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ON STRIKE

Posted by Peter Brackney on January 18, 2012

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NoDestination: I75, Exit 154

Driving north to Pittsburgh, Pa., I found myself needing to refuel. I was not anticipating my fuel stop a possibility for NoDestination , but as I stood putting 87-octane into my car I noticed a historic marker in the lawn between the Shell station and the KY-36. I suppose the moral of this story is that you never know when you might see something worthy of visiting and that you should always take the opportunity to inquire. Marker #725 "A Civil War Reprisal" tells the tale of an Aug. 1864 execution of three Confederates in retaliation for the guerilla murder of two Union sympathizers. Interestingly, the three were held in Lexington prior to their execution but were brought to the Owen/Grant County area (home of their victims) to be executed. According to E. Polk Johnson's 1912 A History of Kentucky , the executions were performed by firing squad.

walkLEX: A Facelift for Historic Marker #3

Historic Marker #3 - Lexington, Ky. In front of the Hunt-Morgan House, also known as Hopemont, at Lexington's Gratz Park is a historic marker, number 3 in the Kentucky Historical Highway Marker Program, that reads: Home of John Hunt Morgan, "Thunderbolt of the Confederacy." Born Huntsville, Alabama, June 1, 1825. Killed Greeneville, Tennessee, September 4, 1864. Lieutenant, Kentucky Volunteers in Mexican War 1846-1847. Major General, C.S.A., 1861-1864.

No Destination: John Hunt Morgan Bridge

John Hunt Morgan Bridge, Cynthiana, Ky. General John Hunt Morgan, the Thunderbolt of the Confederacy , is a favorite Civil War general among many Kentuckians. In Lexington, the statute of him upon his steed is the only one in Kentucky with a mounted Civil War soldier or officer. In Cynthiana, site of two Civil War battles (both involved JHM), a bridge "honor[s] famous Confederate calvary leader." Opened to traffic on October 8, 1949, the General John Hunt Morgan Bridge was dedicated in 1950. It replaced a wooden, covered bridge which had been erected in 1837. Closed in 1944 and the flooring and sides removed, daring teenagers attempted to cross the skeletal remains of the covered bridge in 1946. Four drowned. In December 1948, that bridge was pushed into the river and construction began on the present bridge. [ * ] [ * ] The bridge crosses the south fork of the Licking River.

Rockcastle County Courthouse - Mt. Vernon, Kentucky

Rockcastle County is an interesting place. It's one of two counties in Kentucky not named for a person (Okay Peter, what's the other county?), as it's named after the Rockcastle River, which is in turn named after the castle-like rock formations that surround it. One quarter of the county is in the Daniel Boone National Forest, and the drive through Rockcastle on the old Dixie Highway is pretty scenic. The most notable area of Rockcastle is probably Renfro Valley, a country music Mecca that I've really wanted to visit for a show, but have never found the time. This courthouse seems relatively modern and pretty nondescript. I can't find much information about it - the Kentucky Encyclopedia mentions that the first log courthouse here burned in 1873. Can anyone help me fill in the blanks?

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