No Destination: Yuko-En on the Elkhorn

The Arched Bridge at Yuko-En on the Elkhorn, Georgetown, Ky.

The Official Kentucky-Japan Friendship Garden, Yuko-En on the Elkhorn, is located on the north fork of the Elkhorn Creek in Georgetown, Ky. It is a beautiful garden with a large koi pond, a rock zen garden, a Tokugawa entrance gate and stone gardens. Pictured above is the Arched Bridge, painted Japanese red, which crosses a dry rock stream and symbolizes streams flowing down Japan’s volcanic peaks. It is one of the largest Japanese gardens in the United States.

Fourteen hundred truckloads of dirt was unloaded onto the site during construction in 2000, converting the former pasture (and site of an 1898 monastery) into the garden. It was declared the Kentucky’s “Official” Japanese garden in 2000 by an act of the Kentucky General Assembly; funding was provided by many local businesses, including (not surprisingly) Toyota.  A second phase, not completed, will include a bonsai house, a maple grove and a tea garden.

Hardin County Courthouse – Elizabethtown, Ky.

I didn’t get to Hardin County until way after dark, and I plan to be back for a better picture at some point. As I drove up to the courthouse, I first noticed this obscenely large and out of place glass-fronted building, only to discover that it was the new judicial center. The courthouse that is awkwardly pictured above, is in the Beaux Arts style and was completed in 1934. Bizarrely, this courthouse square is almost identical to Nelson and Grayson counties’ courthouse squares, and all three of these counties line up together from east to west. Does anyone out there know why these downtown areas are all so alike? Anyway, this courthouse is the fourth in Elizabethtown.
Most people outside of Kentucky would know Elizabethtown (or E-town as it is known to Kentuckians) from the Cameron Crowe movie of the same name that came out in 2005. While much of the movie is supposed to take place in E-town, most of the filming was done in other Kentucky communities, including Louisville and Versailles. As an aside, when my wife and I were looking to buy a house, we actually looked at house in Versailles that was right across the street from the home where the homecoming scenes were filmed.
I don’t know about the rest of Kentucky, but I DESPERATELY wanted this movie to be good. And . . . well. . . it kinda sucked. But it was nice to see Kentucky in the spotlight for a bit.

No Destination: Farmington

Farmington, Louisville, Ky.

Inspired by the architectural designs of Thomas Jefferson, architect Paul Skidmore designed Farmington for John and Lucy Speed (John Speed was a seventh generation descendant of the English cartographer of the same name). The home was completed in 1816 and contains two 24-foot wide octagonal shaped rooms (unique to 19th century Kentucky and a common attribute of Jeffersonian architecture).

Farmington was the site of a 550-acre hemp plantation; there is a memorial on the site to the slaves who toiled here.

In 1841, Abraham Lincoln visited Farmington for a three-week period where he visited with his friend, Joshua Speed (the son of John and Lucy). Apparenly, Abe and Mary were having a little tiff in their courtship and the mental break of Farmington was just what Honest Abe needed in order to muster up the courage to ask Mary Todd for her hand.

Once elected President, Lincoln offered the position of Treasury Secretary to Joshua Speed. Speed declined as he had no political ambition, but brother James Speed (a Louisville attorney) accepted Lincoln’s 1864 offer to become Attorney General.

The home was purchased in 1958 by the Historic Homes Foundation, a Louisville-based organization which owns, preserves and protects historic Louisville residences.

NoDestination: Oldest House in Cynthiana

Oldest House in Cynthiana, Ky.

This isn’t just the oldest house in Cynthiana; it has served as so much more. So, Nate was right; I did really like the old log courthouse at Cynthiana’s courthouse square. The historic marker 1539 reads:

Oldest house in Cynthiana, built 1790. Young Henry Clay practiced law here, 1806. In 1817, city’s first newspaper, the Guardian of Liberty was printed by Adam Keenan, assisted by H. H. Kavanaugh, later a noted Bishop, and Dudley Mann, who became a diplomat to France. Guthrie’s Arithmetic, first to be published west of Alleghenies, was also printed here.

The marker, however, misses so much of the tale. Built by Dr. James McPeters in 1790, the building also served as the county’s first courthouse. [*] There, the county’s first murder trial was heard. The accused, Adam House, was defended by Henry Clay. Here is some more background from Mrs. L. Boyd’s Chronicles of Cynthiana (1894):

And, not surprisingly, the place is haunted.

Grayson County Courthouse – Leitchfield, Ky.


Grayson County has a pretty unique history according to the Kentucky Encyclopedia. The county was the fifty-fourth to be formed, and among the early landowners was George Washington himself. The county is actually named for an aide of Washington’s Col. William Grayson. The county has several unique distinctions. It was the home of Grayson Springs, a summer resort community, and is the home of the Walter T. Kelley Bee Hive Factory, one of the largest manufacturers of beekeeping equipment in the country.
The courthouse above is the fourth built in Leitchfield, the first being burned in the Civil War, and two others after it having suffered the same fate. This Beaux Arts structure was built in 1938 with a PWA grant.
Here’s the really strange thing about this courthouse. As I drove into town, I couldn’t help but feel deja vu. It’s impossible not to be reminded of Bardstown. The courthouse squares of both Grayson and Nelson counties are identical. The courthouses are different, but they have the same roundabout design with the courthouse in the middle. Weird…but it gets weirder in E-town.

Ohio County Courthouse – Hartford, Ky.

I think Hartford might be one of the few places in Kentucky that has a simple name based on its location. According to the Kentucky Encyclopedia, Hartford sits on the Rough River at a spot where deer (or Hart) would cross.
Ohio County is pretty old, being the thirty-fifth in order of formation. It got its name because it used to border the Ohio River to the North. The Kentucky Encyclopedia states that numerous burial mounds in the area indicate that the area was extensively populated by prehistoric people.
Ohio County’s Courthouses have had a rough history. The first log courthouse was built in 1800, but it collapsed in 1813. What remained of it was later burned when some particularly excited townspeople got a little out of hand celebrating Oliver Perry’s victory on Lake Erie. A brick courthouse built later was destroyed by Confederate soldiers. The third courthouse was demolished in 1940, when the courthouse above was built with PWA money.

NoDestination: Duncan Tavern

Anne Duncan House (l) and Duncan Tavern (r), Paris, Ky.

If you have been to historic Williamsburg, Va., you know the import of the local tavern in colonial America. I think of all the taverns near Virginia’s colonial government seat, where our nation’s founders would gather to discuss the issues of the day.

When Kentucky was divided by Virginia into three counties, one of these counties was Bourbon County. Its seat has always been Paris (originally chartered as Hopewell, Va. [*]). Thirty-three counties have been carved from Bourbon’s original borders. Needless to say, people traveled long distances to visit the county seat of Paris. And these individuals needed a place to stay and to eat.

The Goddess of Liberty, the original name of the Duncan Tavern, was the gathering place for Kentucky’s earliest leaders, including Daniel Boone, Simon Kenton, Peter Houston and Michael Stoner. [*]

The three story tavern was constructed in 1788 by Maj. Joseph Duncan. According to the Kentucky Encyclopedia, the architecture is remarkable given that most structures of the day in Paris were log buildings. According to at least one account, the tavern towered over the 20′ x 30′ log courthouse below. [*] Duncan Tavern now houses the Kentucky Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution;the Anne Duncan House was erected in 1801 and now houses a genealogical library.

walkLEX: Carnegie Center

Carnegie Center in Lexington

With 400 books, Lexington began the first library in Kentucky in 1795. It was also the first library west of the Alleghenies. By 1898, the state legislature deemed Lexington large enough to warrant the creation of a free public library. So with a $60,000 gift from steel-magnate Andrew Carnegie, the City of Lexington constructed the Carnegie Library – the first Lexington Public Library.

The total cost to build was about $75,000 and it was completed in 1906. The neoclassical rests at the south end of Gratz Park and served as the city’s main library branch until the late 1980s when a new, larger structure was built on Main Street. Today, the building serves as the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning.

McLean County Courthouse – Calhoun, Ky.


According to the Kentucky Almanac, this courthouse was built from 1904-08, and is in the Beaux-Arts style. Two other courthouses preceded it. Calhoun is an interesting little town, and was according to the Kentucky Almanac was once listed as “Calhoon” based upon a local spelling.
To me, the most interesting part of McLean County (outside of my wife’s family farm), is the town of Livermore, which contains the bridge you see below


As noted by the historic marker at the south end of this bridge, the Livermore bridge is one of a kind. The bridge claims to be the only bridge in the world that crosses two rivers, begins in one county, crosses over another county and ends back in the same county again.
The bridge crosses both the Green and Rough River, and begins in McLean County, crosses over a section of Ohio County, and ends back in McLean County again.

walkLEX: Commonwealth Stadium

Commonwealth Stadium

I love football and have witnessed many amazing moments at Commonwealth Stadium, home of the University of Kentucky Wildcats. The stadium was first constructed in 1973 to seat about 57,800, but the endzones were enclosed and luxury boxes were added during a massive renovation in 1999 that increased overall oficial seating capacity to 67,606. Of course, crowds of over 71,000 have seen the Wildcats play here.

The picture above is from above the west endzone during the annual Blue-White (scrimmage) game which concludes spring training.

Some of those great (and the most disappointing) moments I’ve seen: (1) Most points scored at the Stadium (77) by UK against UTEP in 2002; (2) most overtimes (7, tied) in NCAA history in a 2003 loss to Arkansas; (3) the Bluegrass Miracle by LSU. There are other great memories and many disappointments. Still, it is a great place to watch a football game and Kentuckians know how to tailgate!