NoDestination – Page 12 – The Kaintuckeean

No Destination: State Reception Room

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.

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.

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

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

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!

No Destination: Louisville Zoo’s Cemetery

Cemetery at the Louisville Zoo, Louisville, Ky.

In the middle of the Louisville Zoo is a family cemetery. The old cemetery is a quiet respite in the middle of a modern, busy cemetery. Although it does not hold the grandeur of Louisville’s Cave Hill Cemetery, it is a fine old family cemetery. A marker, Salute to a Pioneer Family, rests near the Phillips-Durrett-Clark Cemetery and reads:

The American branch of the Phillips family began with Jenkin Phillips, born in 1744 in Loudon Co., Virginia. He fought with George Washington and helped survey what was then called Kentucky County for Patrick Henry and the Commonwealth of Virginia. For his services, Phillips was deeded 1,00 acres of land radiating out from this spot. At the time of his death in 1822, the family owned land extending from this area into southern Indiana.

No Destination: St. Francis Catholic Church

St. Francis Catholic Church, Georgetown, Ky.

Between Georgetown and Frankfort sitting to the right atop a small hill rests a beautiful Catholic Church. The St. Francis Catholic Church represents the oldest Catholic congregation in the Commonwealth (first Mass was held on Dec. 1, 1793) and the church building dates to 1820. It is the second oldest Catholic Church west of the Alleghenies. Interior features evidencing the historic nature of the church include the kneeler stretching across the front of the church and doors to the pews. It is named after St. Francis de Sales.

The rural church is not ordinarily left open for contemplative prayer, but is available for scheduled tours. I happened to visit on a day when the church was having a picnic. So I was able to stroll into the church for a little prayer (and photography)! It is absolutely beautiful.

Rev. Stephen Theodore Badin was the congregation’s resident pastor for many formative years; Rev. Badin was the first Catholic priest ordained in the United States. Born in Orleans, France in 1768, he was ordained May 25, 1793 by Bishop Carroll of the then-Diocese of Baltimore. Soon thereafter, Rev. Badin was appointed to the Mission of Kentucky.

A convent was located here until from 1875 to 1896 when it was moved to the Cardome Center, just north of Georgetown.

No Destination: Choctaw Indian Academy

Choctaw Indian Academy, Scott County, Ky.

I’m realizing that photographs of historic markers probably aren’t as enjoyable for you as pictures of buildings, landscapes, etc. So I tried to make this one a little more artistic. And if I for a minute actually thought that the old academy still existed, I would have trekked the two miles to find it. That said, I figured it was long gone. I may be mistaken as I was able to find pictures at www.thepeopleofthehuntingground.com.

The History of Scott County, Kentucky provides an account of the indian school:

Lafayette in his tour of the country in that year, (1825) visited it at Blue Springs, and a great feast was prepared for him by the neighborhood, the ladies making a cheese for the occasion weighing 500 pounds. In 1831 the school was removed from Blue Springs to White Sulphur Springs, which was also on a farm owned by Col. Johnson . . . There were generally from two to three hundred Indian boys in attendance, and it brought a considerable revenue to Col. Johnson’s exchequer. Some of the boys afterward filled prominent positions in the country—several became preachers of the Gospel.

Several other of the indian boys would becomes chiefs of their respective tribes. The Col. Johnson mentioned above was Col. Richard Mentor Johnson who would serve as Vice President from 1837-1841 during the administration of President Martin Van Buren. There is some controversy surrounding Johnson’s establishment of the school and his intentions; it seems that he was quite good as securing government contracts, including the establishment of the school.

An 1838 student log shows students from several tribes: Choctaw, Potawatomi, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Seminole, Creek, Prarieduchien, Chicaga, Miami, and Quapaw. The school ultimately closed when financial support from the tribes dried up (they were being forced west into Oklahoma). The OSU Digital Library is a tremendous source of information about the Academy.

My flickr for Choctaw.

No Destination: First Camp Site in Kentucky

First Camp Site in Kentucky, Pineville, Ky.

Near the entry to Pine Mountain State Resort Park is a marker designating the First Camp Site in Kentucky:

Dr. Thomas Walker and 5 companions, employed by the Loyal Land Company, came into this region April 14, 1750, to locate lands for settlement in these western reaches of Virginia. His 1750 journal relates that he established a camp at this spot and spent 3 days here, hunting and fishing. He then moved on to the river, which he named Cumberland River. Walker preceded Daniel Boone in Kentucky by 16 years.

So many Kentuckians are familiar with Daniel Boone, but few are aware of Dr. Walker. Walker’s naming of the Cumberland River preceded the naming of the pass his group took to enter the area, a pass later named Cumberland Gap. Walker was also the first American to discover a use for coal.

After returning from his exploration of the “western frontier” of Kentucky, Walker returned to Virginia. In 1957, he became Thomas Jefferson’s guardian as the young Jefferson’s father had passed away.Walker, having a grant of 800,000 acres in what would become southeastern Kentucky, remained in Virginia.

No Destination: Georgetown

Downtown Georgetown, Kentucky

I’ve already mentioned a number of locations in and around Georgetown – the College, the Japanese Garden, Ward Hall – but I haven’t discussed Georgetown itself. Originally named Lebanon, the town was renamed after George Washington in 1790 (present day Lebanon, Ky. wasn’t named until 1815).

Although founded by Rev. Elijah Craig and his fellow Baptists, its modern history goes back a little further. In 1774, John Floyd led the first whites into the area during a surveying expedition. Floyd and his men discovered the Royal Spring (which was Georgetown’s primary water source for years). Although Floyd claimed the surrounding 1,000 acres, he never settled the land. John McClelland began establishing a fort in April 1775, but the site was abandoned after an Indian attack in 1776. The white man did not return until Elijah Craig came in 1782.

The community remained a sleepy neighbor to nearby Lexington for many years. Georgetown, however, grew drastically when Toyota located its North American manufacturing facility here. Most notably, all Toyota Camry’s are manufactured in Georgetown. The town is also the home of the Cincinnati Bengals’ summer training camp.

Pictured is the downtown business district, called the Oxford Historic District. It is known for its beautiful examples of late Victorian and Greek Revival architecture. Check out all of my pictures of Georgetown on flickr.

No Destination: St. Matthew AME

St. Matthew AME Church, Midway, Ky.

In historic Midway is the St. Matthews African Methodist-Episcopal Church. Its historic marker, unveiled in 2008, reads:

St. Matthew African Methodist Episcopal Church. Est. in 1860. Served as a recruitment office during Civil War. Lot was purchased May 9, 1854, for location of first church building. Rev. Moses Burks was 1st minister of the old frame church. In 1886, Rev. J. Frazier & members erected brick church that later burned with old frame church. Present church was built in 1892.

It is a beautiful, well-kept structure that congregants should be proud of. Unfortunately, with the exception of the marker I can find no history on the building or the congregation.