Month: January 2010

No Destination: Valley View Ferry

Fjording the Kentucky River at the point where Fayette, Jessamine and Madison counties meet is the John Craig. This boat has provided a motor for the Valley View Ferry since 1996, but the ferry is much older. In fact, the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1785 issued John Craig (a Revolutionary War veteran) the “perpetual and irrevocable” charter to operate the ferry at the site.

Since that time, a ferry has operated at Valley View and it is the longest, continuously operating business in the Commonwealth. For more than 200 years, the franchise for the privately-owned ferry was transferred between seven families. In 1991, it was purchased for $60,000 by the three counties who have since operated the ferry toll-free.

The barge adjoining the John Craig was replaced in 2000 and can now ferry three vehicles across the river at once (before the upgrade, only two could cross at the same time). About 250 vehicles cross the Kentucky River each day aboard the Valley View Ferry.

Flying above the John Craig are four flags: the American flag, the Kentucky flag, the Virginia flag and the POW-MIA flag. The Virginia flag flies as a tribute to the colony which first provided Cpt. Craig his franchise.

I always find it fun to ride the ferry, though my wife has a clear preference against it. Though, I guess the same could be said about all of my No Destinations.

NoDestination: Switzer Covered Bridge


Even though Fleming County is Kentucky’s Covered Bridge Capital, the Commonwealth’s Official Covered Bridge is located in northern Franklin County. The Switzer Covered Bridge spans 120 feet and was built in 1855 by George Hockensmith (it was restored in 1906, 1990 and rebuilt in 1998 the March 1, 1997 flood).

The bridge is of the Howe truss design. It carried traffic until 1954 and was listed on the National Register in 1974. You can see Switzer off KY-1262 between Frankfort and Georgetown; there is a small pull-off on the far side of the bridge.

There is something amazing about any old covered bridge; they are unique and evidence of a bygone era. Here is what the Lexington CVB says:

Four of Kentucky’s [13 remaining] covered bridges are still open to traffic; you can walk through the others. As you rumble across in your car, or pass your hand across the heavy wooden pegs and timbers — rough-hewn to the eye, but worn smooth by the years — you’ll experience the living sensations of another era.

For more on Kentucky’s Covered Bridges, check out the Kentucky Digital Library.

NoDestination: Ward Hall

Just west of downtown Georgetown on U.S. 460 lies Ward Hall. This 75’x75′ mansion was constructed in 1853 by Junius Ward. Ward, a Mississippi plantation owner, had Kentucky roots and utilized Ward Hall as his summer home. Not surprisingly, the Civil War and the end of slavery destroyed Ward’s fortune and he was forced to sell his estate in 1867.

For a time in the 1880s, the General Assembly contemplated an offer whereby it would take Ward Hall and the surrounding 250 acres as a new state capitol.

Ward Hall is an impressive structure and is described as Kentucky’s best example of Greek Revival architecture. The Ward Hall Preservation Foundation, Inc. describes some of the lavish detail:

Built on the Corinthian order, its two-story tetra-style portico has columns forty feet high that support a deep, pedimented entablature. Pilasters with Corinthian capitals ornament all four sides of the house, which is seventy-five feet square. The interior carries out the attention to detail with plaster cornices rich with decorations of egg-and-dart and bead-and-reel patterns and anthemion blossoms. The woodwork is rubbed walnut, and a gracious winding staircase ascends to the third floor.

Interestingly, Ward Hall originally had two roofs. The sub-roof was of slate, the top roof was of copper and all of the rainwater was channeled to a copper cistern. All of the copper was removed and sold during World War I.

NoDestination: The State Seal

The state seal of Kentucky is memorialized in bronze at the Governor’s Circle in the Constitution State Park (Danville). Around the seal is a depiction of each of Kentucky’s governors.

The seal itself has gone through various designs, but was originally an inspiration of the first governor, Isaac Shelby. Shelby, a war hero, was said to have loved the 1768 John Dickinson tune, “The Liberty Song.” The fourth verse reads:

Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all,
By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall;
In so righteous a cause let us hope to succeed,
For heaven approves of each generous deed.

Thus the state motto: “united we stand, divided we fall.” The seal depicts “two (2) friends embracing each other, with the words ‘Commonwealth of Kentucky’ over their heads and around them the words, ‘United We Stand, Divided We Fall.'” K.R.S. 2.020. One of the friends is a pioneer, the other a statesman.

NoDestination: The Old Talbott Tavern

For over 200 years, the Talbott Tavern has provided accomodation to travelers passing through Bardstown. In the old courthouse square sits the stone building marked by several additions. Bardstown – originally called Salem – was established in 1780, a year after the then-called Hynes Inn opened.

Originally the terminal of a western stage coach line coming east from both Philadelphia and Virginia, the Hynes Inn remains the oldest western stagecoach stop still in operation. Its earlier guests included George Rogers Clark, Daniel Boone and exiled-King Louis-Philippe of France. Later Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison and Abraham Lincoln would visit. Henry Clay, John James Audubon, Stephen Foster and Jesse James also rested at the Talbott Tavern. Romanian Queen Marie lunched here in 1926 and General George Patton also passed through. To say the least, it has a “who’s who” list of patrons!

A fire ravaged much of the structure in the 1990s and “generic” renovations were made. Most unfortunate was the loss of murals painted by the entourage of King Louis-Philippe. It would seem that the paintings could be restored, but that funding has remained unavailable.

Pike County Courthouse – Pikeville, Ky.


Seasons Greetings to everyone. I apologize for the relative lack of posts on the Kentucky 120 project. It turns out that the practice of law is pretty hectic. Who knew?
I’ve spent my New Year’s Eve with my wife’s family in Eastern Kentucky, and decided that I would swing by the Pike County Courthouse while in the area. The old courthouse is pictured above, with the new courthouse behind me. The shot above is actually the back of the old courthouse, but I thought it was much more interesting than the front. You can see the clock tower lit up on the right. This picture was taken with my Iphone, and obviously at night, so I apologize for the quality.
The Pike County Courthouse pictured above was built in 1888-89 and renovated in 1932-33. The courthouse is most famous for being the cite of the murder trials in the Hatfield-McCoy feud.