bluff, the river town didn’t flood as much as others, and served as an important commerce point due to its position at the confluence of the Ohio and Green Rivers. When it was incorporated in 1810, one of the town’s 160 residents was John J. Audubon, the noted ornithologist, who operated a general store.

Along the Elkhorn Vale … Wendell H. Ford

Bust of Wendell H. Ford – Owensboro, Ky.

Although it would have been fitting to place this bust of Wendell H. Ford anywhere in the Commonwealth, it appropriately sits on the courthouse lawn in Owensboro. Wendell H. Ford served as Kentucky’s Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky from 1967-71 alongside Gov. Louie Nunn, then as Governor from 1971-1974. From the Governor’s Mansion, Ford ran for and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1974. Ford, a Democrat, served Kentucky in Washington from 1974 until 1999. His service was marked with stints as both minority and majority whip.

Ford was born in Daviess County in 1924. After serving in the Army, he went to school and entered the insurance business with his father. Ford then entered politics by serving as an executive assistant for Governor Bert T. Combs. Elected to the state senate in 1965, Ford was elected Lieutenant Governor two years later. Interestingly enough, Ford (a Democrat) served as second-in-command for Republican Louie Nunn at a time when the two office holders did not run as a slate. During his time as lieutenant governor, Ford essentially rebuilt the organization of the Democratic party in the Commonwealth.

The 1971 Democratic primary for governor was an eight-way race decisively won by Wendell Ford, impressive particularly given that former Governor Combs was among the challengers. The fall election was a four-way race with Ford winning again, beating an independent challenge by another former governor A. B. “Happy” Chandler.  By defeating two former, popular Democratic governors, Ford was able to cement his stronghold on his political party and end some of the sectionalism that had traditionally plagued state Democrats.

The Wendell Ford administration was marked by efforts of efficient government consolidation and certain higher taxes. Among them, the coal severance tax was imposed and both the corporate tax and the gasoline tax were raised. Offsetting these tax increases was the elimination of the sales tax on food items, something which Ford had previously sought the exemption of during the Combs administration. During his administration, Kentucky passed the Equal Rights Amendment and the University of Louisville was transferred from municipal to state control.  

Then, the Kentucky governor could not run for re-election to a consecutive term. Ford opted to run for the U.S. Senate in 1974 and was elected and re-elected until he retired in 1998. While in the U.S. Senate, Ford was involved in a number of issues and was decisively pro-Kentucky, pro-coal, and pro-tobacco. Among his accomplishments, the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act reduced aircraft noise and required airlines to better inform consumers. He supported the increase in the federal minimum wage, welfare reform, research of clean coal technology, and increased retirement benefits for coal miners. A final accomplishment which would have saved the government millions of dollars by using recycled paper and printing in volume through a centralized printing operation was never realized; although favorably reported out of committee, progress on the legislation was stymied by the Clinton removal trial following the President’s 1998 impeachment.
Ford’s seat was taken by Republican Hall-of-Famer Jim Bunning in 1998 and is now occupied by another western Kentuckian, Rand Paul. Today, Ford lives in Owensboro. His public papers are at the Owensboro Museum of Science and History along with a replica of his Senate office.

Scott County Pioneer Station Established in 1790 by Jesse James’ Ancestor

Lindsay’s Station Historic Marker – Stamping Ground, Ky.

About a mile north of Stamping Ground, at the junction of KY 227 and 368 stands a Kentucky historic roadside marker bearing information about an early Kentucky settlement established along a buffalo trace near Lecompte Run in 1790. It was there, in three log cabins and a stockade to hold livestock, that Anthony Lindsay created a small settlement and from where he would grow to be a successful farmer in his day. Prior to his settlement, he was a veteran of the French & Indian War and a Revolutionary War Patriot.

Historic marker #218 reads:

Anthony Lindsay chose this site for his station, built about 1790. lt was located near Lecompte’s Run, a branch of the Elkhorn named for Charles Lecompte, who was here with William McConnell and others in 1775. The station was on old buffalo trace, leading north to Ohio River, and was a regular stop for travelers and traders. Lindsay’s grave is 100 yds. north.

The graves, while not visible form the road, are within a fenced thicket. [*] Lindsay’s Station was not among the first or the most significant of Kentucky’s early settlements, but at each early pioneers and settlers struggled with the elements and the reality of clearing land, planting crops, and risking the threat of Indian attack. Their contributions to Kentucky cannot be discounted.

Neither can this footnote in history: certain of Anthony Lindsay’s descendants moved on to Missouri and his great-grandson, Jesse Woodson James, was one of the most notorious outlaws in American history. Another side note: this isn’t the first time we’ve encountered a Jesse James ancestor in the Commonwealth.

Jalapeño Beer at Country Boy Brewing

Country Boy Brewing – Lexington, Ky.

At first, I was a little skeptical at the concept. Gimmicky? Perhaps. Worthy of trying? Absolutely.

It took me a while to make it down to Lexington’s Chair Avenue to explore and taste the brews of Country Boy Brewing Company, one of the several microbrews to open and be embraced by Lexington within the past year. Since I first learned of Country Boy, I wanted to taste their Jalapeño brew. On the day I visited, they had two of their twenty-four taps featuring the mighty jalapeño.

The Jalapeño Smoked Porter is spicy, but pleasantly so. Even better for my palate was the Jalapeño Smoked Porter XXX which was slightly mellower on the Scoville scale thanks to a some aging in bourbon barrels. With either, however, I’m not sure how I’d make it through an entire pint (having some food from a nearby greasy spoon would probably do the drink, but jalapeño beer really ought to be coupled with some food). Though no food is served at Country Boy, they welcome outside food. And Tolly-Ho is really close!

Even without food, the $1 sampling glasses allowed me a flight of five of Country Boy’s delicious and unique brews. My other three tastes were of the English Brown Ale (Brown Chicken/Brown Cow, on nitro at 4.8%), the incredibly unique Schnickelfritz Spruce (a 5.7% beer brewed with fresh spruce tips), and the Cliff Jumper IPA. All brewed in house and all quite tasty, but it is the willingness to experiment outside-the-box (jalapeños, spruce tips) that sets Country Boy Brewing apart.

As for location, it certainly is different than Lexington’s other newly opened watering holes. Lexington Beerworks occupies a historic North Limestone structure and West Sixth Brewing has transformed the old Rainbo bread building. On the other hand, Country Boy’s taproom and brewery are located in a nondescript, modern industrial building of concrete block and corrugated sheet metal. If blue laws were different, this plain building could be lifted and relocated to any of the smaller towns surrounding Lexington and fit in perfectly. I wouldn’t object if their taproom did just that.

Inside, Country Boy delivers on its name with a homey, relaxed experience. There is no pretense here. Just good beer and good times.

Researching My Family History; A Return to Genealogy

My old genealogy website logo, ca. 1997

Although this blog is committed to Kentucky’s history, I’ve recently returned to another historical addiction: genealogy. When I was in my early teens, I was interested in genealogy. A research trip to Salt Lake City strengthened a passion that has gone dormant since 1997.

About a month ago — likely in response to watching a few episodes of NBC’s now-cancelled Who Do You Think You Are? — my genealogical interests were rekindled. I’ve found two banker boxes of old research notes which I’ve thumbed through again for the first time in fifteen years. I’ve also found a few interesting leads which relate to Kentucky’s history. The following text describes events that occurred when Daniel Boone led a company of settlers toward Kentucky in the fall of 1773. During this trip, Indians attacked the company while it was still in Virginia killing, among others, Boone’s eldest son James:

The party proceeded until they were descending the
Alleghanies, near Cumberland Mountain, when they were attacked with great fury by a
scouting party of Indians and several of their number slain, among whom was Boone’s eldest
son. The party, however, soon rallied from the confusion into which they were thrown, and
the attack was repelled; but the party was so disheartened that they retreated to Clinch River,
forty miles in their rear. The Haworth brothers now returned to North Carolina, and
remained there about twelve years, when they again attempted to enter Kentucky, but,
finding the Indians still hostile, turned their course to Tennessee, and, in what is now Green
County in that State, George selected the place for his now home. He then returned to North
Carolina, and, taking his two little sons, Mahlon and John, with him, went back to
Tennessee, built a cabin and made other preparations for the reception of the other members
of his family. When their work was done, the father returned to North Carolina for his wife,
and other children, leaving; the two little boys, aged ten and twelve years, alone in the new
home, with provisions enough, as he supposed, to last them during his absence; which he
expected would be of two or three weeks’ duration. But high waters and other impediments
to travel on packhorses detained them for six weeks. During the time, their provisions gave
out, and the little boys were obliged to subsist on parched corn, roots and berries, such as
they could gather in the woods. Added to this trouble was the fear of an attack by the
Indians, and when at last their parents arrived, the boys ran to meet them with outstretched
arms, the mother sprang from her horse, clasped them in her arms and they all wept together
for joy. [*]

One of those young boys, Mahlon, was one of my paternal great(x4)-grandfathers. Reading this story for the first time, particularly as a father, was especially emotional. I cannot imagine.

It seems that the Haworth family and the Boone family also relocated from Pennsylvania to North Carolina on a similar timeline. To have my own family’s history so linked to one of Kentucky’s great early explorers is thrilling.

Since it’s been fifteen years since I’ve research genealogy, are there any new recommendations you have for information sources? I’m contemplating blogging here or elsewhere on my discoveries. I’ll look forward to your thoughts and suggestions in the comments!

A Kentucky Joke Worth Repeating

I just received this and thought it quite funny. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

The year is 2016 and the United States has just elected the first woman president who happens to be from Kentucky. A few days after the election the president-elect, whose name is Debra, calls her father and says, “So, Dad, I assume you will be coming to my inauguration?” 

“I don’t think so. It’s a 10 hour drive.” 

“Don’t worry about it Dad, I’ll send Air Force One. And a limousine will pick you up at your door.” 

“I don’t know … everybody will be so fancy. What would your mother wear?” 

“Oh Dad,” replies Debra, “I’ll make sure she has a wonderful gown custom-made by the best designer in Washington.” 

“Honey,” Dad complains, “you know I can’t eat those rich foods you eat.” 

The President-elect responds, ” Don’t worry Dad. The entire affair will be handled by the best caterer in Washington; I’ll ensure your meals are salt free. You and mom just have to be there.” 

So Dad reluctantly agrees, and on January 20, 2017, Debra is being sworn in as President of the United States. In the front row sits the new President’s dad and mom. 

Dad, noticing the senator sitting next to him, leans over and whispers, “You see that woman over there with her hand on the Bible, becoming President of the United States.” 

The Senator whispers back, “You bet I do.”  

Dad says proudly, “Her brother played basketball for Kentucky!”

Go Cats!

Botherum, Lexington’s Taj Mahal

The Botherum – Lexington, Ky.

At the heart of downtown Lexington’s historic Woodward Heights neighborhood is the Botherum, a circa 1850 mansion. Today, the property is owned by Dale Fisher and Jon Carloftis, but the land itself was once the northeast corner of Col. Robert Patterson‘s original 400-acre tract, granted him in 1776.

It was here, in the middle of the nineteenth century, that lawyer and banker Madison C. Johnson, that “the fascinating residence known as Botherum … [was] erected by local builder-architect John McMurtry.” Like many Lexingtonians of his day, Johnson was a “cultivated man” whose interests varied greatly. An amateur astronomer, Johnson incorporated into the design the wrought iron octagonal parapet from which he could view the heavens.

Drawing Room at Botherum

It is believed that Johnson worked closely with McMurtry on the home’s design, incorporating personal details into the originally U-shaped mansion that combines Grecian, Roman, and Gothic elements. Within the U was an enclosed garden, no doubt to satisfy other of Johnson’s varied tastes. The walls of the Botherum vary too in material: while many are of rough limestone others are of brick construction with a plaster surface to give only the appearance of stone.

Despite his own personal touches, McMurtry was not commissioned to build Johnson a temple for himself. Rather, the Botherum was built to honor the memory and Johnson’s love for his wife who had died some twenty-three years earlier in childbirth. The story parallels that of the grief stricken Shah Jahan whose love for his wife, who also died in the delivery of a child, inspired the construction of India’s Taj Mahal.

Bohemian Glass Doors

Johnson’s affection for his late wife, Sally Ann, was also noted because Johnson believed himself physically ugly and found his wife quite the opposite. Johnson’s belief of his own appearance may have been his greatest challenge. Upon graduation from Transylvania College, Johnson had his diploma sent to him and his valedictory address read by the college president so that he would not be compelled to take the stage.

Johnson collaborated with Henry Clay (their friendship enough that Clay gifted Johnson with the massive gingko tree now in front of Botherum) and became a confidant for Abraham Lincoln. It is said that Johnson even rejected an offer by Lincoln to serve as Secretary of the Treasury for his fear of joining the Washington social scene was too great.

Floor boards covering a possible root
cellar beneath the basement floor.

It is unclear if his lack of confidence in his personal appearance kept Johnson from having house guests, but he did construct a small guest house to the rear of Botherum for the occasional guest. Some ‘guests’, however, were permitted to stay in the house particularly those seeking their freedom on the underground railroad. Although the particularities are unknown, one can imagine Madison C. Johnson concealing the “fugitives” in the root cellar beneath the original basement kitchen – a kitchen which itself was and is accessible only by trap door.

Dale Fisher, one of the new
Botherum owners

Madison C. Johnson was a noted businessman in Lexington having been president of the Northern Bank of Kentucky and having helped to establish the Lexington Cemetery. Before his death, the U-shaped Botherum was closed and the central garden removed. Above it, a central room joined the master floor plan. Johnson died in 1886 and his heirs immediately sold the Botherum and the surrounding acreage to J.C. Woodward. Within a year, a city map identified a subdivided Woodward Heights subdivision.

Given its impressive stature and romantic inspiration, it is almost a footnote to recall that prior to McMurtry’s architectural additions, the home was a simple, three-room farmhouse. From its humble beginnings, Madison Johnson remembered and honored the legacy of his deceased wife with a beautiful home which draws crowds to this day.

Botherum – Lexington, Ky.

Additional photos of the Botherum are available on flickr.
Also, here are a few pictures from the Historical Buildings of America Survey (1940).

Source: NRHP (Botherum); NRHP (Woodward Heights)


The Bluegrass Trust for Historic Preservation hosts a monthly deTour for young professionals (and the young-at-heart). The group meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. Uniquely, and because of our nation’s celebration of independence, our next meeting is MONDAY, July 2 with more details on Facebook! You can see Kaintuckeean write-ups on previous deTours by clicking here.

What is the National Register of Historic Places?

NRHP Plaque. Photo: Public Domain.

The National Register of Historic Places was begun in 1966 because “the historical and cultural foundations of the Nation should be preserved as a living part of our community life and development in order to give a sense of orientation to the American people.” 16 U.S.C. 470(b)(2). Through the National Preservation Act of 1966, the Department of the Interior was charged with compiling and maintaing a registry of significant American sites and places.

Each week, a new round of applications is approved. In order to be approved, an application must first be recommended by the state historic preservation office (SHPO). In Kentucky, the Kentucky Heritage Council (KHC) acts as our SHPO.

Since its inception, the KHC has conducted an ongoing Historic Resources Survey of historic places within the Commonwealth. To date, over 90,000 Kentucky locations have been surveyed. This comes as no surprise given Kentucky’s rich history.

Kentucky has also fared quite well when it comes to inclusion on the National Register. In fact, only three states (New York, Massachusetts, and Ohio) have more inclusions in the registry than the Commonwealth. The National Register includes 3,200 districts, sites, and structures with over 42,000 historic Kentucky features.

A board, the Kentucky Historic Preservation Board (KHPB), works in conjunction with the Kentucky Heritage Council to review and approve Kentucky-based applications for inclusion on the National Register. Meeting three times a year, the KHPB reviews applications for conformity with National Register guidelines.

C&O Railway Depot – Catlettsburg, Ky.

On May 17, the KHPB met at Lexington’s Spindletop Hall to approve seven applications for consideration. These locations are: Bybee House in Barren County, “Raccoon” John Smith House in Bath County, the C&O Railway Depot in Boyd County, both Spindletop Farm and Springview Farm in Fayette County, Jefferson County’s Jefferson Jacob School and Lustron House, and the Jefferson Street/Fountain Avenue District Expansion in McCracken County.

Copies of each site’s application are available from the KHC and we’ll be reviewing each individual application once included on the National Register.

Finding Kentucky in the North Carolina’s Outer Banks

Wild Horses of Corolla – Outer Banks, North Carolina

I returned a couple of weeks ago from a vacation to North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Completely unlike Kentucky, the fresh seafood and oceanic views both did not disappoint. But I’m always curious as to how and where I will find a “Kentucky connection.” Wherever you go, you can find one (or more).

Bottles of Daniel Boone Ale

While driving to my destination, I found myself headed south from Charleston, W. Va. and into North Carolina’s Yadkin River Valley. From his home here, Daniel Boone made his multiple excursions through the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky. On our return trip, we stopped for supper in Hickory, N. Car. at the Olde Hickory Brewery. While tasting a flight of several brews, I narrowed in on an immediate favorite. After reading the description, I knew why! The limited release “Daniel Boone” is a vanilla-hinted brown ale aged in bourbon barrels.

At the coast, we spent a morning enjoying a wild horse tour in Corolla and Carova Beach. There, a population of feral horses  run freely through a 1,800 acre animal sanctuary enclosure. The enclosure was erected in 1989 after twelve of the horses and been struck by automobiles. According to veterinary researchers at (you guessed it) the University of Kentucky, the number of alleles in the Corolla horse population are the fewest number found within any equine population. Accordingly, the Corolla horses are categorized as a unique species of horse rather than a mixture of other breeds. Of the different herds roaming North Carolina’s Outer Banks, the Corolla stock particularly resemble the Iberian horses brought from Spain the 1500s.

It is disputed how the horses particularly arrived (and remained) in North Carolina. Some believe a Spanish vessel shipwrecked and that the horses swam to safety or that the horses were thrown overboard to free a beached Spanish galleon. A third theory suggests that a Spanish settlement in the area, including their horses, was abandoned after relations with the natives proved too challenging.

Horses, beer, and bourbon. Yessir, I found my Kentucky connection in the Tar-heel State.

Happy Birthday, Kentucky!

“My Old Kentucky Home” – Bardstown, Ky.

Oh the sun shines bright on my old Kentucky home … 

On June 1, 1792, two-hundred twenty years ago, Kentucky was admitted as the fifteenth state of these United States. The road to statehood was not easy.

Kentucky originated as part of Virginia’s massive Fincastle County and was made its own county of the Commonwealth of Virginia effective December 31, 1776. Its bounds were:

to the south and westward of a line beginning on the Ohio at the mouth of Great Sandy creek and running up the same and the main, or northeasterly, branch thereof to the Great Laurel Ridge of Cumberland Mountain, then south westerly along the said mountain to the line of North Carolina.

The Virginia legislature divided the single Kentucky County into three (Fayette, Jefferson, and Lincoln) in 1780. Over the next six years, the number of counties in Virginia’s “Kentucky District” grew. With them, so grew the rumblings of statehood.

In 1784, at Danville, Kentuckians held their first constitutional convention. It would be the first of ten such conventions before Kentucky would gain admittance to the Union. A major hurdle — acceptance by Virginia — was overcome on December 18, 1789 when Virginia’s legislature authorized Kentucky to apply for statehood.

The tenth convention occurred in April of 1792. At Danville, forty-five delegates (five from each of Kentucky’s nine counties) gathered including some of the greatest legal minds then in Kentucky. Among them, Col. George C. Nicholas who was the chief draftsman of the convention’s final product. For his efforts, Nicholas is known as the “Father of the Kentucky Constitution.”

The produced document was certainly not perfect and it only remained in effect for seven years before a new Constitution was adopted in 1799. But the document was sufficient to meet the Congressional deadline. For on February 4, 1791, the third session of the First Congress passed the “Act Admitting Kentucky into the Union.”

source: courts.ky.gov

Read that “the said district should be formed into a new State an received into the Union by the name of the ‘State of Kentucky.’ … [and] that upon the aforesaid first day of June, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-two, the said new State, by the name and style of the State of Kentucky, shall be received and admitted into this Union as a new and entire member of the United States of America.”

Happy Birthday, Kentucky! Help us celebrate and let’s get #HappyBirthdayKentucky trending on twitter. If you have a twitter account, use that hashtag!