Tag: courthouses

No Destination (& Kentucky 120) Progress Maps


After my October 4 journey through Bourbon, Nicholas, Robertson, Mason and Bracken Counties (I also quickly drove through Harrison County, but without time to meander and stop for pictures – thus, it doesn’t count), I have visited 22 of Kentucky’s 120 counties (or 18.33%).

This coming weekend, my wife’s grandfather would have celebrated his 100th birthday. He passed several years ago, but we will be traveling to Carter County to celebrate. I am going to drive separately and look forward to adding to my count.

Below is a map of Nate’s and my combined journeys. Counties visited by Nate alone are in Red; those visited by me alone are in Yellow. Counties visited by both of us are in Blue.

walkLEX: The Old Courthouse & Lexington History Museum

On my tour of the Old Fayette County Courthouse, my guide stopped to take pictures of children eating birthday cake. Whose birthday? The Lexington History Museum celebrates this month its sixth anniversary – happy birthday! During this busy day, I had the opportunity to walk and talk with Jamie Millard, the President of this great museum. Thanks to Jamie and the staff of the Museum for coordinating this tour on such a busy day!
The old Courthouse was finished in 1900 and is the fifth Courthouse to stand on the site. In the courthouse’s infancy, the the county required only one courtroom. But as dockets grew, room was made within the structure for additional courtrooms. By the 1950s, however, it was obvious that the courthouse was not sufficient absent significant change. A massive renovation of the building was done in the late 1950s.

Prior to the renovation, visitors inside the courthouse would have marveled at a grand staircase as they gazed up 107 feet to the dome ceiling. The dome, picture above, was painted a blue with dozens of lights which would have illuminated the dome – then one of Lexington’s tallest structures – and the surrounding area. The use of these electric lights in 1900 was groundbreaking; only Paris, France (the “City of Lights”) was using lightbulbs in such innovative ways. The lights would also have illuminated the beautiful interior – the carvings and paintings reminiscent of a 14th century Tibetan palace.

But during the renovations, the grand stairwell was removed and the dome sealed off. The area now below the dome is filled with HVAC and mechanical systems. Although I was disappointed that the remodeling done in the 1950s had hidden from view these great architectural attributes, Millard was quick to point out that this “adaptive reuse” resulted in the preservation of the building’s exterior. And it likely saved Lexington from having at its core a Soviet-era courthouse.

walkLEX will certainly visit the Lexington History Museum and the old Courthouse again – there is so much more to see.

Fayette County Courthouse – Lexington-Fayette, Ky.

Hopefully Peter won’t be too upset, but I decided to just get Fayette over with today. Pictured below are the new Circuit and District Court buildings at the corner of Main and Limestone. They don’t bother me as much as they apparently bother others, though I do absolutely love the old courthouse above, which is now the History Center. There are TONS of stories to be told about this old courthouse (Cheapside Park, the statutes, the water fountains, etc.) but I’m going to let Peter tell you those, because he knows those stories better than I do. All I know is that this is the FIFTH courthouse to sit on this spot, and based on the pictures in some of my Lexington history books, most of them were really really beautiful buildings.
So, Peter…whatcha know?

Powell County Courthouse – Stanton, Ky.


Powell County’s courthouse looks like a middle school. Not that there is anything wrong with it, but it just looks very 80s. Honestly, it completely blends in and I almost didn’t realize what it was before I passed it. The drive through Stanton was pleasant, as this concluded my drive back from Eastern Kentucky on this beautiful cool Kentucky day. Among the most interesting things I learned about Powell County’s courthouse was its Civil War history. It was among the many Kentucky courthouses burned during the Civil War, but Powell County’s courthouse had the unique honor of having been burned down TWICE during the Civil War. Man, that would be rough.

Wolfe County Courthouse – Campton, Ky.


This was the first time on this trip when I’ve been a little creeped out. On the way down the highway towards Campton, there was this KSP officer who swung his car out behind me as if to pull me over. I got that feeling everyone knows in my stomach, because I really really thought I was getting pulled over. Then he flew by me, and then about a mile up the road pulled another huge U-turn and went back the other way.
Then as I came into Campton, (which was a ghost town by the way) the creepiness factor went through the roof. When I pulled up to the courthouse, what I believe to be the SAME COP pulled into the courthouse square. The courthouse square was completely empty except me and this cop. He walked into the courthouse after giving me a stare and that was it. I snapped my picture and got out of there.
It was an interesting courthouse, but in desperate need of some TLC. Paint was chipping all over the place. Interestingly, this area of Kentucky was mentioned in John Swift’s journals as containing huge silver mines. However, no trace of these reputed silver mines have ever been found. Also, Wolfe County was named after Nathaniel Wolfe, who was allegedly the first graduate of the University of Virginia.

Breathitt County Courthouse – Jackson, Ky.


Ouch. This is the Breathitt County Courthouse in Jackson. I’ve never quite really understood Jackson, starting with the fact that the sewage treatment plant stands right along the major road through town. The smell is as bad as you imagine. And this picture above was the best I could do of the Breathitt County Courthouse. Again, the newer Judicial Center next door, pictured below, was much more attractive.

I knew nothing about Jackson’s history, but according to the historical markers, this was the epicenter of the “feudin’ and fightin'” history of Eastern Kentucky. The courthouse that stood here from 1899 to 1963 was a landmark of this time period. From 1870 to 1920, stemming from family disagreements and political differences, more than 100 Breathitt County officials were killed. Forty men were killed in 11 months between 1901 and 1902.

Perry County Courthouse – Hazard, Ky.


Perry County was one of two places I visited today where the new judicial center is MUCH more attractive than the old courthouse. Here, the judicial center is on the left, and the courthouse on the right. I put in an extra picture of the judicial center, just so you get an idea how cool it looks
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There’s a fountain in there next to the benches, and the judicial center really fits in and enhances the downtown area.
Hazard was founded by Elijah Combs, who came here along with his seven brothers in 1790. Interestingly, Hazard and Perry County are named after the same person – Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry.
On my way out of town, I stopped in a drug store parking lot on the bypass and took the picture at the bottom of this post.

Letcher County Courthouse – Whitesburg, Ky.


Whitesburg and Letcher County hold a special place in my heart, because this is where my wife and her family are from. We travel through the mountains a couple of times each year and visit the ‘Burg, as I like to call it, and it is a uniquely charming place. From the amazing “Speak Your Piece” section of the newspaper (where anyone can write in and say ANYTHING – offensive, libelous, you name it), to the annual Mountain Heritage Festival, Whitesburg is an interesting little place. This weekend was the Mountain Heritage Festival, which was a little dampened by the constant rain showers. But, I got to listen to some country music and eat a deep fried miniature pecan pie, so all was right with the world. I also picked up some fresh peach butter and snapped this picture of Letcher’s courthouse. In celebration of Mountain Heritage, the windows up and down Main Street were filled with old pictures of the prominent mountain families, and some pretty amazing pictures of the courthouse that used to stand in this spot. My father in law tells me that this current courthouse is much better than the “purple courthouse” that was there before renovations. Apparently the windows were supposed to be blue, but in the sun, they turned purple.

Gallatin County Courthouse – Warsaw, Ky.

U.S. 42 is always a beautiful drive – I highly recommend it. When I lived in Oldham County, I would drive it whenever I had the chance, but I never made it as far up the road as Warsaw. U.S. 42 basically follows the river, and there are a ton of great old river towns along the way. Warsaw is one of those towns.
The courthouse above is on the National Historic Register, and was built in 1837.

I took this picture just two blocks behind the courthouse on the Ohio River. I thought it was pretty picturesque, so I stepped out of the car and snapped this one really quick. Just two miles up the river from here there was apparently a horrible river accident back in 1868. If you pull over to the side of the road, there is a historical marker describing the collision between the America and the United States, two passenger boats traveling between Louisville and Cincinnati. The United States had barreled coal oil on board, which ignited in the collision, spreading to both boats and coating the river in fire. There was $325,000 in damage ($5.6 million today according to an inflation calculator) and 162 people died in the tragedy.