Frankfort, KY

Sunday, August 9, 2015

We have spent the past couple of days just relaxing in the RV and enjoying not doing anything.   Being on the go so much this summer was nice but  just sitting and relaxing is nice too.  The campground we are in here in Georgetown, KY is located just out of town on several acres and our site overlooks a pond and a local farm with house and barn.  It is a very popular and busy campground and was almost full every night especially over this past weekend. We will be here until next Thursday when we  move on to Tennessee for one night before heading into Arkansas for about a week.

Today we take a drive to Frankfort, KY which is the state capital and about 20 miles from here.  Frankfort has been the state's seat of government since 1792.  The city's north and south sections are separated not only by water but also by their historical backgrounds and architectural styles.  The north section originated around 1786 while the south was developed after the new capitol was built in 1910.

Taking a local highway takes us through some beautiful countryside with large farms and some lovely large homes on numerous acres. Along the way we see a sign for an old covered bridge in the town of Switzer.

The bridge was built in 1855 by Geroge Hockensmith and restored in 1906 by Louis Bower and spans the North Fork of the Elkhorn Creek.   The bridge stands 12 feet high and 120 feet long.  In 1997 it was damaged but rebuilt in 1998.   Unfortunately it has been marred by graffiti.  The bridge was not on our list of attractions, but taking back roads often leads you to these interesting sights.

While driving down another road in the old part of Frankfort we discover an old Civil War fort called Fort Hill which is located up several very steep hills and down some very, very narrow residential streets.  The Visitor Center building (Sullivan Inn and Tavern which was moved here from somewhere else) in the park is closed today but we are able to find a few signs to tell us about the battle that took place here.\

"There are two Civil War earthworks in the park -- Fort Boone and the New Redoubt. A detachment of John Hunt Morgan's raiders attacked Fort Boone on June 10-11, 1864, but a group of local militiamen fought off that raid from behind the walls of the fort. The New Redoubt was built by Union Army engineers as a replacement for the state-designed Fort Boone. Ironically, the Fort Hill earthworks are Union fortifications built in part by slave labor -- slavery remaining legal and commonplace in Kentucky until the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Men of the 103rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry did much of the work on Fort Boone."

Back on the main road is a sign for a Kentucky River Dam which we follow through some old, old residential neighborhoods to the Dam now abandoned.  The buildings here are very old and dilapitated.  In 1978 there was a flood here with water 48 feet above the river below.  Hard to believe it rose that high.

We also drive through historic Frankfort downtown which today is mostly closed up allowing us to see more than we would during the week.

Back on the road to Georgetown we pass this Jim Beam plant and find some 18 wheel tankers with the Ballard name on them.  We had hoped they did tours here, but they only do them in Lexington.  There is a Distillery in Frankfort which we will tour another day.

Further along the road we come to this old Catholic Church originally built in 1794 with the current structure built in 1820.  St. Francis Mission is the second oldest Catholic Church west of the Alleghenies.

One of the things we have noticed on our travels here in Kentucky are the many, many rock walls surrounding properties with a very unique top on them consisting of flat stones similar to slate placed on their sides vertically all along the top such as the one here.  What we learn is that there is no mortar between the rocks.  These fences are called dry stone fences and they relied on stonemasons for their stability.  The majority of these fences were built in the late to mid 19th century by Irish stonemasons.  During the 1990's it was realized that only a few of these fences in poor condition were still standing.  The Dry Stone Masonry Conservancy was formed to preserve and continue the art of dry stone masonry.  Interesting and different.

Traveling certainly allows you to see so many different things and to learn more about our country and its history, customs in different states and see some beautiful countryside.  I would not trade this time in the RV for anything.