Highways and Byways

Little Shepherd Trail


Photo from www.harlancountytrails.com

    Kentucky Highway 1679, "Little Shepherd Trail", is a 38-mile narrow road on the crest of Pine Mountain from US 421 east of Harlan to US 119 south of Whitesburg. This serpetine route twists though numerous refreshing overlooks and massive, spine-like rock out-croppings, termed "Hogbacks." Rhododendron and Mountain Laurel bloom profusely in craggy exposures.

    Paved sections are easily traversed, while mountain bikers and hikers greatly enjoy the more remote sections of this route. If you drive, a 4x4 vehicle is recommended. Current paved sections are: US 421 to KY 2010 and KY 160 to Creech Overlook.

    Little Shepherd Trail also passes through Kingdom Come State Park

Source:
http://www.harlancountytrails.com/littleshepherdtrail.php

Fort Duffield - West Point Kentucky

                                                            Fort Duffield Sunset

Fort Duffield is an American Civil War fort located outside West Point, Kentucky. It saw use in 1862, and was abandoned when it appeared that the War would never come near the fort. Ironically, John Hunt Morgan would in 1863 lead his Raiders right past the fort and could have been stopped had the fort not been abandoned.


William Tecumseh Sherman was concerned with the Confederate positions in Bowling Green and Columbus, and sent the 37th Indiana and the 9th Michigan regiments to West Point. The plan was to use West Point as a Union supply base for Elizabethtown. Sherman ordered the fort to be built on Pearman Hill to protect the town and supply route. Construction began on November 3, 1861 and was finished in two months. The fort was named for the Rev. George Duffield of Detroit, whose son, Colonel William W. Duffield, led the 9th Michigan Infantry . There were 950 troops stationed there, but they were soon sent to the front lines and the fort was mostly unused in 1862, seeing its last use that Fall.

Source: Wiki
Photos by Mary C Smith

Kentucky Moonshine

Photo by Mary C Smith

Kentucky Distillery

Bullitt County, Kentucky
Photos by Mary C Smith

Abraham Lincoln's Childhood Home on Knob Creek

"My earliest recollection is of the Knob Creek place."

So wrote Abraham Lincoln on June 4, 1860, to Samuel Haycraft of Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Haycraft had invited the future President to visit his childhood home in Kentucky. The Lincoln family lived on 30 acres of the 228 acre Knob Creek Farm from the time Abraham was two and a half until he was almost eight years old. Here he learned to talk and soon grew big enough to run errands such as carrying water, and gathering wood for the fires. Abraham recalled in later years numerous memories of his childhood here; a stone house he had passed while taking corn to Hodgen's Mill; a certain big tree that had attracted his boyish fancy; the old homestead; the clear stream where he fished, and the surrounding hills where he picked berries were all impressed on his mind.

He could remember how he stayed by his mother's side and watched her face while listening to her read the Bible. Lincoln could also remember the baby brother who was born and died on the Knob Creek Farm.

He remembered one occasion when he and his sister, Sarah, had planted the garden; Abraham said he planted pumpkin seeds in every other hill and every other row while Sarah and others planted the corn. The following night a big rain in the hills sent water rushing into the creek, the creek flooded the fields and washed away their garden.

It was also at Knob Creek that Abraham first saw African - Americans being taken south along the Louisville - Nashville Turnpike, part of the old Cumberland Road, to be sold as slaves.

Lincoln once wrote that while living on Knob Creek he and his sister, Sarah, were sent for short periods to an A, B, C school - the first kept by Zachariah Riney, and the second by Caleb Hazel. These were subscription schools and lasted only a few months. Free schools did not come to Kentucky until the 1830's.

Likewise, he never forgot the time he fell in the swollen Knob Creek while playing on a foot log near his home. Had it not been for Austin Gollaher, a friend and school mate, Abraham would probably have drowned. Austin, with a keen sense of pioneer knowledge, grabbed a long tree limb from the bank and held it out like a strong arm to the struggling Lincoln. Abraham spoke of the incident after he became President.

The family left Knob Creek and Kentucky in 1816 moving to Spencer County, Indiana.

Source: http://www.nps.gov/abli/planyourvisit/boyhood-home.htm
Photos by Mary C Smith

Lincoln - Louisville Waterfront 2013

Lincoln Memorial

LINCOLN MEMORIAL AT WATERFRONT PARK

The Lincoln Memorial at Waterfront Park uses sculptural elements, artistic expression, and Abraham Lincoln’s own words to convey Lincoln’s lifelong ties to Kentucky and the state’s influence on his life. The memorial offers glimpses of different stages of Lincoln’s life, including:

• His childhood in Kentucky

• His political and social rise

• The impact of the Civil War on Lincoln, his family, and  the nation

• The roots of his abhorrence of slavery

The Lincoln Memorial at Waterfront Park was dedicated on June 4, 2009. The $2.3 million Memorial was funded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the family of Harry

S. Frazier, Jr., and the Kentucky Historical Society/Kentucky Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. It features a 12 ft. statue of Abraham Lincoln seated on a

rock, holding a book and looking out over the Ohio River. His top hat and two books are on the rock beside him.

Louisville artist Ed Hamilton sculpted Lincoln and conceived the four bas reliefs that line the path into the site, which feature four scenes that represent stories of

Lincoln’s life-long ties to Kentucky. Ed received significant assistance on the first three bas reliefs from another local artist, Juliet Ehrlich. The fourth bas relief, “Slavery and Emancipation,” was the sole work of Hamilton.

source:
http://www.louisvillewaterfront.com/projects/lincoln/lincoln%20memorial%20visitor's%20guiPde.pdf

Photos by Mary C Smith

Old Louisville, St, James Court, Victorian Era Homes

The St. James-Belgravia Historic District, within Old Louisville, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It comprises St. James Court (north) and the Belgravia Court (south). It was the site of the Southern Exposition, and is bordered to the north by the scenic Central Park, a popular summer destination of Shakespeare in the Park patrons. The area is famous for the St. James Court Art Show that takes place the first weekend of October, and attracts thousands of visitors, artisans, and craftsmen. The Belgravia area features houses inspired by its namesake in London, England, and has no immediate street access, as it is a "walking court" with a green area instead of a street where the main entrances face. It features two important houses: the Conrad-Caldwell House, and the Pink Palace.

Source: Wikipedia

Photo, Mary C Smith