Driving into Williamsburg, you see all of these towers and cupolas peeking up above the trees. I immediately started thinking about how awesome this courthouse was going to look. Unfortunately, all of these towers are a part Cumberland College, and the courthouse square was relatively boring and deserted on this Saturday morning. Even Cumberland College’s football field has cupolas on the press box.
The courthouse pictured above is the fourth to sit on this site. Interestingly, the original name of Williamsburg was actually “Whitley Courthouse.” Come on pioneers…you guys could do better than that.
As I believe I’ve noted before, the largest city in Whitley County is actually Corbin, which in fact sits in three counties and is the county seat of none of them…which is kind of insane when you think about it. What would have been so devastating about one big county with Corbin in the middle?
No Destination: Middlesboro’s Meteorite
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| A town within the crater: Middlesboro, Ky. |
About three hundred million years ago, a large meteor struck what is now southeastern Kentucky. The impact created a large, three-mile wide crater. Skip forward to about 120 years ago and the incorporation of the Kentucky community of Middlesborough (also spelled Middlesboro) which is built within the crater. According to the historic marker commemorating the town’s geology, the area has been “Designated by the Kentucky Society of Professional Geologists as a Distinguished Geological Site. Middlesboro is one of only a few cities on the North American Continent located in the basin of a meteorite impact structure.”
The picture above shows the high wall of the crater. Standing in Middlesboro, this crater wall is a 360-degree panoramic. Until the 1960s and research by the USGS, locals thought the unique topography was caused by tectonic shifting rather than the 1,500 foot in diameter that once struck the area.
The site is one of three known astroblemes in the Commonwealth (the others are in Shelby and Woodford counties). [*]
Irregular Cycle
My apologies for the somewhat irregular posting schedule. A lot has been going on!
No Destination: Jacob Spears
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| Jacob Spears Marker, Bourbon Co., Ky. |
My biggest mistake in driving with no destination was going down the road next to the above marker, not recognizing the “stone castle” and completely missing the Jacob Spears distillery. Fortunately, you can see someone else’s pictures here. From historic marker 2295:
Named after Bourbon Co. because of quantity and quality of whiskey produced within its borders. Made from a fermented mash of at least 51% corn, with less wheat, rye, or barley, yeast and limestone water. Distilled at no more than 160 proof and aged in charred oak barrels. In 1964, Congress recognized bourbon as a distinctly American product.
(Reverse) Stone Castle, 1 mile south, built 1790 by Thomas Metcalfe for Jacob Spears. A Pennsylvanian who settled in Paris, he was innovative farmer & one of first distillers of bourbon whiskey. Still standing on this farm are a springhouse and a storehouse for his bourbon whiskey. It is the most complete distiller’s complex still in existence today.
In fact, it was Jacob Spears who first used the term “Bourbon” to describe his whiskey. Now, I think I’m sufficiently inspired to go sip some Makers 46.
No Destination: “Aunt Julia” Marcum
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| Historic Marker, Williamsburg, Ky. |
According to the Kentucky Encyclopedia, Julia Ann Marcum was raised in Tennessee. Her family sympathized with the Union cause and for this their home was attacked in September 1861. Julia fought off a Confederate soldier with an ax until her father shot the soldier dead, but during this fight Julia was badly wounded. Although she worked for a time as a schoolteacher, she ultimately became permanently disabled as a result of her war wounds. She moved to Williamsburg upon her retirement and became the only female ever admitted to the Grand Army of the Republic. Historic Marker #672 reads:
Only woman, as a fighter, to receive a U.S. pension: special Act of Congress, 1884. Marcum home in Tenn., a depot for southerners going north to Union army. She lost eye; badly wounded defending home against marauders; then the family came here. Unionist father killed in action. Her life devoted to patriotic, religious work. Died in 1936, age 91, military funeral.
No Destination: State Reception Room
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| State Reception Room, Frankfort, Ky. |
The State Reception Room on the second floor of the Capitol in Frankfort is a spectacular, highly ornamental room used for state functions. Modeled in the style of Louis XIV of France and likely after Marie Antoinette’s drawing room at Versailles. The Versailles connections do not end, however, as the painted walls duplicate tapestries found in the French palace and mirrors on either end of the room multiply the chandeliers and create a “Hall of Mirros” effect. The room also features (not pictured) a handmade Austrian rug which apparently fills the floor. The windows and balcony face north toward old Frankfort and the Kentucky River.
No Destination: State Legislature
For regular readers, you know that I’ve visited our beautiful State Capitol in celebration of its bicentennial. For the next couple of posts, I’m going inside the Capitol to show some off its interior. The Commonwealth’s two legislative bodies: the House of Representatives and the Senate (together, the General Assembly) meet in opposite ends of the Capitol.
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| Kentucky House Chamber, Frankfort, Ky. |
The chamber of the House is pictured above. It is here that the Governor gives his annual State of the Commonwealth Address.The beautiful chair behind the lectern is the Speaker’s Chair. In ordinary session, it is occupied by the Speaker of the House. During joint sessions, however, the gavel and seat is turned over to the Senate President. During the Governor’s address, President Williams can be seen rocking from left to right in the chair (which has uneven legs). The docent on hand during my visit informed me that, despite multiple attempts to correct the problem, the chair cannot be leveled.
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| Kentucky Senate Chamber, Frankfort, Ky. |
The Senate Chamber has thirty-eight mahogany desks – one for each member. During the bicentennial celebration, access to the Senate floor – unlike the People’s House – was restricted to a small area in the back of the chamber. Like the House, it is very Romenesque in design and features a very large and very beautiful original skylight.
No Destination: Pineville Preacher
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| Pineville Preachin’, Pineville, Ky. |
On a Sunday afternoon drive through Pineville (Bell Co.), I happened to notice some singing coming from the corner of the courthouse square. With guitars in hand (non-instrumentalists held Bibles), the crusade had begun. To be sure, there was some fire and brimstone outdoor preaching on this hot day. There was also the laying of hands and purging of sins. While I didn’t hear it, I’m sure the “Do Not Enter” sign was worked into the message.
The voices recalled for me the sound of the preachers who would shout in the commons area at the University of Kentucky, but these Pineville folk were not going to Lexington. They simply took their Sunday morning message out into their own community. And, while my form of worship isn’t necessarily on my knees in the middle of the street, these people seemed genuine. Religion is important in Kentucky; I’ve had the opportunity to visit some gorgeous churches on my journeys but this was the first time I’d witnessed (while on a No Destination drive) public displays of religion.
No Destination: Eades Tavern
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| Eades Tavern, Paris, Ky. |
Duncan Tavern, though Paris’ most famed tavern, is not Paris’ oldest. Eades Tavern is just a few doors down High Street and is just a few years older. The two taverns, opened just six years apart, were great competitors for a number of years vying for the right to sleep and board the area’s guests. Historic Marker #1824 reads:
This log building lined with adz-hewn cherry was built as a tavern. In 1795 it became first post office in Paris. Thomas Eades then served as tavern owner and postmaster. Robert Trimble had home and law office here before becoming U.S. Supreme Court justice, 1826. It became site of Lizzie Walker’s private school. Listed on National Register of Historic Places, 1973.
Justice Trimble represented the Paris area in the Kentucky House of Representatives and served as chief justice on the Kentucky Court of Appeals; he is buried at the Paris Cemetery. He was appointed to the Supreme Court by President John Quincy Adams to fill the “Kentucky vacancy” and upon recommendation of Secretary of State Henry Clay. Yes, that’s right – there used to be a “Kentucky seat” on the Supreme Court!
walkLEX: Horsemania 2010
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| “Ashland Stud” Artist: Christy Buckner of Lexington, Ky. |
Now through October 15, there are some extra horses around Lexington. Repeating the success of the first Horsemania in 2000, LexArts is bringing back the horses in Horsemania 2010! These fiberglass horses are painted or otherwise decorated by local artists and can be seen around downtown (and elsewhere!).
I’ve not gotten to all the horses yet, but I have begun taking pictures and posting them to flickr. I’ll keep adding pictures there so check it out there? Have you seen the horses? Which is your favorite?
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