Muhlenberg County Courthouse – Greenville, Ky.

I attended a wedding this weekend in Hartford, Kentucky and decided to finally get some counties that are west of I-65. Being that some of my wife’s family is from this area, I was pretty comfortable with the roads and decided to see how many counties I could check off. It was a pretty great afternoon, as my wife, her grandfather and I traveled through the Green River counties. I learned a whole lot about these counties, as my wife’s grandfather told me all about the counties that he has lived in for more than 30 years.
Most people probably know about Muhlenberg County from the John Prine song “Paradise” which memorializes an old coal town that was torn down in the 60s. What I hadn’t realized before this trip was how literal this song is. As we traveled through Muhlenberg County, my wife’s Grandfather told me about the what at the time was the world’s largest shovel, which was brought in to strip out the coal. He told me that the shovel, which could fit 3-4 trucks in the bucket, had to be placed on the coal bed itself, because if placed on the earth it would sink.
When you drive through Muhlenberg County, the thing you really begin to realize is that much of the county is a huge swamp. My wife’s grandfather told me that years ago, after they built the major road through the county, it was discovered that the road went through a wetland, and the road construction had destroyed much of the habitat of local ducks. Dozens of ponds for ducks had to be built to rectify the problem.
The courthouse pictured above is striking and beautiful. As you can probably see, the windows and doors are boarded over. I hope that it is simply being restored in this picture, but I couldn’t help but notice a new judicial center next door.

walkLEX: The Lexington Land Swap

UK giveth to Eastern State. Eastern State giveth to BCTC. BCTC giveth to UK. Albeit not entirely arms length nor transparent, this land swap will change the face of Lexington.

Bluegrass Community & Technical College 20 Year Plan

On May 14, Bluegrass Community and Technical College (“BCTC”) unveiled its 20-year master plan highlighting its plans for the old Eastern State Hospital on Newtown Pike. Pictured above is a map of the several phases of construction to occur at BCTC with buildings in brown being historic hospital buildings that will be preserved and adaptively reused. The hospital is being relocated to a more modern, to-be-constructed facility on UK’s Coldstream Campus (further out Newtown Pike). Construction is expected to begin on the new hospital later this month with an opening slated for 2012.

Meanwhile, the renaissance that will be brought to near-northeast Lexington will be underway. Beginning in March 2011, BCTC is expected to break ground at the 48-acre Newtown Pike campus with a $28.2 million dollar facility. The facility should be complete by the end of 2012 with students arriving for the spring semester of 2013.

A Now-n-Later of Fourth Street and Newtown Pike, Lexington

Ultimately, a revitalization can be expected along the Newtown Pike corridor near Fourth Street, Loudon Avenue and Georgetown Street. Pictured immediately above is a picture of the current and a rendering of the proposed intersection at Newtown and Fourth. This area is immediately adjacent to several historic areas of Lexington; hopefully, the renaissance will incorporate architecturally significant buildings with character to create a beautiful gateway into Lexington.

No Destination: Covington’s First United Methodist Church

I wish I had more time to spend in Covington. I arrived a little early for a court hearing and I parked a few blocks away from the courthouse in a residential area (free parking, two hour limit). I drove around a little too and saw several things I would love to post about, but I unfortunately could not spend the day in Covington!

First United Methodist Church; Covington, Ky.

Around the corner from my parking spot was the First United Methodist Church. While not the most stunning church in town (there are many absolutely stunning churches), its beautiful red brick was an amazing contrast to its white trim and blue sky. Originally constructed in 1867, the church burned in 1947 before being rebuilt.

The congregation dates to 1805. Like so many historic churches in the region, however, it split over slavery in 1846. It was not until 1939 that the divided congregations were reunited. One of FUMC’s most famous parishioners was Jesse Grant, the father of President Ulysses S. Grant. Jesse Grant passed away in 1873 and the President here attended his father’s funeral. *

walkLEX: Adam Rankin House

Adam Rankin House

Erected in 1784, the Adam Rankin House is Lexington’s oldest house (though it is no longer in its original location). The House stood at 215 West High Street from the time it was built until the early 1970s when space was needed for “urban renewal.” The result of the “urban renewal” was the parking lot behind the PNC Bank (Gold Bank) building (another story).  Fortunately, a few wise minds prevailed (here and here) and the home was relocated to its present location on S. Mill Street.

This log house with clapboard siding was originally a two-story, three-bay home. The addition on what is now the home’s east side (pictured at right) is an addition which was erected within ten years of the original structure. It was at that time that the log home was first covered by clapboard. There is a very good architectural write-up on the house in Antebellum Architecture of Kentucky by Clay Lancaster (Univ. of Ky. Press, 1991 e).

I’ve always loved this house. It seems to have plentiful natural light (look at all those windows) and I’ve always loved the shutters on one side. *

walkLEX: Fifth Third Bank Pavilion

The Fifth Third Bank Pavilion at Cheapside Park

Saturday was a beautiful day to be at the Lexington Farmer’s Market. My son and I also ventured down to Mayfest in Gratz Park. Of course, Farmer’s Market is vastly different as it now has a formal home in the Fifth Third Bank Pavilion. I’ve tried to follow the erection of the glass and steel structure in Cheapside Park, but I realize now that I haven’t posted on the final product.

While certainly not architecturally significant, it works and it provides a wonderful venue in central Lexington for events like the market and Thursday Night Live. Check out my older posts on the construction of the Pavilion:

  • from October 16 – the proposal
  • from January 26 – the Breckinridge statue is moved!
  • from February 6 – Breckinridge statue captured in film by Jamie Millard
  • from March 22 – the structure takes its form

Bicentennial Post

This is it… our 200th post! Celebrate! During the past 200 posts, we’ve explored many of Kentucky’s sites, its courthouses and its storied past. I’m looking forward to exploring more of Kentucky.

I remember shortly after moving to Kentucky, the Commonwealth celebrated her bicentennial. It is hard to believe that this was nearly 18 years ago! Last year, we celebrated the bicentennial of the birth of Kentucky’s favorite son, Abraham Lincoln. While this blog certainly doesn’t match up to those celebrations – we are pretty excited.

To celebrate, I’ve decided to update the map again. Not the most exciting thing in the world, but it is fun to see where we’ve been:

A couple facts to glean from the map:

  • Nate’s Kentucky 120 Project still leads the county-count; he’s been to 41 of Kentucky’s 120 counties. That’s 34%! There are 49 posts tagged as “Kentucky120“
  • I’ve been on No Destination in 31.7%, or 38, of Kentucky’s counties. I’ve tagged “NoDestination” on 115 posts.
  • There are 25 counties that we’ve both been to, so Nate has 16 unique counties and I have 13.
  • And don’t forget about Lexington – there are 25 posts tagged “walkLEX.”
  • We have 243 Facebook fans. Since our first post on 5/27/09, there have been 4.625 page views through 2,693 visits. Visitors hail from 48 countries and 45 of the 50 states+DC.
  • No one from Vermont, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, Nebraska or Iowa has ever visited this blog. Hopefully, by mentioning these states we might get a visitor
  • Most of our visitors come from Kentucky. But people from Ohio, Tennessee, Florida, Virginia and California also frequent our site.

No Destination: First Courthouse

Replica of Kentucky’s original Courthouse

In Danville’s Constitution Square State Park sits a replica (erected 1942) of the original log courthouse for Virginia’s District of Kentucky. In the original, which was built c. 1784/85, the Constitutional Convention was held. This meeting led to the formation of Kentucky as an independent Commonwealth and a state of the Union, effective June 1, 1792.

The marker in front of this replica incorrectly states that the structure also housed the Supreme Court of Kentucky. In an attempt to see if people actually read my blog, please leave a comment to tell me why the marker is incorrect.

UPDATE (May 15, 2010): The marker is not entirely incorrect. The Supreme Court for the District of Kentucky was the appellate court for the District of Kentucky (part of Virginia) from 1785 until Kentucky became a state in 1792. And no one reads my blog as  evidenced by the lack of commenting…

No Destination: Hampton House

The Hampton House in Frankfort

Located at 101 West Main Street in Frankfort sits the Hampton House which is the city’s oldest surviving stone house in the city. It was built sometime before 1840 by John Hampton; the Walking Tour of Frankfort points to the erection of the home to be in 1815.  It is made of “patterned river limestone with jack arches over both the windows and doors.”

Hampton and his family operated a number of taverns in the area, receiving their first licenses around 1818. The home was enlarged around 1840 and was used as a boarding house in the 1850s.

In 1879, the Franklin County sheriff, Col. H.P. Williams, lived here and on at least one occasion entertained Judge John Elliot of the Kentucky Court of Appeals. Col. Buford of Henry County stopped by during this visit and invited J. Elliott to go hunting with him. The Judge declined the invitation. Buford then invited the Judge for a drink; the judge again declined.

So Col. Buford shot and killed Judge Elliott. Buford later said that he shot the Judge because of a decision rendered by J. Elliott against Buford’s sister in the amount of $20,000. Buford was tried in Owen County, but was acquitted following an insanity plea. Held in Anchorage, Ky., Buford escaped to Indiana and could not be extradited due to weak extradition laws at the time.

No Destination: Pleasureville

Pleasureville Christian Church. Irony in the name? Perhaps.

Straddling the line of Henry and Shelby counties is the community of Pleasureville. The community first began under the name Bantaville when the area was settled by Dutch Huguenot families, including that of Abraham Banta, leaving Mercer County.

The source of the current name, Pleasureville, is believed to come from the presence of the community’s popular bordello (a source of pleasure, and likely of disease, for many).

I saw Pleasureville on the map and had to stop. Not since Preachersville have I found the name of a Kentucky community so unique. And obviously for quite different reasons!

No Destination: The Old Pollard Inn

Kentucky Historic Marker #798 (Old Pollard Inn)

I will allow the following history to speak for itself [cite] as it is quite an interesting read:

After crossing the Kentucky River from Owen County, [Confederate General John H.] Morgan and Hines were left without a guide, his having turned back due to lack of knowledge of Henry County roads or people. Travelling through the dark, winter night, they eventually grew tired and cold about 2 a.m. December 1st. Morgan and Hines stopped at what is now known as the “Old Pollard Inn,” just north of Highway 22 on Highway 421 outside New Castle. Even though they weren’t sure of where his sympathies lay, the tired men knocked on the door at Mr. Pollard’s.

The master of the house was quickly aroused, whereupon Hines explained their desire to be put up for the night. Mr. Pollard readily let them in, and showed them to the main room of the house. As soon as the lamp on the table there was turned up, Morgan and Hines were sure they were safe. On the table lay a newspaper of Confederate sympathy with the bold headlines proclaiming (incorrectly) that General Morgan, Hines, and seven others had escaped from an Ohio prison.

Their conversation at this point is best put in Captain Hines’ own words: “Glancing at the paper, I looked up and remarked, “I see that General Morgan, Hines, and other offices have escaped from the penitent-iary.” He responded, “Yes; and you are Captain Hines, are you not?” I replied, “Yes; and what is your name?” “Pollard, he answered.” “Allow me, then, to introduce General Morgan.” I found that I had not made a mistake.” Shortly thereafter, Morgan and Hines were resting comfortably in total safety.

Morgan and Hines arose late the next day. After a hearty breakfast, plans to move further on were discussed. The house sat just feet from the main highway, and leaving at such an odd time of the morning was sure to draw unwanted attention of the black workers. Having discussed all the factors, it was decided to remain until after lunch. Mr. Pollard furnished Morgan and Hines with cattle whips, as it had been decided they would travel onward under the guise of cattle buyers. Shortly after lunch, the “cattle buyers” set out for the next planned stop on their journey.

The Old Pollard Inn no longer exists, but the pictured marker remains. As for the Ohio State Penitentiary from where the escape was launched, it was demolished to make way for the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.