Kentucky Historical Marker #2468
St. Paul Catholic Church. The cornerstone was laid on Nov. 12, 1865 and church consecrated by the Rt. Rev. G. A. Carroll, Bishop of Covington, on Oct. 18, 1868. The remains of the first pastor, Fr. Bekkers, are interred in a vault in the narthex of the church. In 1909, St. Paul was divided into two separate and distinct parishes due to substantial growth. Over. (Reverse) The church is a fine example of Gothic Revival architecture. At the time of completion, the 210-foot bell tower was the tallest in the city. Clocks from Boston added in 1883 were the city’s first church tower clocks. The twelve single-panel stained glass windows were designed and manufactured by G. C. Riordan Co. in Cincinnati.
425 W. Short St., Lexington, KY, United States
Kentucky Historical Marker #2469
Governor's Mansion at 100 Years. Completed in 1914, the following governors lived in the Mansion for its first hundred years, 1914-2014: Gov. James B. McCreary, 1911-1915 Gov. Augustus O. Stanley, 1915-1919 Gov. James D. Black, 1919 Gov. Edwin P. Morrow, 1919-1923 Gov. William J. Fields, 1923-1927 Gov. Flem D. Sampson, 1927-1931 Gov. Ruby Laffoon, 1931-1935 Gov. A. B. Chandler, 1935-1939 Gov. Keen Johnson, 1939-1943 Gov. Simeon S. Willis, 1943-1947 Gov. Earle C. Clements, 1947-1950 Gov. Lawrence W. Wetherby, 1950-1955 Gov. A. B. Chandler, 1955-1959 Gov. Bert T. Combs, 1959-1963 Gov. Edward T. Breathitt, 1963-1967 Gov. Louie B. Nunn, 1967-1971 Gov. Wendell H. Ford, 1971-1974 Gov. Julian M. Carroll, 1974-1979 Gov. John Y. Brown, Jr., 1979-1983 Gov. Martha Layne Collins, 1983-1987 Gov. Wallace G. Wilkinson, 1987-1991 Gov. Brereton C. Jones, 1991-1995 Gov. Paul E. Patton, 1995-2003 Gov. Ernie Fletcher, 2003-2007 Gov. Steven L. Beshear, 2007-2015 (text same on reverse)
Executive Mansion, Frankfort, KY, United States
Kentucky Historical Marker #2470
Richard James Oglesby. Born on July 25, 1824 in Floydsburg, Oldham Co., he was one of eight children born to Col. Jacob and Isabella Watson Oglesby, who, with two of his siblings, died in the 1833 cholera epidemic. Oglesby was raised by an uncle and moved to Decatur, Ill. in 1836. He fought in the Mexican War & Civil War, was married twice, & had eight children. (Reverse) A close friend and supporter of Abraham Lincoln, he is credited with introducing the “rail-splitter” image into Lincoln’s 1860 presidential campaign and was at Lincoln’s bedside when he died. Oglesby was a brigadier general in the Civil War and a three-time governor of Illinois. He died in Elkhart, Ill. on April 24, 1899.
7701 Hwy. 329, Brownsboro Community Center, Crestwood, ,
Kentucky Historical Marker #2471
Civil War Skirmish/ Future President. On September 30, 1862, 600 Union troops led by Colonel Benjamin Harrison came here and surprised an element of Confederate Colonel John Hunt Morgan’s cavalry, led by Captain John Baker Dortch. After a sharp skirmish, in which thirty-five Confederates were reportedly killed and wounded, Morgan’s troops retreated. Over. (Reverse) A Future President- Harrison, whose troops were victorious in the skirmish here, was a twenty-nine-year-old Indiana attorney. The Russellville fight was his first engagement; his military career continued throughout the Civil War, including service under Gen. W. T. Sherman in the Atlanta Campaign. In 1889, he became the 23rd president of the United States.
225 Armory Dr., Russellville, KY, United States
Kentucky Historical Marker #2473
Boone Trace. The name of the road ahead, Trace Branch Rd., commemorates Boone Trace. Colonel Richard Henderson of the Transylvania Land Company hired Daniel Boone to establish a trail from Long Island on the Holston River (near present-day Kingsport, Tn.) to a site on the Ky. River (that became Ft. Boonesborough). Blazed in 1775, it was significant in settling Ky. and the west. Over. (Reverse) Boone Trace, which ran close to the present-day Trace Branch Rd., was the first marked route that settlers used to travel into what became Kentucky. Many took the Trace through the Cumberland Gap to Ft. Boonesborough. The trail, which ran for nearly 200 miles, became known as Boone Trace, named in honor of Daniel Boone.
State Road 490 & Trace Branch Rd., Livingston, ,
Kentucky Historical Marker #2474
F. M. Jones and Bro. General Store. In 1855, John and Francis Marion Jones formed a partnership for selling goods at Myers Steam Mill on Beaver Creek in Barren County. A petition for a post office was granted in 1856 & name changed from Myers Mill to Coral Hill. Store was catalyst leading to a village that included homes, churches, a school, blacksmith, cobbler, & mill. (Reverse) The Cumberland Trace Stage Line passed through Coral Hill twice daily, traveling northbound to Lexington and southbound to Nashville. The trip from Nashville to Lexington was approximately 214 miles, requiring seven days travel. Stage line was discontinued after the Civil War.
2950 Coral Hill Rd., Glasgow, KY, United States
Kentucky Historical Marker #2475
George Speri Sperti (1900-1991). Born in Covington to Italian immigrants, he graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1923. He was the director of Institutum Divi Thomae, a medical research foundation, from 1935 to 1988. Sperti invented well-known pharmaceutical ointments while conducting cancer research & held over 120 patents. He is buried in St. Mary’s Cem. in Ft. Mitchell. (Reverse) Boonetucky Farm- Sperti purchased 600 acres here beginning in 1933 to serve as a retreat and research farm. His experiments led to advancements in cancer research and nutrition. He raised prized cattle which he exposed to UV light and vitamin enriched diets, a process he developed. He also devised method to enhance Vitamin D in milk.
6750 Sperti Lane, Burlington, ,
Kentucky Historical Marker #2476
A&M College at Ashland. In 1865, the Ky. Legislature est. the Agricultural & Mechanical College of Kentucky University. The school’s regent, John Bowman, bought the Ashland and Woodlands farms for the A&M campus. Ashland housed the mechanical campus, which continued here until 1878, when KU and A&M split. A&M then became the Univ. of Kentucky and moved to its current location. Over. (Reverse) During the A&M era at Ashland, the mansion housed college offices, a museum, and Regent Bowman’s residence. The cottage was a dorm for sixteen men. G.W.N. Yost, who had invented a lawn mower, donated funds to build mechanical building. 100 students were able to learn a trade & help pay for their education by working there. The building was torn down in 1926.
120 Sycamore Rd., Lexington, KY, United States
Kentucky Historical Marker #2477
Historic Botherum. Major Madison C. Johnson, a lawyer and friend of Henry Clay, commissioned Lexington architect John McMurtry to construct Botherum in 1851. The house is a combination of Greek and Gothic Revival styles, resulting in a unique cottage. It was also a shrine to Johnson’s late wife, Sally Ann, sister of emancipationist Cassius M. Clay, who served as Pres.Lincoln’s minister to Russia. Over. (Reverse) The original estate included 30 acres on the edge of Lexington. In the 1880s it was subdivided into lots for the Woodward Heights neighborhood. Located in a town once called “The Athens of the West,” this home is a testament to the legacy of Kentucky’s 19th century statesmen and their passion for the classic architectural styles.
341 Madison Place, Lexington, KY, United States
Kentucky Historical Marker #2478
St. Vincent Orphanage and Infirmary. Site of St. Vincent Orphanage and Infirmary from 1836-1891. It was begun by Catherine Spalding to care for sick & abandoned children. The infirmary was moved to 4th St. in 1853 & named St. Joseph. In 1926, patients were moved to the new St. Joseph Hospital on Eastern Pkwy. The orphanage later became Saints Thomas and Vincent; closed in 1983. (Reverse) Catherine Spalding- Co-founder of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth in Ky., she wrote that the orphanage was “the only place on earth to which my heart clings.” Catherine loved and nurtured hundreds of children, and it was said that every orphan in Louisville claimed her as their mother. She died here on March 20, 1858, after contracting pneumonia.
1006 E. Jefferson St., Louisville, KY, United States
Kentucky Historical Marker #2479
Mt. Sterling School. Mt. Sterling (Du Bois) School was the second of two Rosenwald Schools in Montgomery Co. Built in 1929, it initially had ten teachers for grades 1-12, as well as a library. In 1952, the two high schools for African Americans were consolidated. A fire destroyed the building in 1964, and the schools in Montgomery Co. then became fully integrated. (Reverse) Julius Rosenwald School- Site of one of the 158 Rosenwald Schools constructed in Kentucky between 1917 & 1932. The one-room schoolhouse provided an education for African American children required to attend segregated schools. This program grew out of Booker T. Washington’s vision for educational reform & his partnership with philanthropist Julius Rosenwald.
110 Hamilton St., Mt. Sterling, ,
Kentucky Historical Marker #2480
Bethel College. The school began as a Baptist-sponsored high school for boys in 1854 and was chartered as a college in 1856. It closed in 1861 due to the Civil War but reopened two years later. It continued as a four-year college until 1920. From 1921 until closing in 1933, it was a two-year junior college. In 1928 it became co-educational. Over. (Reverse) The sixteen-acre campus had five buildings: main building, the president’s home, two dormitories, and library & gymnasium. Also had sixteen small homes for married ministerial students and an athletic field, Brookside Park. Confederate Convention met here, 1861. Campus was later used as a hospital during Civil War. Buildings razed in 1968.
88 South Bethel St., Russellville, KY, United States
Kentucky Historical Marker #2481
Mentelle Park. Charlotte and Waldemarde Mentelle fled their native Paris during the French Revolution. They moved to Lexington in 1798 and opened a school for girls. In 1805, they were given lifelong use of Rose Hill, near Henry Clay’s home, Ashland. Mentelle’s for Young Ladies hadboth boarders and day students. Mary Todd Lincoln attended from 1832-1836. (Reverse) In 1790, James Masterson bought 100 acres here from Gen. James Wilkinson. The Mentelles bought some of this land and, in 1906, the 14-acre estate of Waldemarde Jr. was divided into 56 lots, creating Mentelle Park. Several surrounding neighborhoods were added later. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
Entrance of Mentelle Park off Richmond Rd., Lexington, KY, United States
Kentucky Historical Marker #2482
Shelby St. Streetcar Barn. By 1895, this area was used by the Louisville City Railway Company as a car barn, when electric cars replaced mule-drawn cars. It was the primary operator of streetcars, which were the main mode of mass transit in Louisville from 1864 through the late 1920s, when they were replaced with buses. The last streetcar ran on Derby Day, 1948. This road was once part of the Shelby St. streetcar line, which connected Germantown to downtown Louisville. This included the famous “Schnitzelburg Loop.” Completed in 1907, the loop helped transform Schnitzelburg, Germantown, and Shelby Park from farmland to urban neighborhoods. The line was abandoned after World War II.
1303 South Shelby St., Louisville, KY, United States
Kentucky Historical Marker #2483
Carolyn Conn Moore. Carrie Conn Moore, the first woman to serve in the Kentucky Senate, was born in Logan Co. on January 7, 1904. She moved to Franklin when she married J. Lee Moore. After her husband’s death, she won a special election in Nov. 1949 to fill the unexpired term of his 5th Senatorial District seat. Her interests focused on education and social welfare. (Reverse) She was a lifelong advocate of parental involvement in children’s education and worked for various educational organizations, serving as V.P. of Ky. Congress of Parents and Teachers. After completing her term in the senate, she took a job with Democratic Nat’l Headquarters. She died on January 14, 1986, and is buried in Green Lawn Cemetery.
West Cedar St. (Courthouse lawn), Franklin, ,
Kentucky Historical Marker #2484
Chameleon and Chalybeate Springs. Chameleon Springs- Pioneer “long hunters” often camped at mineral springs located nearby. In 1804, their campsite became the location of Chameleon Springs Hotel. A summer resort with five different mineral waters and many activities, it operated until the early 1930s. An 1825 meeting at Bryan’s Tavern at Chameleon Springs formally established Edmonson County. (Reverse) Chalybeate Springs- Discovered by Dr. William Ford in the early 1800s, the springs were famous for their supposed healing powers. The Chalybeate Springs Hotel provided dancing, dining, horse racing, golf, tennis, and fox hunting. Andrew Jackson is said to have visited often after his presidency. A popular resort for more than 100 years, it closed during World War II.
Hwy. 101 & Hwy. 311 S., Chalybeate Springs, ,
Kentucky Historical Marker #2485
St. Joseph Catholic Church. Parish established in 1866 by Bishop Martin J. Spalding to serve the German and Irish Catholics in Butchertown. Reverend Leopold Walterspiel appointed to organize congregation under the patronage of St. Joseph. The present church was dedicated in Sept. 1886. The twin steeples, said to be tallest in Louisville, were added in 1905-06. Lourdes grotto was added in 1922. (Reverse) The original church and school were dedicated on Jan. 6, 1866. Parish was operated by Franciscan friars from 1875-2002. Ursuline Sisters staffed the school from 1867-1975. Due to declining enrollment, the school closed in 2003. Since 2002, the parish has been administered by priests from the Archdiocese of Louisville.
1406 E. Washington St., Louisville, KY, United States
Kentucky Historical Marker #2486
Midway Presbyterian Church. Harmony New School Church met near here in 1841 at the home of Bro. Thos. Martin. Rev. John Fee, founder of Berea College, and Edward Troye, noted equine artist, were associated with the early church. In 1846, a frame church was built on this lot, which the L&O Railroad deeded to them, and it became the Midway Presbyterian Church. Early Midway school was also on this property. (Reverse) Also here were the original town cemetery, which was moved in the 1890s, and a brick church built in 1870. Rebuilt 1911 after a fire, it is a fine example of Gothic Revival architecture. A 1949 addition was replaced with a new Fellowship Hall in 2013. Church is in the Midway Historic District, which was listed on National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
103 N. Turner St., Midway, ,
Kentucky Historical Marker #2487
Little Muddy Community. Settled ca. 1800 by Rev. War veterans Thos. Carson, John Helm, & Matthew Kuykendall who received land grants for their service. These founders of Butler County served as first county surveyor, presiding justice of county court, and first sheriff. Community has been served by water grist mill built in 1811, a mercantile business est.1890s, & a post office from 1893-1919. Over. (Reverse) Thomas Carson donated land for a cemetery & Little Muddy Cumberland Presbyterian Church, organized in 1811 from camp meetings starting as early as 1805. Slave church members may have helped construct the brick building which served as church and Little Muddy Academy. Built in 1830, it is one of oldest in the county. The frame church was built in 1860.
Little Muddy Church Rd. and Hwy. 231, Morgantown, ,
Kentucky Historical Marker #2488
Rotary Club of Lexington. Established as the 3rd Rotary Club in Kentucky and 182nd in the world,it first met on June 23, 1915. The club had weekly meetings at the Phoenix Hotel until 1942. The 2015 centennial marked 100 years of “Service Above Self.” The club has raised money for community and international service projects, as well as educational programs. (Reverse) Phoenix Park- For 180 years, this location was the site of a hotel. In 1797, Capt. John Postlethwait opened a tavern and inn here, and, by the 1820s, it was known as the Phoenix Hotel. A well-known landmark, it was popular with travelers and local citizens and was host to many distinguished visitors and events. It closed in 1977 and was demolished in 1982.
Phoenix Park (Main & Limestone Sts.), Lexington, KY, United States