Kentucky

"Soon after, I returned home to my family, with a determination to bring them as soon as possible to live in Kentucky, which I esteemed a second paradise, at the risk of my life and fortune.
Daniel Boone

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/kentucky.html#t7s02wxFgEaYyJHC.99

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Mary Todd Lincoln House Lexington

Mary Ann Todd was born in Lexington, Kentucky, on December 13, 1818. She was the granddaughter of Levi Todd, one of the founders of Lexington, and daughter of Robert S. Todd, a prosperous business leader and active Whig. Mary attended two schools in Lexington over a period of nine years, making her one of the best-educated women of her generation. In 1839, Mary Todd joined her older sisters in Springfield, Illinois, where she lived with her sister Elizabeth (Todd) Edwards.

There she met Abraham Lincoln whom she married in 1842. They had four children: Robert Todd, Edward, William, and Thomas (Tad); all but the eldest, Robert Todd, predeceased her. Although Mary Todd Lincoln lived the normal domestic life of typical nineteenth-century, middle-class women, she always had a strong interest in political issues and in her husband's career.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Governor Joseph Desha's Grave


Located in Georgetown Cemetery in Scott County. Died October 11, 1842. Governor Desha's last home (1842-1842) is also shown and is located in Downtown Georgetown.

Joseph Desha (December 9, 1768 – October 11, 1842) was a U.S. Representative and the ninth governor of the U.S. state of Kentucky. After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, Desha's Huguenot ancestors fled from France to Pennsylvania, where Desha was born. Eventually, Desha's family settled near present-dayGallatin, Tennessee, where they were involved in many skirmishes with the Indians. Two of Desha's brothers were killed in these encounters, motivating him to volunteer for "Mad" Anthony Wayne's campaign against the Indians during the Northwest Indian War. Having by then resettled in Mason County, Kentucky, Desha parlayed his military record into several terms in the state legislature.


In 1807, Desha was elected to the first of six consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. A Democratic-Republican, he was considered a War Hawk, supporting the War of 1812. In 1813, he volunteered to serve in the war and commanded a division at the Battle of the Thames. Returning to Congress after the war, he was the only member of the Kentucky congressional delegation to oppose the unpopular Compensation Act of 1816. Nearly every other member of the delegation was defeated for reelection after the vote, but Desha's opposition to the act helped him retain his seat. He did not seek reelection in 1818, and made an unsuccessful run for governor in 1820, losing to John Adair. By 1824, the Panic of 1819 had wrecked Kentucky's economy, and Desha made a second campaign for the governorship almost exclusively on promises of relief for the state's large debtor class. He was elected by a large majority, and debt relief partisans captured both houses of the General Assembly. After the Kentucky Court of Appeals overturned debt relief laws favored by Desha and the majority of the legislature, the legislators abolished the court and created a replacement court, to which Desha appointed several debt relief partisans. The existing court refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the move, and during a period known as the Old Court – New Court controversy, two courts of last resortexisted in the state.
Although popular when elected, Desha's reputation was damaged by two controversies during his term. The first was his role in the ouster of Horace Holley as president of Transylvania University. While the religious conservatives on the university's board opposed Holley because they considered him too liberal, Desha's opposition was primarily based on Holley's friendship with Henry Clay, one of Desha's political enemies. After Desha bitterly denounced Holley in an address to the legislature in late 1825, Holley resigned. Desha's reputation took a further hit after his son, Isaac, was charged with murder. Partially because of Desha's influence as governor, two guilty verdicts were overturned. After the younger Desha unsuccessfully attempted suicide while awaiting a third trial, Governor Desha issued a pardon for his son. These controversies, along with an improving economy, propelled Desha's political foes to victory in the legislative elections of 1825 and 1826. They abolished the so-called "Desha court" over Desha's veto, ending the court controversy. In a final act of defiance, Desha threatened to refuse to vacate the governor's mansion, although he ultimately acquiesced without incident, ceding the governorship to his successor, National Republican Thomas Metcalfe. At the expiration of his term, he retired from public life and ultimately died at his son's home in Georgetown, Kentucky, on October 11, 1842.


Historic Home in Georgetown

Located at 531 East Main Street and designated historic by the Blue Grass Trust


Monday, May 13, 2013

Jerusalem Ridge- Rosine KY


The Bill Monroe family lived in a small but comfortable cabin on the Monroe family farm, called Jerusalem Ridge, overlooking Rosine, Kentucky that had been in the family since 1801. The top of the actual ridge is about a mile from the home place; Bill called the Ridge "the most beautiful place in the world" The youngest of eight children he was left home while his big brothers went to town. He used to go up on ridge with his dad and Uncle and listen to the fox hounds run at night. Here he would hear stories about the old ways and listen to the ancient sounds of Uncle Pen's fiddle.

Old Slave Pen in Maysville from 1907 Photo

Torn down long ago it was located near the former Maysville High School. Another two-story log slave pen was found on a farm in Mason County and moved to the Underground Railroad Museum in Cincinnati in 1999. The brick slave pen was located in the empty lot next to the school in the second photo taken in 1913.


Rosedale -Mt Sterling, Montgomery County

The first brick was laid in 1859 per Eliza Jane Banks Magowan before the civil war . Author of Civil War Dairy.located at 1504 Owingsville Road.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

CSA Memorial at CSA Cemetery, Pee Wee Valley, Kentucky

NPewee Valley Confederate Cemetery is the site of the old Kentucky Confederate Home. The cemetery is not only on the National Register of Historic Places, but an individual monument within it, the Confederate Memorial in Pewee Valley, is separately on it as part of the Civil War Monuments of Kentucky MPS. It is the only cemetery for Confederate veterans, 313 in total, that is an official state burying ground in Kentucky. Built in 1904.



The monument is unique for Kentucky Civil War monuments in that it is built of zinc, whereas most are made of marble or limestone. Another oddity is that the obelisk and base are separated by an inscripted Gothic altar that acts as an arch on the face of the monument. Confederate flags are also crafted upon the monument.





Monday, May 6, 2013

Madison County Courthouse- Pre-Civil War

Located on Main Street in Richmond. Seized by Gen. Kirby Smith during Battle of Richmond in 1862.

Contains large stone engraved by Squire Boone in 1770.




Biologist & Geneticist Thomas Hunt Morgan Home



Morgan discovered the basic mechanisms of heredity and was a pioneering geneticist, winning the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1933. In 1966, the University of Kentucky named the new Thomas Hunt Morgan School of Biological Sciences for him. Birthplace located on North Broadway in Lexington.


Saturday, May 4, 2013

Jimmy Winkfield Jockey

James "Jimmy" Winkfield (April 12, 1882 - March 23, 1974) was a Thoroughbred jockey and horse trainer from Kentucky, best remembered as the last African American to ride a winner in the Kentucky Derby.

Winkfield was born in Chilesburg, Kentucky and began his career as a jockey in 1898 at age sixteen. He was suspended for four years after just one race for his involvement in a four-horse accident at the starting gate. However, he returned in 1900 to ride a horse named Thrive in the Kentucky Derby, finishing third. He rode the race again in 1901 and 1902, winning on His Eminence and Alan-a-Dale respectively - in 1901 alone, he won 220 races. He competed in his final Derby in 1903, finishing second on Early.



Historic Millersburg Undergoing Restoration

Several buildings are being restored and renovated on Millersburg's Main Street. One of the buildings used to house the Cadet Inn frequented by MMI cadets.









Forest Retreat Built 1820 by GovernorThomas Metcalfe

Old Stone Hammer was Governor grin 1828-1832;US Congress 1819-1827 and US Senate 1848-1849. Located on US68 in Nicholas County. A tavern and guest house is nearby.









Friday, May 3, 2013

Gov. James B. McCreary Home

Located at 527 W.Main St, Richmond, Madison
County





Thursday, May 2, 2013

Boone's Station Near Athens on Gentry Road

Daniel Boone (1734-1820), known for his role in the exploring and settling of the Kentucky frontier decided that the settlement of Boonesborough had become far too crowded. In December 1779, Boone and his family established Boone’s Station. At its height, the community had 15 to 20 families, including the Boone, Barrow, Hays, Morgan, Muir, Scholl and, Stinson families.







Historic Athens- Fayette County

Athens, Kentucky, United States, is a small unincorporated village in the rural services area of Lexington- Fayette Urban County to the east of Interstate 75. First settled in 1786 as the community of Cross Plains, the town was chartered as Athens in 1826[2] and had its own post office from that time until 1906.The current commercial center was reduced to its present size by a series of fires in the mid-19th century.

Like several other communities, the local pronunciation of its name uses a long vowel in the first syllable, making it /ˈeɪθənz/ ay-thənz. The common English pronunciation of this name, which is most notably used for the Greek capital, uses a short "a".

Daniel Boone and some of his family moved from nearby Boonesborough about 1782 and established a settlement outside of the present town of Athens on Baughman Fork. A Boon's Station post office operated at that site during 1812 and 1813. (Boone moved to Maysville in 1786.) The Boone Station State Historic Site on Gentry Road marks the site of the settlement.







Boone's Creek Baptist Church

Boone's Creek Baptist Church was organized in 1785 by Elders John Talyor and John Tanner with 18 original members. Prominant among the founders were Daniel Boone's brother Samuel with wife Sarah.

Located on Cleveland Road near Athens in Fayette County.



David's Fork Baptist Chruch

Established1801. Located on Cleveland Road in Fayette county near US 60

David's Fork Baptist Church was once a part of the fold at Bryan's Station. The church at Bryan's was so large,, and its membership was scattered over so great an area, that another house of worship was built upon the headwaters of David's Fork Creek. This done in 1786. The church at Bryan's worshipped alternately in the two houses. This continued until 1801, when, on 26th of August, a distinct and separate church was organized at David's Fork. It was from the first a large and vigorous body, numbering two hundred and sixty-seven members. From this we may form some idea of the former prosperity of the mother church at Bryan's. "What is the cause that the former days were better than the latter?" May the spirit of grace and revival yet revisit her!



Hutchinson's Grocery- Maysville


Hutchinson's Grocery located 1201 E 2nd St in Maysville is in its 163rd year of operation. Known for its country hams which it ships all over the world.