No Destination: Church of the Annunciation

Church of the Annunciation

On a Sunday visit to Shelbyville, I sought out the local Catholic Church. I walked into the sanctuary only moments after the conclusion of the last service. The smell of incense still permeated the air and I was able to spend a few quiet moments in prayer.

Catholicism in Shelbyville has interesting roots; the first sermon (1843) by a Catholic priest in the community occurred  in the public square to a gathering anticipating the public execution of James McLaughlin. Father James Quinn of Louisville unsuccessfully pleaded with Gov. Letcher for a pardon. Hours before the execution, McLaughlin used a razor to slit his own throat and many accused Fr. Quinn of providing McLaughlin with the tool. Quinn's sermon was on the value of life, though anti-Catholic sentiment lingered.

Nearly twenty years later, on October 2, 1860, the Church of the Annunciation was dedicated. When compared to Lebanon's St. Augustine's, the Church of the Annunciation is quite plain. Yet it is a beautiful sanctuary with aged clean lines and a genuine warmth.

See Parish History.

Oldham County Courthouse - La Grange, Ky.

I love La Grange. I lived in downtown La Grange for three years, and La Grange is where I fell in love with small-town life. For those of you who have never been, you owe it to yourself to visit. Main Street La Grange is split by a train track that is still active - more than 30 trains run through La Grange every day. I used to do historic tours through La Grange, and you'd think I could remember more about this structure. If I remember correctly, this building was constructed in the mid 1870s, after a fire destroyed the previous courthouse in 1873. The circuit courtroom upstairs is a pretty amazing space. The county jail is connected to the courthouse just to the left of the picture, and the Oldham County History Center sits just across the street. Directly behind me in this picture is the old La Grange Opera House, which I'm hoping Peter blogs about later.
As an interesting aside, Peter and I were walking through La Grange when Kentucky pulled off its miracle comeback to beat Mississippi State in the SEC championship game. We watched the final two minutes of overtime in the La Grange McDonald's.

No Destination: Science Hill School

Shelbyville's Science Hill School

Julia Tevis began in 1825 a college preparatory program for girls in Shelbyville. At the time, a "gentlelady's" education consisted of only reading, writing and the social graces. Tevis sought to expand the minds of young women, including in areas such as the sciences. The school was a great success when on its first day, 20 women appeared at the door. Mrs. Tevis operated the school for 55 years until it fell under the principalship of Dr. W.T. Pointer.

Dr. Pointer brought great acclaim to Science Hill as it was declared one of the nation's greatest college preparatory programs. The Lyceum Circuit regularly included Science Hill on its its itinerary, bringing distinguished speakers and educators to Shelbyville. This increased the cultural import of Shelbyville and prompted the construction of the town's opera house.

After 114 years in operation, the Great Depression caused a number of preparatory institutions to close including Science Hill.

Shelby County Courthouse - Shelbyville, Ky.

A few weekends ago me and Peter decided to combine our powers and take a Kentucky 120/No Destination trip through my old stomping grounds. For 3 years I lived in Oldham County and commuted to see my fiance every weekend in Lexington. Shelbyville was the mid-point of that drive, and I've always loved the town. I especially love Main Street, which looks like something out of a movie. On the west end of Main are some of the prettiest older homes in the Commonwealth, and at the center of town is the amazing Greek Revival courthouse you see above. It's really unlike anything else I've seen in Kentucky. This courthouse was built in 1913, and displaced the unique Shelbyville fountain that Peter blogged about earlier.

No Destination: Stanley House

The Stanley-Casey House

Augustus O. Stanley was born in the above-pictured house in Shelbyille on May 21, 1867, and would later go on to be Kentucky's 38th governor (1915-1919). The house was erected c. 1816 Gov. Stanley also served in the U.S. House of Representatives (pre-governorship) and the U.S. Senate (post-governorship).

Stanley, a progressive Democrat, spent his time in Washington trust-busting (on behalf of Kentucky farmers against the American Tobacco Company and on principle against U.S. Steel). In 1912, Stanley authored a committee report that would be the basis of many of the reforms to the Sherman Act that would be embodied in the Clayton Act.

As governor, Stanley instituted a number of progressive reforms: state antitrust laws, ban on free railroad passes for public figures, campaign finance reform, worker's compensation and budget reform. The biggest marker of Stanley's political career was his opposition to prohibition; it and his progressivism ultimately cost him the 1915 Senate election and his Senate re-election bid in 1924.

Also of note, Stanley's grandson (Augustus O. Stanley III, a/k/a Owsley Stanley a/k/a The Bear) was an underground LSD cook and financier for Grateful Dead. Oh, and he kind of designed the logo for the band.

No Destination: Shelbyille Fountain

Also at the intersection of Fifth and Main in downtown Shelbyville is the Shelbyville Fountain, erected in the middle of the intersection in 1895 to celebrate the community's first public water works (Shelbyville Water & Light Co.). The statue and fountain were relocated to the southeast corner of the intersection in 1914 after the completion of the present courthouse.

The J. L. Mott Ironworks Company of New York designed and built the "Atlantis" patterned fountain. Its founder, Jordan Mott, was very creative in his designs and was successful in patenting a number of his iron works. President Buchanan offered him the position of Commissioner of Patents, but Mott refused.

The fountain was restored in 1992 in celebration of the Commonwealth's (and Shelby County's and Shelbyille's) Bicentennial.

walkLEX: Spring

A beautiful spring day in Lexington. Stopped and smelled the dogwood blossoms.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

No Destination: Church of the Ascension

Church of the Ascension in Frankfort

Frankfort's Church of the Ascension is the oldest congregation in the city. It has been instrumental in the growth of the city by sponsoring the first library, furnishing an orphanage from 1859 to 1939, and founding a free school for the poor.

The Episcopal Church is located on Washington Street in Frankfort's historic district.

Constructed about 1850 and financed by Farmer's Bank president John Hanna, the house of worship was enlarged in 1868 and both the parish house and chapel were erected in 1899. Hanna had traveled to Europe to see models of traditional church design before he funded the building of the Church of the Ascension.

walkLEX: Cheapside Update

A rainy day; I thought we could all use a double-post Monday. A lot of progress at Cheapside Park in downtown Lexington:

No Destination: Shelbyville

5th & Main, Shelbyville, KY with county courthouse in background

In 1792, Kentucky became a Commonwealth, Shelby County split from Jefferson County and Shelbyville was first settled (though it would not be incorporated until 1846). Both the county and the city are named after Kentucky's first governor, Isaac Shelby.

Civil unrest came to Shelbyville even before the Civil War began, prompting local officials to erect a blockhouse in the center of town. It stood at the intersection of what is now Fifth St. and Main St. and remained until "civil law and order were assured" in 1870. The intersection remains - with the courthouse, city fountain and memorial park - Shelbyville's civil center (which is odd, given that it is Fifth Street).

Downtown Shelbyville is built around two one-way streets (Main and Washington) running parralel to one another. Historic sites, antique shops, cafes and other businesses prosper.

What is the coolest 'abandoned site' in Kentucky?

This weeks SOS question asks "what is the coolest 'abandoned site' in Kentucky?

This past week, the Kaintuckeean has highlighted two abandoned sites in Jessamine County (the Union Mill bridge and the Boone tunnel). One of my favorites was the old school in Frenchburg. But there have been many more.

Anyway, have you driven past something on Kentucky's backroads that was formerly something grander? A town that is now a ghost town? All of these sites add so much to Kentucky's rich history and heritage. Please share in the comments below.

No Destination: Union Mill

Abandoned Bridge, Union Mill (Jessamine Co.), Ky.

The Jessamine County community of Union Mill (on KY-169) once was home to a successful distillery operation, one of several that used to operate in the county. The beautiful Hickman Creek (pictured below at right) provided the necessary moving water for both the distillery and the gristmill.

The first gristmill was constructed and operated by Joseph Crockett, a Revolutionary War veteran, around 1800. By the middle of the 1800s, the distillery was operating and bottling "Old Lexington Club Whiskey." The mills produced "Hickman Lily" and "Snow on the Mountain" flour. But Prohibition shuttered the distillery, and the mill and community followed. [cite, PDF]

An old 150-foot covered bridge once traversed the creek. According to some reports the covered bridge was replaced in 1915 (see comments to this post), while other reports indicate it was lost in to flood waters in 1932. Still visible below the abandoned four-span, steel bedstead and pony truss bridge that followed is the original stonework from the covered bridge. [Kentucky's Covered Bridges (KY) (Images of America)]. All of this was abandoned when, in 1955, KY-169 was rerouted slightly to the west.

UPDATE: Immediately below is a picture sent to me by the author of Kentucky's Covered Bridges, Walter Laughlin, which shows the old covered bridge in its heyday.

Union Mills Covered Bridge
Photo Courtesy of Walter Laughlin

ANOTHER UPDATE: I've seen it before, but never added it. From the old Sanborn insurance maps comes this gem, circa. 1903. It identifies the pictured covered bridge and the different buildings related to the distillery. The distillery was in operation daily, five months out of the year. Yield was 20 barrels. See photo below:

Sanborn Insurance Map, ca. 1903 of Union Mill (Source)

Additionally, check out my post from December 2010 wherein I reported on the ultimate demise of the steel pony-truss bridge.

No Destination: Boone Tunnel & Brooklyn Bridge

Travelling south/west on US-68 through Jessamine County is a beautiful, winding drive. When you reach the Kentucky River, you find a 'modern' bridge and cross the river. But if you carefully look to your left before reaching the bridge, you will see an old tunnel carved out of the Kentucky Palisades. The tunnel, Boone Tunnel, was the first tunnel in Kentucky constructed for highway traffic.

The tunnel provided access to a 250-foot iron-truss bridge that spanned the Kentucky River from 1871 until 1955. In that year, the bridge collapsed under the weight of a delivery truck and the deliveryman was badly injured. A judge awarded him $50,000, but the governor reduced the damages to $10,000 with the statement that "no man was worth $50,000."

See also: Jessamine County's Kentucky River Guidebook.

No Destination: The Pioneer Playhouse

Notable alumni of Boyle County's Pioneer Playhouse include Lee Majors, Jim Varney and ... John Travolta. I guess you could call it Kentucky's Saturday Night Live as it has been a launching point for a few talented actors. 

Started by Col. Henson in 1950, it is the oldest outdoor theater in the state and was the first theater designated a "state theater" by the General Assembly (1962). According to its official history, Col. Henson used "unorthodox ways" to construct his playhouse:

He once bartered a fifth of whiskey for hand-hewn two hundred-year-old rafter beams and hired prisoners from the local county jail to help him lay the first foundations. 

I'd love to see a show at the Pioneer; the 2010 schedule is available here.

No Destination: Kentucky Fried Chicken

If you travel abroad and say that you are from Kentucky, the majority of people identify our home state with delicious, fried chicken. Colonel Harland David Sanders, a Colonel in the Order of Kentucky Colonels and which is not a military rank but rather a distinction for honored Kentuckians, moved from Indiana to Corbin, Kentucky in 1930 where a service station was opened. A lunchroom followed, and this was by continued expansion and growth of the Sander's Cafe.

When the service station and cafe burned in 1939, Sanders rebuilt using a cafe-motel model. The Colonel operated the Sander's Court and Cafe until the construction of I-75 took business away from the local roads. He auctioned the building and began to franchise his Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Today, the franchise is owned by Louisville-based Yum! Brands. Yum! also owns the old Court and Cafe and utilizes it as both an active franchise and a museum. Pictured above is a recreated kitchen from the days of the Court and Cafe. For more, check out Nate's visit in January.

SOS: Should Kentucky eliminate references to dueling from its oath?

Should Kentucky eliminate references to dueling found in its oath of office? What are your thoughts on this?

I know that a state legislator is proposing its removal and if his bill passes, this same question will be posed in November to Kentucky voters. In the past year, I have twice taken Kentucky's oath of office; once as a notary, the second time as an attorney. The solemn occasion of admission to practice law is held in the Supreme Court which is located on the second floor of the Capitol in Frankfort; admittedly, there was snickering during the "dueling" references.

Even so, State Sen. Julian Carroll notes that "[i]t is part of the history of this great commonwealth, and I don't think that we ought to make any changes with respect to the reflection of that history." What do you think? For more information, read or listen to a great story heard yesterday on NPR's All Things Considered.

No Destination: St. Augustine Catholic Church

Although Lebanon was originally settled by Presbyterians, it quickly became a center of Catholic faith. The first Catholic Church organized here in 1815 and the first church was erected in 1825. In 1837, this church (then called St. Hubert's) was rededicated to St. Augustine.

In 1871, the present church was completed and it certainly is a beautiful parish church. As is the case with Catholic churches generally, the doors are open during the day for people to enter and pray. [I wish this were the case with certain Protestant congregations, particularly those with historic and beautiful building!]  After praying, a snapped the picture [right] of this gorgeous house of prayer.

The church's mission statement is great, honoring in its first paragraph both God and our great Commonwealth:

St. Augustine Catholic Church, located in the heartland of Kentucky’s holy land, being rich in history and tradition, is a diverse community of believers committed to serving God and neighbor. We are sustained by a loving devotion to the celebration of the Eucharist in fulfillment of our Baptismal call to proclaim the Good News of salvation.

See: A Short History of St. Augustine Parish.

Map Update

With my recent posts in south central Kentucky, I can now present this updated map on county visits for Nate and I:

For the Kaintuckeean, the tally is now 33 of 120 counties (27.5%). The Kentucky 120 Project remains ahead at 35 of 120 counties (29.2%). This coming weekend, we hope to target the following counties:  

• Carroll County 
• Henry County
• Oldham County
• Shelby County
• Trimble County

Any offbeat places that I shouldn't miss as I go with No Destination?

No Destination: Lebanon

Three miles from the middle of Lebanon is the geographic center of Kentucky, but this community of about 6,000 stands on its own. First settled in the 1700s, the town was incorporated in 1815. Named after the "Biblical Lebanon" because a number of cedar trees also grew in this area. Much of the communities growth can be attributed to the L&N Railroad that once rolled through town. The historic depot constructed in 1857 survived a burning by Gen. Morgan's men during the Civil War, but it could not escape teenage arsonists in 1992.

The above-picture is clearly not the best, but it shows the route that the railroad once took a block north of Main Street. In the distance you can see the Marion County municipal building. A new courthouse is being built just to the south of this municipal building. Hopefully, the historic courthouse on Main Street will be preserved!

Bonus Kaintuckeean: J. Proctor Knott. A Kentucky Congressman, Governor and member of the 1891 Constitutional Convention during which he led the effort to keep Frankfort as Kentucky's capital. He was also the first dean of Centre College's law school. Knott County is named after him. [Marker 728]

No Destination: Gov. William Goebel

Outside Kentucky's Old State Capitol is a statute of one governor. It isn't Isaac Shelby (Kentucky's first governor), but rather a man who served in office for only a few days. On January 30, 1900, shots rang out from the nearby state building striking Gov. William Goebel. A few days later, he was dead.

Goebel remains the only actively-serving governor of a U.S. state to be assassinated. Although the identity of the shooter will likely never be known, it followed the hotly contested gubernatorial election of 1900. For more, read here.

No Destination: Campbellsville

Centrally located Campbellsville - Taylor County's seat - is eighty miles from Lexington, Louisville and Bowling Green. Established in 1817, the town's history is quintissentially Kentucky. Began as a grist mill, grew in population as a stop on a stagecoach route and later a rail line, and the target of Civil War raids by the infamous Gen. John Hunt Morgan. Today, Campbellsville's Main Street (pictured, above) remains active with a number of businesses due at least in part to the presence of Cumberland University.

What is now Campbellsville was on the Cumberland Trace - that route through the Cumberland Gap that would serve as the early route for western settlers; ultimately those who passed through what would become Taylor County continued past the Cumberland River to what is now Nashville, Tenn.

Taylor County was separated from Green County in 1848 (named for General Zachary Taylor in the same year that he would become President) and Campbellsville at that time was selected to be the seat of the new county. The first courthouse was erected soon thereafter and was destroyed during an 1864 raid by Confederate forces. The next courthouse was built and survived until 1965 when it was razed in favor of a "contemporary" brick design. This is another instance in which, architecturally speaking, the courthouse project currently underway in Kentucky is "a good thing" as the new Taylor County Courthouse has that "modern take at an old building" quality that at least returns a bell tower to the courthouse square. All historic markers, however, remain at the site of the 1965 courthouse.

Nate, on his courthouse visits, loves the feel of coming over the hill into a town to see the tallest building in town - his immediate indicator of the courthouse's prominence and central role for a community. Not in Campbellsville: the tallest spire will lead you up a hill to the Campbellsville Baptist Church (pictured, right). The congregation began as early as 1791, but the name of the church was not adopted until 1852. Following a 1962 fire, the present church was constructed. It replaced a 1916 sanctuary that consisted of "a domed ceiling and four walls of stained glass."

SOS: What is Kentucky's best hiking trail?

What is Kentucky's best hiking trail? Do you have a favorite place to go hiking? Tell us about that place.

SOS or Share on Saturday asks readers to share their links, photos, experiences and thoughts on a variety of topics. The idea is to get you, the reader, to share! Of course, I'd love for you to comment on every post that interests you!

No Destination: Campbellsville University

Founded in 1906, Campbellsville University ("CU") was founded by the Russell Creek Baptist Association. Affiliated with the Southern Baptist Church, CU enrolls of about 3,000 students of various faith backgrounds.

Regular readers may recall from last week that another community (Glens Fork) courted the Baptist association in the late 1800s before Campbellsville was selected as the home of the institution.

Originally the institution was not a college - it began as the Russell Creek Baptist Academy which was a private elementary and high school. It was in 1923 that the General Association of Kentucky Baptists met and gave authority  for a junior college to be opened. By the late 1930s, both the elementary and high schools were gone leaving only Cumberland College (renamed to CU in the 2000s). In 1960, the college gave out its first four-year degrees.

Notable alumni of CU include former Kentucky Governor Wallace Wilkinson (1987-1991) and the current head basketball coach of Mississippi State University (Rick Stansbury). Wilkinson, however, did not graduate from CU - he later transferred to UK, but never graduated. Stansbury did graduate from CU and led the school's basketball team to the NAIA tournament.

A Third Blog

I have discussed with you before my need to write, to blog. I have blogged for many years (since 2003) on various sites I have maintained. I won't here discuss my past blogging attempts, but want to focus on my current blogging adventures. I have decided to maintain multiple blogs with each focusing on a different matter so that readers can focus on their interests. Please follow all (if you want) and comment! [Bloggers love comments!]

My blogs:

• The Kaintuckeean - Of my current blogs, this is the 'oldest' though it only dates to the middle of last year. On it, I discuss and share photos from my sojourns and discoveries around the Commonwealth of Kentucky. A lot of history, a little anthropology and a lot of what interests me. I think that Kentucky is a wonderful, beautiful state and I try and share that here.
• 5:9 Focus - Named after the verse in Matthew's Gospel where Jesus observes "blessed are the peacemakers."As a Christian Ecumenical, I believe in finding harmony among all Christians and in finding common ground with other faith communities. I share insights, prayers and other 'divine' thoughts here.
• PJWB - My initials. Not to creative, but this is more of my journal. Not a 'pick my nose' journal, but a 'this is interesting' journal. As I surf the web or read books or listen to music, I might discover something that I want to share. And a Facebook status doesn't quite cut it. Plus, I might include an amazon.com link where you can buy a product and I could earn a commission. [Bloggers love making $0.02 in a day!] This also serves as my 'home page' with links to the other blogs more prominently placed.

I hope you will read, or at least explore, all of them. If not, writing helps me to think about what I enjoy. So, yes... I do all of this for myself! [Did you think this blog was about you? - Carly Simon] Let me know what you think. Subscribe to RSS feeds or email or twitter updates or however you can keep informed. I promise I'll try and make it interesting!

No Destination: Green River Lake

Situated between Adair and Taylor counties, Green River Lake is a man-made lake that encompasses 8,210 acres. Created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers through the 1969 impoundment of the Green River, the project cost approximately $33.4 million.

Despite this seemingly high cost, the Corps points out the economic benefits of the dam: annual tourism of $34.75million and savings from prevented floods over the impoundment's first forty years (through 2009) of $129.997million.

Visiting in the winter, I saw the waters at their lower levels. This also allowed for repairs to be made to the dam. It was an interesting moment: look to the right and feel like a kid, enjoying the big trucks move dirt; look to the right and be an old man appreciating the glory of nature.

As an aside, the Green River, at 370 miles, is the longest river to flow completely within the boundaries of Kentucky. [cite] Its fount is in Lincoln County and it flows into the Ohio River in Henderson County

No Destination: Federal Hill

Visiting Bardstown for a wedding last summer, I knew one destination that I could not miss. Federal Hill, colloquially known as My Old Kentucky Home. Of course, my arrival there was moments before the state park closed so while I toured the grounds, I did not enter any of the buildings.

As folklore goes, it was on an 1852 visit with his cousins (the Rowans) here that Stephen Collins Foster was inspired to write what later became the state song. There is some debate as to the veracity of this story. Foster could have been inspired on an earlier (and well-documented) 1833 visit to Augusta, Kentucky. The song was adopted as the official state song in 1928; its words were revised in 1986 also by legislative fiat (changing the word from "darkies" to "people" after a performance of the song by a Japanese choir upon the opening of the Toyota Plant in Georgetown. It was said that the lyrics "convey connotations of racial discrimination that are not acceptable.") Also generally eliminated by the 1986 legislation: verses 2 and 3. Verse 3 is below; you can see why it was removed:

The head must bow and the back will have to bend,
Wherever the darky may go;
A few more days, and the trouble all will end,
In the field where the sugar-canes grow;
A few more days for to tote the weary load,
No matter, 'twill never be light;
A few more days till we totter on the road,
Then my old Kentucky home, goodnight.

John Rowan, a jurist and congressman, began construction of Federal Hill in 1795 but the work was not finished until 1818.  According to The Kentucky Encyclopedia, John Rowan's granddaughter (Madge Rowan Frost) sold the estate to the Commonwealth in 1921 who has since maintained and operated the site.

No Destination: Columbia-Union Presbyterian Church

The oldest church in Columbia was erected just beyond the town's original boundary. Known only as the Columbia Presbyterian Church until 1925 when it took on the combined name with the Union Presbyterian Church (the county congregation, the congregations having actually merged in 1912), the church has a storied past.

The church was constructed in 1857 and contained a balcony for slaves, though the balcony was removed in1885. During the Civil War, the attic was used both as a lookout for rebel forces and as a place to make bullets. Doors inside the church were taken down following an 1863 skirmish and were used as stretchers to carry the wounded back to the church where the structure served as a temporary hospital. A 1908 renovation replaced the plain (or frosted) windows with the stained glass windows seen today.

The steps leading to the door of the sanctuary are original from 1857, hand carved from Kentucky marble (aka limestone).

See: Columbia Magazine's Walking Tour of Columbia.