Gribblenation

Elkton, the seat of Todd County, Kentucky, has one of the most active small-town public squares I have seen.  Restaurants, services, specialty shops, and more surround the historic Todd County Courthouse. The former Todd County Courthouse is the centerpiece of Elkton's Public Square. Elkton, today, is a town of roughly 2100 people.  The city was first called "Elk Fork" after a natural salt lick that attracted elk herds.  Located in the center of Todd County, Elkton was established in 1820 to serve as the Todd County Seat.  The historic courthouse, which serves as the centerpiece of the Elkton Public Square, was built in 1835.  It is currently the second oldest courthouse in Kentucky.  It now serves as the Todd County Welcome Center. To the left is the former Campbell Drug Store building - the site is the former home of the "Nick and Will House," a tavern that burned to the ground in the 1800s. Within Elkton Public Square, 20 buildings are listed on the Nati...

Bridges can define a community.  In the Western Kentucky town of Island, an over 150-year-old wooden bridge is the centerpiece of their community. The bridge was constructed when the Owensboro & Nashville Railroad came through McLean County.  It carried Main Street over the now-removed O&N tracks until 1997.  After 125 years of operation, a modern concrete structure replaced the bridge.  The wooden bridge was dismantled and kept in storage.  Preservation efforts were led by the Island Heritage Council Association. In 2001, the bridge was rebuilt, with rotted pieces replaced, one block to the south.  The bridge became the centerpiece of Island Wooden Bridge Park.  The park is a public square, and visitors can walk on or below the bridge. Sources & Links: Wooden Bridge in Island, Kentucky ---Hillbilly Ramblin' Roadside Tri-State: The Historic Wooden Bridge of Island ---WEHT-TV How To Get There:

  Welcome to the gateway page for Gribblenation’s series on the bridges of the Ohio River in Louisville, KY! Here you will find links to information about the two bridges that span the river within the city limit of Louisville between southern Indiana and northern Kentucky. The present-day bridges of Louisville were constructed during the periods including the peak railroading era of the late 1800s and the height of the modern interstate highway era of the 1960s through the present day. Each has a unique story to tell and they play a vital part in the transportation system of this corner of the Ohio Valley region. Cover Photo:  From left to right, the John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge (1963) and the Abraham Lincoln Bridge (2015) combine to carry Interstate 65 traffic across the Ohio River near downtown Louisville, creating  one of the most impressive bridge-related visuals in the Ohio Valley. Lewis & Clark Bridge Known on planning maps for decades prior as the "East End...

While sitting on the front porch at the motor lodge's check-in, a young couple pulls in.  With a quick look at the car and the night's roster of guests, owner Keith Stone immediately knows who is checking in and welcomes them to Wigwam Village, No. 2 . The guests are headed to Mammoth Cave from Illinois and Montreal, Canada.  They made their reservations out of curiosity - to do something unique.  Stone welcomes them and introduces them to his two cats, Andy Rooney and Vetra. After giving a general overview of the grounds and guidelines, Stone asks if the couple wishes to learn more about the Wigwam Village's history.  They do, and Stone discusses some of the history.  Frank Redford opened the first Wigwam Village in 1935.  That first village - with six teepee rooms - opened a few miles up the highway in Horse Cave.  He'd open the larger village in Cave City two years later. The iconic teepee design of Frank Redford's Wigwam Villages. Redford would pat...

Many American towns and cities typically sprouted up along a railroad, a river, river crossings, a stop along a trading path, or a stagecoach trail.  Horse Cave, Kentucky is different.  Horse Cave is built above a cave and surrounds a three-story-deep sinkhole that leads into Hidden River Cave. The town was settled and laid out by Major Albert Anderson.  Anderson asked that it be named 'Horse Cave' - it is suggested that in the mid-19th century, the word 'Horse' and 'Hoss' was used to name large-sized things.  Other explanations include that Native Americans used the cave to corral horses or after a nearby horse trough. The name Horse Cave was not always popular - attempts to rename the town to 'Caverna' in the 1860s were unsuccessful.  The cave's owners - the family of Dr. George A. Thomas - did not like the name 'Horse Cave' and renamed the geological formation Hidden River Cave. The home of Dr. George A. Thomas - former owner of Hidden Riv...

Depending on where you live, finding old truss bridges can be commonplace or a lengthy drive.  Other times, you come across one through serendipitous means.  That happened to me over the Summer of 2023 while exploring South Central Kentucky.  A small, nearly 100-year-old truss bridge, on a quiet rural backroad in Logan County. The Logan Mill Road Bridge is nothing out of the ordinary.  It crosses the Red River and has been in place since 1925.  Part of its story is how it remains standing as of 2023.  In 2012, District Three of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet studied whether or not the structurally deficient bridge should be replaced. The study looked at three alternatives: 1) Do Nothing 2) Replace the bridge via a new alignment of Logan Mill Road 3) Restore and preserve the bridge.  The study mentioned that the Kentucky Transportation Center was developing a list of over 100 truss bridges that the state should try to save. Damage - most likely fr...

Andrew Jackson shot and killed a man here once. In 1806, at a spot a few miles west of town on the banks of the Red River, Andrew Jackson and Charles Dickinson settled a lengthy and heated dispute over a canceled horserace and comments made about Jackson's wife.  It takes a bit of research to find the spot where Jackson killed Dickinson, but the general area is the north shore of the Red River along Barren Plains Road.  The general area where the Jackson-Dickinson Duel occurred.  Off of Barren Plains Road - Adairville, KY. Though both men were residents of Tennessee, the Volunteer State had outlawed duels by 1806.  Kentucky had not.  The two men agreed on the site, date, and logistics of the duel.  Twenty-four paces apart and Dickinson - a renowned marksman - shooting first.  Indeed, Dickinson shot first - hitting Jackson in the chest but stopping before his heart.  Jackson, though wounded, remained standing and fired a shot into Dickinson's abdo...

When you come to a fork in the road, take it ---Yogi Berra The fork in the road - where road trip adventures sometimes begin...or end. A decision point, a local landmark, and in Simpson County, Kentucky - a 21-foot piece of art. Designed, built, and installed by welding students at Franklin-Simpson High School in 2018 - the literal "fork in the road" stands at the intersection of Uhls and Bunch Road outside of Franklin in South Central Kentucky.   The piece of art instantly became a hit - attracting visitors from Kentucky, nearby Tennessee, and all over the country. Simpson County Bicentennial Commemorative Coins that feature the Fork in the Road. The Fork in the Road is celebrated throughout Simpson County.  During the county's bicentennial in 2019, commemorative coins featured the fork.  When I was visiting here in May 2022, I was fortunate to receive two of the Simpson County Bicentennial Coins from a passerby. Three years later - the students at Franklin-Simpso...

Wyoming and South Dakota were amazing - but now it's time to head back to North Carolina with two long days of driving ahead. Day 7 Route: I-180, I-80, I-74, local roads to Champagne, IL. Photo Set on Flickr: Wyoming Road Trip Day 7 Day 8 Route: I-74, I-465, I-65, I-64, I-75, I-40, US 25/70, I-240, I-40, NC 16, I-485, Home. Photo Set on Flickr: Wyoming Road Trip Day 8 Friday, Day 7, was a true go as far as you can in as little time as you can.  The plan was to take two days to get back to Charlotte plus time for Joe to drive the three and a half hours to Wilmington on Saturday evening.   We left at around 5:30 am and finally traveled the infamous Interstate 180 to I-80 to start going west.  Since it was dark, no photos, which I know to some in the roadgeeking hobby is probably a good thing.   We did, however, catch a pretty nice sunrise in Western Nebraska. Snow flurries in Omaha - Somewhere in the Middle of America Interstate 80, as we discussed earlier, ...