FieldOfDeadHorses

A Field of Dead Horses

Avid readers may recall Nick Allen Brown’s “Field of Dead Horses”, a dramatic mystery novel based in 1939 Georgetown, KY. While the book is based in fiction, readers might be morbidly surprised to learn that we really do have our own field of dead horses. Though the truth is much more wholesome than it seems.

A graveyard of champions rests in a field just a short walk from a busy Kentucky roadside. Some of the greatest athletes to grace the Bluegrass call that field their final resting place, and all of them were horses. Old Friends is a thoroughbred retirement farm which makes it its mission to provide a dignified retirement to Thoroughbreds whose racing and breeding careers have come to an end. Visitors will find everything from the final resting place of one of the most controversial Kentucky Derby winners (Medina Spirit 2021) to the oldest living Derby winner (Silver Charm 1997). 

The farm is home to more than just champions as well; sometimes quite the opposite. Some of the residents have never won a single race in their entire career, and some never had a career at all. From winners’ circles to slaughter auctions, every 4-hoofed resident of Old Friends has a unique story to tell that you won’t soon forget.

Contact:

Website: www.oldfriendsequine.org
Phone: 502-863-1775
Address: 1841 Paynes Depot Rd., Georgetown, KY 40324

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JesseJames

Buried Treasure From America’s Most Infamous Bandit

On December 28, 1841 two 16-year-old sweethearts said “I do” in a small home in Stamping Ground, KY. Unbeknownst to them, their union would spawn one of America’s most infamous bands of Outlaws. Their names were Zeralda Cole and Robert James and they were the parents of Jesse James.

Even at the height of their infamy, Jesse and his equally criminal brother Frank would visit the town of Stamping Ground often. This led to the circulation of many rumors and the speculation of would-be treasure hunters. To this day, there are many who believe that much of the James brothers’ ill-gotten gains are buried somewhere in that small town. While the house their parents were married in no longer stands (a fire destroyed the home in 2012), a simple historical marker is now all that stands by the roadside to mark the possible location of perhaps one of America's most saught after treasures.

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WardHallAfterDark

A Hairy Situation on the Walls of Ward Hall

In the heart of Scott County lies a 12,000-square-foot Grand Manse that was home to some of the sauciest and most scandalous historic individuals to grace Kentucky’s high society. While there are countless stories and artifacts housed within its walls, one item in particular might just make your skin crawl. It’s known as a mourning wreath.

As you can guess from the name, mourning wreaths were made to honor and memorialize family members after they had passed away.This all sounds very normal and perhaps even a little sweet until you take a closer look at what these wreaths were made out of…human hair.

Yes, hanging above a bed in this historic home is a wreath made of hair collected from the deceased. At one time, it was actually a popular and widespread victorian-era tradition to create a mourning wreath and add more hair to it as family members would pass away. It is not uncommon to find wreaths with 10 or more different individuals' hair woven into them as they were passed down through the generations.

So while it is unknown whose hair is woven into this particular wreath, you can be assured that it is not the only one of its kind. Not just wreaths, but hair necklaces, earrings and jewelry can be found all across the United States as the last remnants of this bizarre practice. Victorian-era mourning traditions like this are assumed to have largely died out in the early 1900s as the world was ravaged by the Great War and the Spanish Flu. There was simply too much death to keep up with tradition.

Contact:

Website: www.wardhall.net
Phone: 502-863-5356
Address: 1782 Frankfort Road, Georgetown, KY 40324

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TravelCamp

13 cabins, An Abandoned Camp And A History Of Death...

 THE LOCATIONS IN THIS STORY ARE LOCATED ON PRIVATE PROPERTY AND UNABLE TO BE TOURED

Fisher’s Travel Camp can be found in the outskirts of Scott County, just off of US 25. Opened in 1928, this roadside stop once offered a selection of  13 cabins (numbered 1-12.5) and a full service gas station. While once a busy stop for wayward travelers on the road, it now lies in ruins as newer and bigger highways (I-75) caused it to suffer a slow decline in business.

Passers-by will quickly find themselves picking up on some spooky vibes and a rather unwelcoming gas station sign, but the truly unsettling details of this forgotten destination lie much deeper, buried in the earth beneath your feet.

Fisher’s Travel Camp may look rather cheery from the post cards and newspaper clippings, but it was not always such a care-free resort. In fact, long-time residents knew the area by a different name: Dead Man's Hollow. A name which the area certainly earned over the years.

One standout story tells of a local Confederate sympathizer known as John "Jack" Beard. A group of Union soldiers were camped out in Dead Man's Hollow and one night decided to "Go get Old Jack". They rode out to Jack's farm, drug him from his home in front of his wife and executed him amongst the trees. A grim tale of the violent division that the Civil War drove into America.

Old Jack was not alone in meeting his demise in Dead Man's Hollow. Throughout the 1800s the area had a long history of murders, violence, crime and banditry, with several bodies being dumped into a nearby cave. Reports show many of those bodies were not discovered until years after their murder, supposedly perfectly preserved by the cave's conditions.

With such a storied history of death, it is no surprise there are countless reports of ghosts and hobgoblins spotted in the area dating as early as 1897. Still today at the mouth of the nearby cave, a roar can sometimes be heard; the cries of souls who were hidden away in the depths of the earth.

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