Historic Sites

Three Kentucky State Park historic sites will continue the holiday tradition with tours during November and December. My Old Kentucky Home State Park at Bardstown will hold its Christmas Candlelight Tours on Friday and Saturday Nov. 28-29, Dec. 5-6, and Dec. 12-13 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. each night. Holly, pine and fruit garlands, magnolia and the glow of candlelight adorn the mansion in splendid 1800's fashion. Guides dressed in lavish 1850's attire, music, and traditional refreshments make your visit even more memorable.

PERRYVILLE - Perryville City Council voted 4-1 Thursday night to approve a historic preservation ordinance that has stalled for more than a year. The act establishes a five-member commission, to be named by the City Council, that will be charged with designating historic sites and districts within the city. The ordinance does not specify any areas or buildings that will be considered. However, the Perryville Historic Preservation Commission will have the power to make decisions about construction, demolition, moving and alteration of properties once they are designated as historic.

Thirteen National Register of Historic Places sites in Clark County are gone, and more are falling into disrepair every day. The Clark County-Winchester Heritage Commission hopes to be able to identify historic buildings in the county that are in danger, as well as recognize community members who are actively working in historic preservation. "We're just trying to identify those that have been lost and those that are in not so good condition, and we're also trying to do a positive thing, and that is identify and recognize people that have renovated and put to use older buildings," said Harry Enoch, chairman of the commission.

With the help of Lincoln County Homemakers, Lincoln County is part of the Kentucky Treasures holiday celebration, a new tradition to showcase the jewels of the Commonwealth located at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History in Frankfort. As part of the Kentucky Treasures holiday tradition, the Kentucky Historical society sought handcrafted ornaments from homemakers groups and historic sites across the state. The Kentucky Treasures Tree is this year's focal point of the inaugural year of a new tradition at the Center for Kentucky History.

PLEASANT HILL - Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill is pleased to announce the appointment of Maynard Crossland as president and CEO, effective immediately.   The Illinois native previously led the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, a state agency which oversaw 60 historic sites throughout Illinois, including Lincoln's New Salem and Lincoln Log Cabin, both living history sites. Crossland also oversaw the opening of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and a multi-million dollar fundraising campaign.

Two weeks ago, an archaeological dig was performed as part of the procedure of preparing to install a waterline in the River Road area. The dig, supervised by archaeologist Jerry Blake Jr. with archaeological firm Bluestone Research LLC, had to be done to make sure the installation of the pipeline would not destroy any prehistoric artifacts. He said for an artifact to be considered prehistoric, it would have to be at least 10,000 years old. Many such artifacts found on this continent are between 15-18,000 years old. Most artifacts found in this region include arrowheads and spear points, such as the prehistoric Clovis Point and the Woodland Triangular Point, which was used extensively about 500 hundred years ago. Tools for cutting and scraping hides, pieces of pottery, and debris from stone tools, are also found frequently.

Lincoln County has a new tourism website. The site is www.stanford-lincolncountytourism.com The site contains information about festivals, events, lodging, shopping, restaurants, historic sites, agritourism venues, Amish stores, outdoor recreation, arts and craft stores, and entertainment. County history and Cedar Creek Lake photos can be viewed as well. A calendar of events is being compiled to update various tourism websites. If you have an event or festival that is scheduled for 2008, we want to include it in our promotions and on the website.

Visitors at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill will be able to buy alcohol by the drink in the dining room in about six months. That comes after voters in the North Burgin precinct in Mercer County approved the question "Are you in favor of the sale of alcoholic beverages by the drink in qualified historic sites in the North Mercer precinct?" by a 85-vote margin Tuesday. A total of 767 people cast votes in the precinct in which Shaker Village is located; 426 voted yes, and 341 voted no. "We are pleased that the North Burgin precinct has voted to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages by the drink at Shaker Village," Aimee Darnell, publicist for Shaker Village, said in a statement released Tuesday night.

BURGIN - A bill that might allow liquor by the drink to be served at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill has passed the General Assembly and awaits Gov. Ernie Fletcher's signature. The law would have to be approved by voters in the precinct that includes Shaker Village. That precinct is North Burgin and if voting records are any indication of the future, Shakertown might well be serving liquor by the drink fairly soon. In 2002, the last time a vote was held countywide in Mercer County, it failed, but North Burgin voted 401 to 339 in favor of allowing it, for a 62-vote margin, said Deputy County Clerk Gayle Johnson.

PERRYVILLE - In another step forward, Vicki Goode, director of the Main Street Perryville program, announced Thursday to City Council that historical easements that have been undergoing review with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and the Kentucky Heritage Council have finally been granted. Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association is attempting to disband and will hand over the deeds of four of the properties to the city when that occurs. However, until those deeds are accepted by the city, the PBPA cannot disband.  The city had been waiting to accept the deeds until title searches were completed and the council had been given the easements.

Two Clark County historical sites are participating in a statewide tourism program. Both the Bluegrass Heritage Museum and the Civil War Fort at Boonesboro are on a list of 16 Kentucky Civil War sites compiled by the Kentucky Civil War Sites Association for the organization's Passport Program. Participants are given “passports” they can take to all 16 sites and receive stamps, like a real passport. Individuals who visit 10 sites can submit their passports to KCWSA and receive a certificate.

Local economic development officials eager to move into their new home at Constitution Square State Historic Site will start meeting with architects about renovations to historic buildings next month and hope to be completely moved in by fall. Boyle County Fiscal Court heard an update Tuesday on the architectural firms approved by the Kentucky Heritage Council to work on the buildings that will house agencies of the Danville-Boyle County Economic Development Partnership. Jody Lassiter, president and chief executive officer of the EDP, said the task of overseeing the renovations is being spearheaded by Interim Heart of Danville Director Brenda Willoughby, who ran the park for 17 years, and Philip Nichols, membership director for the Chamber of Commerce.

PERRYVILLE - Volunteers from throughout Kentucky are about to team up with the Civil War Trust to help clean and restore seven Civil War sites in the state, include Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site. The annual event - dubbed Park Day - is part of a nationwide effort that includes more than 100 historic sites in 25 states.  Volunteers interested in participating are encouraged to contact the individual sites. Activities may range from raking leaves and hauling trash to painting signs and planting trees.

PERRYVILLE - A “light bulb” moment led a regional writer to organize a poetry walk this month in Boyle County. “It was one of those 'Wouldn't it be great if?' moments,” said Richmond resident and poet Emily Burns. “Sometimes artists are too solitary. I wanted to get like-minded people together to do some writing and share what we've written.” Burns said poets and photographers have been invited to the event. It's geared toward “any artists or writers who would benefit from spending a few hours out in nature meeting new people and talking about new ideas.” Burns added she hoped the poetry walks - a second one is scheduled for 9 a.m. Nov. 19 at Raven Run Nature Sanctuary in Lexington - will be of benefit to local artists, photographers and writers.

An inconspicuous sign sits in the window of one of downtown Danville's largest, most notable pieces of architecture. The sandwich board leaning against the glass announces that the old Presbyterian Church building at the corner of Third Street and Broadway is now the home of the Danville Independent Methodist Church and encourages anyone without a church home to join the small congregation for their Sunday service. The irony of a church started in large part because of a disagreement over whether to leave a historic downtown landmark now occupying another church building long ago abandoned as a place of worship and reimagined as, among other things, an antique mall, is not lost on those who helped form the new church.

PLEASANT HILL - Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill is pleased to announce the appointment of Maynard Crossland as president and CEO, effective immediately.   The Illinois native previously led the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, a state agency which oversaw 60 historic sites throughout Illinois, including Lincoln's New Salem and Lincoln Log Cabin, both living history sites. Crossland also oversaw the opening of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and a multi-million dollar fundraising campaign.

We newspaper editors like to think of ourselves as defenders of the press, but Cassius Marcellus Clay was one editor who was actually worthy of that title. He defended his press with cannons. Clay, a 19th century legislator, ambassador to Russia and cofounder of the Republican Party, is an enigma. He was a member of the Bluegrass aristocracy, the son of Kentucky’s largest slaveholder, and owned slaves himself, yet he is best remembered as the fiery abolitionist who used his newspaper, the True American, to promote the cause of freedom for slaves before the Civil War. While the label “hero” is overused today to refer to athletes and other celebrites, in standing up for what he believed in, Clay “defined ‘hero,’” said Hagit Limor, national president of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Back Home in Kentucky owner/publisher William Matthews gives Winchester Opera House owner Vanessa Ziembroski all the credit for Winchester’s upcoming cover story in his magazine. The two met when last spring when the Opera House hosted visitors from the Kentucky Tourism Council, and Ziembroski immediately wanted to know how to get the town featured. “Like so many people, she said, ‘How do we get on the cover of that magazine?’” Matthews told audiences at a magazine kick-off luncheon last week at the Winchester Opera House.

We’re often told there is not enough good news in the newspaper, so it is satisfying to point out two front page stories this week that warm the heart and make you smile. The first was on Sunday by Ben Kleppinger about Elizabeth Fletcher, a Crab Orchard woman whose collection of more than 21,000 four-leaf (and more) clovers reminds us of how calming nature can be. The clovers have, indeed, brought her luck. We can take a lesson from her. She has found a hobby that also amounts to the most inexpensive of therapies.