Mercer – The Kaintuckeean

Regional Look to Blue Grass Trust’s 11 Endangered List

Photographs of Select Sites on the Blue Grass Trust’s Eleven in Their Eleventh Hour List

Each year, the Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation assembles a list of historic central Kentucky properties which are threatened. For the 2015 edition of the “Eleven in Their Eleventh Hour” list, the BGT has looked primarily beyond Fayette County to sites across 11 central Kentucky counties.

The list of counties largely resembles those included in the 2006 World Monument Fund’s designation of the Inner Bluegrass Region. The Blue Grass Trust included Madison County on its “11 Endangered List” while omitting Anderson County. All Kentucky counties, however, have “at risk” structures and deserve the attention of preservationists.

The BGT’s list is a great step toward recognizing that preservation can and should occur throughout Kentucky and not only in our urban cores. The 14 structures within the 11 counties also reflect that theme.

According to the BGT, “the list highlights endangered properties and how their situations speak to larger preservation issues in the Bluegrass. The goal of the list is to create a progressive dialogue that moves toward positive long-term solutions. The criteria used for selecting the properties include historic significance, lack of protection from demolition, condition of structure, or architectural significance.”

The sites are listed below.

Bourbon County – Cedar Grove & John T. Redmon House

Both Cedar Grove and the Redmon House are architecturally significant houses from the early 19th century. The circa 1818 John & John T. Redmon House has a steep roof more often found in Virginia than Kentucky and has lost its original one-story wings. Though both buildings are vacant, they have undergone partial renovations recently and the BGT believes these structures could be still restored.

Boyle County – Citizens National Bank & Dr. Polk House

Mostly empty for two-plus years, the Citizens National Bank building at 305 West Main Street in Danville was built in 1865 with a double storefront that housed First National Bank of Danville and a drug store. Bank-owned and listed for sale, a demolition (or partial demolition) of this structure could affect adjacent structures with which the building shares walls. Dr. Polk House at 331 South Buell Street in Perryville sits across from Merchants’ Row and is arguably the historic landmark most in need of restoration in the downtown. Built in 1830 as a simple Greek Revival house with two chimneys and two front doors, the structure was purchased by Dr. Polk in 1850. A graduate of Transylvania University, he was the primary caretaker of wounded from the Battle of Perryville and his 1867 autobiography details the gruesome battlefield.

Dr. Polk House in Perryville, Kentucky. Photo courtesy of the BGT.

Clark County – Indian Old Fields

Indian Old Fields in Clark County was the location of Eskippakithiki, the last known Native American town in what became Kentucky. Located on Lewis Evans’ 1755 map of Middle British Colonies, this highly important site was significantly impacted during construction of a new interchange (which opened September 2014) for the Mountain Parkway crossing KY 974 near the center of the Indian Old Fields.

The Kentucky Heritage Council noted in 2010 that “’Indian Old Fields,’ is a historic and prehistoric archaeological district of profound importance,” with 50 significant prehistoric archaeological sites identified within 2 kilometers of the interchange. These sites cover the Archaic Period (8000-1000 BC), Woodland Period (1000 B.C. -1000 AD) and Adena Period (1000-1750 AD), with several listed on the National Register of Historic Places. These include villages, Indian fort earthworks, mounds, sacred circles and stone graves. The site also has substantial ties to the famous Shawnee Chief Cathecassa or Black Hoof, Daniel Boone, and trader John Finley.

With the new $8.5 million dollar interchange now open, there are significant concerns that these sites with be under threat from pressure to further develop the area.

Fayette County – Modern Structures

The Blue Grass Trust’s 2014 “Eleven in Their Eleventh Hour” focused on the historic resources at the University of Kentucky. Many of those included on the list (and most of those demolished) were Modern buildings designed by locally renowned architect Ernst Johnson. Research into Johnson’s work by the BGT and others such as architects Sarah House Tate and Dr. Robert Kelley was joined with education and advocacy programming focused on his architecture and legacy as a master of Modernism. This research and programming led to other efforts by the Blue Grass Trust, namely working to educate the public on the historic value of mid-century architecture.

In our continued education and advocacy effort surrounding these structures, the Blue Grass Trust lists Fayette County’s mid-century Modern architecture as endangered. Often viewed as not old enough or not part of the traditional early fabric of Lexington and surrounding areas, the Modern buildings of the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s are being substantially and unrecognizably altered or demolished. It is important to recognize that buildings 50 years of age are eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, a length of time deemed appropriate by the authors of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 for reflection on an era’s importance. Read more from the Kaintuckeean’s earlier post on the People’s Bank branch on South Broadway.

People’s Bank in Lexington. Photo by Rachel Alexander.

Franklin County – Old YMCA & Blanton-Crutcher Farm

Both the Old YMCA in downtown Frankfort faces potential demolition and the Blanton-Crutcher Farm in Jett are slowly deteriorating from neglect and both structures are worth saving. The 1911 Old YMCA at 104 Bridge Street in Frankfort, designed in the Beaux Arts style by a a Frankfort architect, was a state-of-the-art facility featuring a gymnasium, indoor swimming pool, bowling alley, meeting rooms and guest quarters. While a local developer is hoping to transform it into a boutique hotel, there is also a push by the city of Frankfort to demolish this structure. If saved, this could be a transformative project in our capital city.

The Blanton-Crutcher Farm in Jett includes an architecturally and historically significant circa 1796 house built by Carter Blanton, a prominent member of the Jett farming community. In 1831, Blanton sold the farm to his nephew, Richard Crutcher, the son of Reverend Isaac Crutcher and Blanton’s sister, Nancy Blanton Crutcher. The 1974 National Register nomination for the farm notes: “The Crutchers were excellent farmers. Three generations of the family farmed the land and made improvements on the house until 1919 when the property was sold. It has remained a working farm with a large farmhouse, at its center, that has evolved over 180 years of active occupation.” In the 1880s, Washington Crutcher significantly increased the size of the house, turning it into the Victorian house that stands today (although the porches were removed due to deterioration and other modern features have been added).

Harrison County – The Handy House aka Ridgeway

The Handy House, also known as Ridgeway, is located on US 62 in Cynthiana, KY. The nearly 200-year-old house was built in 1817 by Colonel William Brown, a United States Congressman and War of 1812 veteran. The farm and Federal-style house were also owned by Dr. Joel Frazer, namesake of Camp Frazer, a Union camp during the American Civil War. In the 1880s, the house underwent significant renovations by W. T. Handy, the owner from 1883-1916 and for whom the house remains named.

The Handy House checks almost every box when it comes to saving a structure: an architecturally and historically important house in good enough shape to rehabilitate, a listing on the National Register of Historic Places, qualification for the Kentucky Historic Preservation Tax Credit, and a group, the Harrison County Heritage Council and a descendant of the original owner, willing to take on the project. Unfortunately, the Handy House is jointly owned between the city and the county. County magistrates voted to tear it down, and the city opted not to vote on it with the hopes that the new council will come to a deal with the Harrison County Heritage Council, which has offered to purchase and restore the house as a community center. Read more from the Kaintuckeean’s earlier post on Ridgeway.

Jessamine County – Court Row

Completed in 1881, Nicholasville’s Court Row is located right next to the Jessamine County Courthouse. Italianate in design and largely unchanged exterior-wise, Court Row is one of the most significant and substantial structures in downtown Nicholasville.

In a broad context, the listing of Court Row is a comment on the status of all the historic resources in downtown Nicholasville. Several threats exist that are culminating in drastic changes to the fabric of the town. Foremost, Nicholasville failed in 2013 to pass its first historic district, an overlay that would have encompassed the majority of the downtown and helped to regulate demolition and development. Then, within the past month, two historic structures were demolished, including the Lady Sterling House, an 1804 log cabin very close to the urban core. Additionally, Nicholasville is on the ‘short list’ for a new judicial center, the location of which has yet to be determined but will almost certainly have an effect on the downtown. Together, these threats present the potential for the loss of significant portions of Nicholasville’s charming downtown.

Madison County – Downtown Richmond

Preservation has had a lot positive movement in Richmond. The Madison County Historical Society is active; the beautiful Irvinton House Museum is city-owned and the location of the Richmond Visitor’s Center; and the downtown contains a local historic district. Like most local historic districts (also known as H-1 overlays), though, the Downtown Richmond Historic District protects historic buildings and sites that are privately owned. That means that city- and county-owned sites are exempt from the H-1 regulations.

The potential damaging effects of this can already be seen. In February 2013, downtown Richmond lost the Miller House and the Old Creamery, two of its most historic buildings. Both were in the Downtown Richmond Historic District and on the National Register of Historic Places. Owned by the county, the buildings were demolished with the hopes of constructing a minimum-security prison on the site that would replicate the exterior façade of the Miller House, according to Madison Judge/Executive Kent Clark. There are several other historic sites in the urban core that are owned by either the city or the county, leading to worry about the state of preservation in Richmond’s downtown.

Mercer County – Walnut Hall

Built circa 1850 by David W. Thompson, Walnut Hall is one of Mercer County’s grand Greek Revival houses. A successful planter and native of Mercer County, Thompson left the house and 287 acres of farmland to his daughter, Sue Helm, upon his death in 1865. In 1978, Walnut Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places along with two other important and similar Mercer County Greek Revival houses: Lynnwood (off KY Highway 33 near the border of Mercer and Boyle Counties) and Glenworth (off Buster Pike).

The James Harrod Trust has notified the Blue Grass Trust that the house may be under threat of demolition, as it is owned by a prominent Central Kentucky developer known to have bulldozed several other important historic buildings.

Scott County – Choctaw Indian Academy

Located in Blue Springs, KY, off Route 227 near Stamping Ground, the Choctaw Indian Academy was created in 1818 on the farm of Colonel Richard M. Johnson, who served as Vice President of the United States under Martin Van Buren (1837–1841). The Academy was created using Federal funding and was intended to provide a traditional European-American education for Native Americans boys. (It was one of only two government schools operated by the Department of War – the other being West Point.) Originally consisting of five structures built prior to 1825, only one building – thought to be a dormitory – remains. By 1826, over 100 boys were attending the school, becoming well enough known to be visited by the Marquis de Lafayette in 1825. The school was relocated to White Sulphur Springs (also a farm owned by Colonel Johnson) in 1831. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Read more about the site from the Kaintuckeean’s earlier post on the Choctaw Indian Academy.

Remaining structure of Choctaw Indian Academy. Photo by Amy Palmer.

Woodford County – Versailles High School

Located on the corner of Maple Street and Lexington Pike in Versailles, the Versailles High School is a substantial structure built in 1928. The building operated as a high school for 35 years before becoming the Woodford County Junior High in 1963, operating as a middle school until being shuttered in 2005. After 77 years of continuous operation, the building has been empty for nearly 10 years.

With no known maintenance or preservation plan, concern exists that the historic Versailles High School will deteriorate from neglect and, ultimately, be demolished.

You can learn more about the Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation on its website, www.bluegrasstrust.org.

Mercer County’s Glenworth Farm

Nota Bene: An article appearing in the Lexington Herald Leader on April 15, 2013 incorrectly identified Peter Brackney as the author of this post; Chris Ertel noticed the classified and experienced this amazing Greek Revival.

In March, I noticed a classified ad for the absolute auction of a farm in Mercer County. The photo showed a beautiful Greek Revival Mansion. I saw this as a unique
opportunity to experience a seldom seen historic site. I went to the open house the weekend before the auction and found a large throng of curious visitors roaming through the house and grounds.

Glenworth was built in 1848 by Robert Mosby Davis on land deeded to him by his uncle, Robert Mosby He was the namesake of his uncle. It was given to him for taking care of his uncle in his old age. The land was originally owned by the Robards family. Lewis Robards married and lived here with Rachel Donelson Robards, later Mrs. Andrew Jackson. Her father Colonel John Donelson was the founder of Nashville, Tennessee. There was a bigamy scandal when Andrew Jackson married Rachel Donaldson Robards before a divorce was finalized and Andrew Jackson was dogged by political gossip throughout his career. The land passed to Robert Mosby through his marriage to Lewis Robards’ sister.

Glenworth is an excellent example of a high-style Kentucky Greek Revival plantation house. It bears a similarity to Fayette County’s Waveland. It is a two story brick house with a full entablature divided into an architrave and frieze. The entablature
rests on paired brick pilasters. It is surmounted by a hipped roof topped with an observation deck enclosed by a cast iron cresting.

Like Waveland, the façade is divided into three parts with each bay being divided by the paired pilasters. From the four central pilasters projects a pedimented portico with paired Ionic columns. The first floor windows and doorway echo the tripartite theme of the façade with triple windows on each side of the doorway also in three parts.

The doorway features Ionic columns in antis between pilasters
supporting an entablature, forming sidelights and a triple transom. In the frieze are stylized anthemion decorations. The triple windows have simple lintels over them.

The second floor windows are framed by Greek shouldered architrave moldings crowned by cornices above. This is different from Waveland where all windows on the façade are triple windows.

A two story gallery with square brick piers ran along the back of the house with an exterior stair. It was later enclosed. Behind the gallery is a one story brick ell.

The ice house, shown in the photograph of the rear of the house, is cylindrical with a conical roof like Ashland and many bluegrass estates. The ice house is one of many original outbuildings at Glenworth.

The interior is divided by the central hallway with a pair of rooms on each side. The interior doorways also have anthemion moldings and shouldered architrave moldings. The staircase has a magnificent newel post and ornament from later in the 19th century. An opening with engaged Ionic columns divides the two parlors on the right side of the house. Also visible is the bracketed mantel, more indicative of the style ten years later. The house had minor updates throughout the remainder of the 19th century.

Glenworth has an impressive array of outbuildings. Pictured are an octagonal brick supply house, meat house, frame poultry house, slave quarters. The meat house and slave quarters are of log covered with wood siding. Vertical board and batten construction is used for the wood siding. All the original ones have a hipped roof much steeper than the main house. The last two had gable roofs and probably date to later in the 19th century.

The heyday of the property came at the turn of the century when 20 year old Adam S. Edelen from Danville, a graduate of Centre College rented the farm in 1895 and later purchased it in 1905. Glenworth Stock Farm was one of the most prominent Saddlebred farms in Kentucky. It produced many champion show horses including Bohemian King, Bourbon King, Bourbon Chief and Montgomery Chief. The Saddlebred is a breed created in Kentucky as a plantation horse. It was a favored mount in the Civil War. Due to its showy gaits it became a show horse. The Grand Championships are held at the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville. The farm also raised Jersey cattle, English Berkshire swine and Poland-China swine. His wife, Elizabeth Beard Edelen was known for her elegant entertaining at Glenworth. Mr. Edelen built the impressive 18 stall horse barn around 1910 and the farm manager’s house around 1920. Mr. Edelen sold the farm in 1927.

The auction was conducted on March 31, 2012. The house, buildings, and approximately 108 acres sold for $810,000. Hopefully, the new owners will preserve the house, farm and outbuildings for future generations to enjoy.

Only a few of the many photos of Glenworth can be found on this page. For more photographs of this beautiful Greek Revivial, check out these photographs on flickr.

Forsythe-Shewmaker House in Mercer County on National Register

Forsythe-Shewmaker House – Salvisa, Ky.
Photo: NRHP Application, Ky. Heritage Council

On the banks of the Salt River in Mercer County, Andrew Forsythe built his two-story brick home as the centerpiece of his farm around 1830. In the Federal-Greek Revival style, Forsythe’s home also incorporated a number of French considerations which would have been quite en vogue at the time such as the parlor wallpaper being imported from Paris.

Forsythe was born in 1795 in Mercer County. He was the grandson of one of the five McAfee brothers who settled the area around what is now Salvisa. From the age of 17, Forsythe ventured in the transport of goods utilizing the many waterways around Mercer County. He would often “fill a flat boat at Oregon with produce, take it down to New Orleans, sell it and then walk home.” He would also transport items via horseback to eastern Kentucky and to Maysville by road.

Forsythe took to farming in 1820 and by 1832 had amassed 250 acres along the Salt River. Eventually, his holdings would include 693 acres before he died in 1886 at the age of 91.

Forsythe’s home, known now as the Forsythe-Shewmaker Home, was recently listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Just shy of 19 acres remains part of the property. One of the notable points in the nomination form is how the structure and design of the home lent to impress others and to improve Forsythe’s social position.

The application points specifically to the one story brick servants home built in close proximity to the main house. In the 1830s, having two brick structures so close together was significant and showed Forsythe’s importance in the local economy.

The Shewmaker name is added to the identity of the home because that family bought the dilapidated house in 1937 at auction on the courthouse steps in Harrodsburg, restored it and held the property until 1976.

On a personal note, I’m quite fond of this area as it was where I took my first No Destination drive, including a visit down to the dock at Oregon where Forsythe’s career was forged. Much of the family, including Forsythe’s father, worshipped at New Providence Church and is buried in the church cemetery.

Source: Ky. Heritage Council NRHP Application

kernel: Two Central Kentucky Historic Districts Now on National Register

On December 19, 2011, the Department of the Interior recognized and approved the nominations of two central Kentucky historic districts to the National Register of Historic Places. The first is in Harrodsburg (Mercer County); the second is in Springfield (Washington County).

Harrodsburg Post Office
(Photo from NRHP Application File)

In Harrodsburg, the North Main Street Historic District includes addresses at 105-414 N. Main St., 109 W. Lexington, 101 W. Broadway, and 163 E. Broadway. With twenty-three contributing buildings , the district encompasses a number of architectural styles with a period of incluence stretching from 1823 until 1949. The district is mixed-use and features commercial, residential, and civic structures. In this historic district, the development of Kentucky’s oldest non-native settlement is readily visible. (NRHP# 11000796)

West Main Street, Springfield
(Photo from NRHP Application File)

One hundred sixty-five contributing features will make up Springfield’s Main Street Historic District, an 83-acre area bounded by Commercial Ave. to College St. and McCord, High Sts. to E. Depot St. This nomination is actually an expansion of the historic district originally approved in 1989. The Washington County Courthouse, completed in 1816, marks the beginning of the districts period of significance, though the city’s development can be bifurcated by the year 1888 during which year the Louisville & Nashville arrived. The county also had an extensive toll road network making Springfield a magnet for commercial and civic activity in the county. Pictured above are buildings which house or once housed shops, banks, masonic lodges and the opera house). (NRHP# 11000803)

kernel: More Kentucky Sites Make the National Register

Parkview Motel – Bardstown, Ky.
(Photo from NRHP Application)

The day after Thanksgiving, the National Register of Historic Places accepted three Kentucky sites from the thirteen recommended by the Kentucky Heritage Council (eight were accepted the previous week). This round of approvals includes a school in Covington, a historic district in Harrodsburg and another hotel/motel in Bardstown.

KENTON COUNTY (# 11000791)

LaSalette Academy,

702 Greenup St., Covington,

MERCER COUNTY (# 11000795)

Lexington and Cane Run Historic District

E. Lexington & Cane Run Sts., Harrodsburg

NELSON COUNTY (# 11000798)

Kurtz Restaurant and Bardstown–Parkview Motel–Office,

418 E. Stephen Foster Ave., Bardstown

Also, on December 19, the Kentucky Historic Preservation Review Board will consider eight additional nominations for recommendation to the National Register. More information about these eight sites, which includes Lexington’s Leestown Road VA Hospital, is available on the Kentucky Heritage Council website.

NoD: Oregon is a place inside Kentucky. Huh?

Landing at Oregon, Kentucky

When you think of Oregon, you probably conjure up an image of a western state with beautiful panoramas of the Pacific Ocean and the towering Cascade Mountains through which the Columbia River cut its own gorge.

Well, I’ve got a different image that I recognize on hearing the word. A winding, descending country road headed toward the river with animals – wild turkey among them – not afraid to explore this road less travelled. At its end, a river as quiet as the boat landing it passes. It is here I pause to savor the silence, the quiet, the peace.

The place: Oregon, Kentucky, a small community on the Kentucky River about five miles from Harrodsburg. It is unknown how the community, originally named Harrods Landing after James Harrod who settled the nearby county seat in 1784, received its current name. What is known is that it assumed its present name by the mid-1800s and it was an important Kentucky River port. Over the years, the community has also been known as Warwick. A roadside historic marker (#1751) reads:

Warwick flourished for some 50 years and was succeeded by Oregon. Both were early shipping ports. Flatboats, during Warwick era, and later steamboats, at Oregon, ran regularly between here and New Orleans. This point was at head of slackwater navigation on Kentucky River. The creek is still called Landing Run because of significance to James Harrod.

Among Oregon’s most notable residents was Clay Lancaster, an authority on American and Kentucky architecture and a leading proponent of historic preservation. He acquired in 1973 the Moses Jones House, an early federal residence in the area, and called it his home until his death. The property is now maintained by the Warwick Foundation.

My connection to Oregon dates to May 6, 2009. Having just completed my final exam in law school, I set out to clear my mind. So I began driving and a saw a few wonderful sites in our beautiful Commonwealth, among them this winding road toward the Kentucky River that took me to Oregon. I sat in my chair, pictured above, and experienced a calmness. Yes, law school was over. And it was here that I found the basis for #NoDestination and this blog.

Mercer County Courthouse – Harrodsburg, Ky.

UPDATE: apparently the “massive historic preservation” I spoke of in this post isn’t historic preservation at all. According to the Herald Leader’s recent courthouse series this building is being torn down and replaced. Really, really sad.

I apologize for my lack of any photo editing software to lighten this one up a bit (one thing I miss about working for the paper is the access to cool photo software) but I just had to choose this picture of the Mercer County Courthouse. Mercer is one of two courthouses I saw today that appears to be undergoing massive historic preservation, and the effect created by the absence of the clock in the clock tower was pretty cool.
I have to be honest here – Harrodsburg is one of my favorite little communities in central Kentucky, mostly because I spent some time here during an internship with the local paper during my senior year at Centre. Harrodsburg has a combination of all of my favorite elements – well-maintained buildings, tons of history and friendly people. In addition, Harrodsburg seems to have a very active historical society, judging from the wealth of historic markers and tour guideposts throughout. Anyway, the present courthouse is the fourth to occupy the spot, and it was built in 1928.

BONUS PIC FOR PETER – One thing that I hate to see in any downtown area is the giant hole that develops when a building is taken down in a row of buildings. With historic commercial blocks you always get that great line of buildings with different heights and styles, and when one gets knocked down, it tends to look like someone knocked out a tooth from a beautiful smile. These buildings usually make way for parking lots, and when one building comes down, sometimes the whole block starts to deteriorate – think Rosenburg Block in Lexington. Anyway, Harrodsburg’s got the right idea here. This park sits in the middle of a block between two buildings. Pretty cool.

No Destination: 5-6-09

I just realized that I never wrote about my first “No Destination” drive. It occurred in early May – immediately after my last law school exam. I picked up two Pepsis and a bag of Fritos and hit the road. The purpose of the drive was simply that – to drive. Consequently, I didn’t take as many pictures as I have on more recent No Destination sojourns.

I traveled down U.S. 27 from Nicholasville past Camp Nelson and across the Kentucky River in order to take KY-152 over Lake Herrington and to Burgin and even further, to Harrodsburg. While I gloss over the drive down 152, one cannot easily forget the beautiful topography of this part of the Commonwealth – rolling hills and seemingly endless praries, streams and rivers.

Once in Harrodsburg, I drove down a busy Main Street with its many shops. The most fun of my trip came up US-127 from Harrodsburg. With an eye open for historical markers, I finally decided to take breaks with my camera. In the small Mercer County ville of McAfee (est. 1779), I saw a nice little church. New Providence Presbyterian – so named because during a 1773 exploration of the area, the McAfee Company neared starvation until a deer was found, killed and eaten. The current church was built from 1861-1864 and the church cemetery was amazing – truly calming.

Down one small road, I saw a farmer using his horses to prepare the soil for tilling. Down another small road, I meandered down to the Kentucky River (and saw a wild turkey!). I’m not sure if I met the river at Warwick or Oregon – each was a ‘major’ shipping port for flatboats and steamboats destined for New Orleans. I sat down a few feet away from the river and watched it pass by. It was exactly the calm I needed. After leaving my spot by the river, I worked my way up a different road (Cummins Ferry) to make my way back to US-127 – then to Lawrenceburg. US-60 to Versailles and then my usual path home to Nicholasville.

I did manage to snap a few pictures:

No Destination – June 5, 2009

Starting out in Nicholasville, we journeyed through Jessamine, Madison, Garrard, Mercer and Boyle counties. Here are some pictures from yesterday’s journey:

As always, there is a lot to learn in central Kentucky.

Tates Creek Road in Lexington is the border – for several miles – between Jessamine and Fayette counties.
The Valley View Ferry has a “perpetual and irrevocable” franchise issued by the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1785 (that’s why the Virginia flag also flies on the ferry). It has not since ceased operation. It has been operated by Madison, Fayette and Jessamine counties since 1991.
“C6, H0” remains visible in Danville to remember when Centre College’s football team (in an undefeated season) beat Harvard, 6-0. It is the only graffiti that the Centre trustees permit on campus.
What do they do with the dead? After the October 1862 Battle of Perryville, the Confederate forces quickly fled the area and a mass grave was constructed for the deceased rebel soldiers.