NoD: Pikeville's Pauley Bridge

Pauley Bridge - Pikeville, Ky.

Walking across the wooden bridge, restored to its original 1930s beauty, evokes thoughts of simpler times. The bridge slightly sways, but the strong stone towers comfort those who cross. Beneath my feet, I spy flora growing and water flowing in the gaps on the bridge's bed.

Spanning the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River just to the north of Pikeville is the Pauley Bridge. Named for the local community that was annexed by Pikeville in 1990, this suspension bridge has stood since 1936. When it was listed on the National Register in 1992, the Pauley Bridge was still open to vehicular traffic and was one of only four swinging suspension bridges open to vehicular traffic in eastern Kentucky (many others were open to pedestrians only, as Pauley Bridge is today).

EV: Jim Varney (Lexington Cemetery, Part IV)

Jim Varney's Grave - Lexington, Ky.

James Albert "Jim" Varney Jr. was born June 15, 1949 in Lexington, where he was raised before heading off to Murray State University, the Pioneer Playhouse in Danville and eventually stardom. Varney, who starred a multitude of movies and TV shows, is probably best remembered for his character Ernest P. Worrell, or his portrayal of Jed Clampett in the remake of The Beverly Hillbillies.

EV: King Solomon (Lexington Cemetery, Part III)

The Grave of King Solomon - Lexington, Ky.

There are a ton of famous people whose final resting place can be found within the walls of the Lexington Cemetery. Confederate war generals, statesmen, basketball coaches, etc. We'll get to those folks, but I wanted to cover a few of the less-known residents who are equally famous in their own right.

If you stray south upon entering the grounds, signs will direct you to the grave of King Solomon. William "King" Solomon was Lexington's folk hero of sorts during the cholera outbreak of the 1830s. John Wright describes this outbreak in great detail in Lexington: Heart of the Bluegrass. Cholera, a disease originating in India, was brought to the U.S. through New York in 1832, and spread through shipping lines quickly. It made it to Maysville in 1833, and quickly spread to Lexington. In Lexington, it started along Water Street behind what became the Lafayette Hotel (roughly in the location of the current city parking garage). The town's water supply was dependent on springs and wells and was therefore vulnerable to contamination from floods. A downpour on June 3, 1833 did just that. The overflowing Town Branch spread disease to High Street and then the rest of downtown. The whole town shut down - a third of the population fled the city, and bodies started piling up at the few organized cemeteries the town had in place. Cholera was a horrible affliction - extreme diarreah, vomiting and muscle cramps, which led to dehydration and eventually death. There were few gravediggers to handle the enormity of the job.

NoD: Abraham Lincoln Seated in Eastern Kentucky

Lincoln Memorial - Stanville, Ky.

The National Park Service has temporarily closed the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC following this week's earthquake. But did you know that there is an exact replica of the seated 16th President in Stanville, Kentucky?

If you've driven to Pikeville, you have without a doubt seen billboards for attorney Eric C. Conn (aka "Mr. SSI"). The parking lot of his office, on U.S. 23 in Stanville, is the home of the world's second largest seated Lincoln statue.

kernel: CentrePointe is Now Leasing

Downtown Lexington can rejoice in the progress being made by Gang and gang with the empty block in its core. And now this:

Centrepointe Property for Lease - Prestonsburg, Ky.

OK. So this sign isn't at Centrepasture -- it is by the highway near Prestonsburg, Ky. But when I saw the sign, I couldn't help but laugh (and pull over and take the picture). Hopefully, we'll see a sign like this in Lexington soon!

NoD: Versailles Presbyterian Church

Interior of the Versailles (Ky.) Presbyterian Church

On Versailles' Main Street, the red bricks of the Gothic revival-style Presbyterian Church surround beautiful stain glass windows. Its stately belltower lies on the north end of the church's gabled roof.

Inside, the square sanctuary features a beautiful pipe organ and two-and-one-half aisles (the third being central to the church, but only extending midway from the rear).

Versailles (Ky.) Presbyterian Church

The church's origins are unclear, but the first Presbyterian pastor in the county was Reverend Adam Rankin who was called to the Glenn's Creek Church, part of the Transylvania Presbytery, in 1786. In 1788, Woodford County was created from Virginia's Fayette County. Fortunately, for this early church, Glenn's Creek was not situated within Versailles as Virginia statute forbade a church from being situated within the limits of a county seat. These rules soon became moot, however, as Kentucky achieved statehood in 1792.

walkLEX: A Facelift for Historic Marker #3

Historic Marker #3 - Lexington, Ky.

In front of the Hunt-Morgan House, also known as Hopemont, at Lexington's Gratz Park is a historic marker, number 3 in the Kentucky Historical Highway Marker Program, that reads:

Home of John Hunt Morgan, "Thunderbolt of the Confederacy." Born Huntsville, Alabama, June 1, 1825. Killed Greeneville, Tennessee, September 4, 1864. Lieutenant, Kentucky Volunteers in Mexican War 1846-1847. Major General, C.S.A., 1861-1864.

walkLEX: Mount Hope

Mount Hope - Lexington, Ky.

Each of the residences in Gratz Park is beautiful and each has a terrific history. Mount Hope, a Federal two-story brick townhouse, was built in 1819 for General John McCalla, a hero of the War of 1812, who purchased the outlot on Mill Street from Thomas January. McCalla and his family would leave Lexington in 1832 for Washington, D.C. where McCalla had received a government appointment from President Polk.

General McCalla was an attorney who purchased and became the editor of The Kentucky Gazette (disputed to be the first newspaper west of the Alleghenies) in 1824. McCalla would also serve as the U.S. Marshal for Kentucky.

McCalla's son, Dr. John Moore McCalla, Jr., was likely born at Mount Hope. He would go on to serve as the United States' agent aboard the Star of the Union where he would ensure that the contract between the United States and the American Colonization Society was properly executed. The ACS sought to return  slaves in America to Africa, the ultimate effect being the creation of Liberia. At hand was the return of 383 slaves who had been rescued aboard the slaveship Bogota.

Back to the house.

EV: Lexington Cemetery (Part 2)

Some of the trees in the Lexington Cemetery are ancient. With increasing sprawl, it's tough to find trees like these elsewhere in Lexington, let alone in downtown.

walkLEX: Shorty's Cellar

Shorty's Cellar - Lexington, Ky.

On May 1, Shorty's opened on West Short Street hearkening the return of the downtown grocer to Lexington. During the course of the summer, I've been to Shorty's Urban Market more frequently than I have been to Farmer's Market (in other words, more than weekly).

So naturally I was excited to see that Shorty's is expanding... sort of. But in compliance with state law, Shorty's is not actually expanding. The Urban Market and the new Shorty's Cellar 157 will have separate entrances.

EV: Lexington Cemetery (Part 1)

For those of you who may have never visited Lexington, the Lexington Cemetery is a truly unique place. Located on the outskirts of downtown, the Cemetery is located between a large industrial area and Lexington's Newtown Pike. It is visible from Rupp Arena, and is across the train tracks from the revitalized Distillery District. I have always marveled at the peace and tranquility it is still able to impart being so close to so much noise.

The Elkhorn Vale

Walt Whitman

A few months ago I spoke with my good buddy PJWB about documenting some of my occasional travels outside of the courthouse collecting that I usually post about. After all, we wanted this site to have as much information about Kentucky as possible. So it seemed like it was high time for that thing that PJWB loves: a BRAND NEW HASHTAG!

From here on out, I (NRK) will post on travels not relating to courthouses using the #ElkhornVale tag.

The term comes from Leaves of Grass, Whitman's famous poem. In context, Whitman was accounting for his one-ness with others of this nation - in his own perhaps overly romantic way. Here is a portion the passage:

kernel: Dominicans vs. the Pros

Nazr Mohammed, Eric Bledsoe and Keith Bogans at Rupp Arena - Lexington, Ky.

Last night at Rupp Arena, the John Calipari-led Dominican Republic (DR) national team soundly defeated a corps of NBA professional, former-Kentucky Wildcats coached by Joe B. Hall.

Yes, last night was a Kentucky fan's dream come true. On the floor were Nazr Mohammed, Tayshaun Prince, and Keith Bogans. And Jodie Meeks. And John Wall, Demarcus Cousins, and Eric Bledsoe. All coached by a Harrison County native who, at age 82 and after 26 years of retirement, coached one more game.

NoD: Lexington's New Interchange

This morning, I navigated the new double-diamond interchange (DDI) at Harrodsburg Road and New Circle. For a few seconds, I was a British-subject driving on the left side of the road. The concept of this design, first engineered in 2003, became a reality on U.S. roads in 2009 at Springfield, Missouri. Lexington's DDI is the sixth such interchange in North America.

The design is daunting on paper for a driver to understand, but introductory videos were quite helpful. Now, having driven the interchange, it immediately seems natural. This is a good design.

More information about DDIs is available from the Federal Highway Administration. More information about the US68/KY4 DDI is available from the KY Transportation Cabinet.

This post was republished on KYforward.com on August 17, 2011.

walkLEX: Preservation Along East Third Street

The Bluegrass Trust for Historic Preservation hosts a monthly deTour to a local historic site that has been well-preserved and restored. Please join us on our next deTour - details on Facebook! Our guides for the East Third Street deTour were property owners and preservationists John Morgan and Linda Carroll. The deTour also included a stop at Atomic Cafe and the Morgan-Carroll residence, both of which will be profiled later.

East Third Street - Lexington, Ky.

Across East Third Street from the Carrick House are a number of older properties in various stages of (dis)repair. John Morgan and Linda Carroll, owners of three of these properties, have taken my grandfather's sage advice in Lexington's quest of historic preservation: "one bite at a time." There three buildings - 146, 126, and 122 East Third Street - are, in that order, increasingly well-preserved yet adapted for today's use.

Painstaking efforts to maintain the streetscape appearance and to enlarge and modernize interior facilities while preserving interior features that can be preserved seem to be hallmarks of the Morgan/Carroll brand. The three properties each have a unique history and are fantastic examples of preservation and adaptive reuse.

kernel: Storm Clouds

Yes. I've been awful about getting stuff posted on here. Real life has been really busy, but I'll try harder. In the meantime, check out these pre-storm pictures from last week in Lexington. Eerie!

NoD: West Liberty's Millstone Monument

Millstone Monument - West Liberty, Ky.

On the Morgan County courthouse lawn in West Liberty rests a most peculiar, yet appropriate, monument. So many communities in Kentucky, across America and around the world began where a stream provided the power to turn the mechanisms of a gristmill - turning crops into flour.

The owner of the mill, a millwright, would convert a farmer's crop to flour and would keep for himself some of the end product - a miller's toll. Around these mills, other forms of commerce would develop creating many of the towns we know today. Of course, most of the mills are long gone. But Morgan County has preserved this token of history with a courthouse lawn monument to the millstone.

In 1816, Edmund Wells established his grist mill on the Licking River. This grist mill quickly grew in importance for the area's farmers, and the "Wells Mill" community quickly grew as all roads in the area found Wells Mill as their focal point. To account for his travelers, Wells also owned and operated a tavern in Wells Mill. In 1822, the General Assembly created Morgan County from Floyd and Bath counties; on March 10, 1823 the justices of the newly formed Morgan County, including Wells, met at Wells' tavern to make effective the establishment of Morgan County. The time and place of this meeting was set forth in the Act establishing the county.