Midway

At the halfway point between Frankfort and Lexington you'll find the spooky little town of Midway, so named for its equidistant position which was deliberately chosen by the Lexington-Ohio Railroad Company. Accidentally and coincidentally, it also happens to be equidistant between Versailles and Georgetown.

The site where Midway now stands was once a vast farm owned by a man named John Francisco. Each year, the Francisco's Farm Arts Festival is held in Midway at Equus Run Vineyards, and this year's is coming up soon - June 25 and 26.

The area was once heavily populated by native American mound builders, which no doubt lends to the spooky feeling in the air here.



Other interesting Midway factoids:

John Hunt Morgan stopped here on July 15, 1862, in an effort to trick the Union soldiers chasing him into thinking he was heading towards Frankfort. Morgan instead hid out briefly, then backtracked.

The Porterhouse steak supposedly originated here, at the still-standing Porter House. However, the Oxford English Dictionary credits its development to New York, circa early 19th century, before Midway even existed.

Zerelda Elizabeth Cole James Simms Samuel, mother of Jesse James and mentioned in the Tom Waits song "Diamond in Your Mind", was born here on January 29, 1825.

Uno

While driving through Hart County, you might spot this cryptic road sign for Uno, Kentucky,

Supposedly its name is intended to mean "You Know" which, further supposedly, refers to the area's once-booming illicit moonshine industry. According to Wikipedia, another name for the town is Clearpoint, which supposedly really means "clear pint", as in moonshine. (I am deeply skeptical, however, of all fanciful local-lore retconned explanations of the name origins of small towns, which rarely turn out to be true.)

One thing we do know for sure is that the famous Smith's Country Hams got its start in Uno. Though that original store no longer exists, their Cave City location is still going strong.

Betsy Layne, KY

So, who was Betsy Layne, and why is there a town named after her in Floyd County?

According to UK's Kentucky Atlas, "Betsy Layne is an eastern Floyd county village on the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River. It was founded around 1875 and named for Betsy Layne, a local resident. The original location of the town may have been nearby on Betsy Layne Branch. That site is now known as Justell. The Betsy Layne post office opened in 1908."

A "local resident". Okay, but... but... what else? What's so special about Betsy?

Just south of Betsy Layne is Laynesville, which, according again to UK's Atlas, "was founded in the early nineteenth century and named for the settler James Shannon Layne".

Hmmm. Okay, so as it turns out, James Shannon Layne was an important early settler of Kentucky:

James Shannon Layne of Amherst County, Virginia arrived near the present day Betsy Layne about 1796. he had married Caty Hager, daughter of John Hager, who himself immigrated here a few years later. Col. Harry Stratton was here and located nearby the mouth of Toms Creek, as was Cornelius McGuire, the first Methodist preacher who settled near the same place. McGuire constructed a cabin nearby, but soon moved to upper Johns Creek He preached the first Methodist sermon in the valley at the house of Henry Stratton, near the present Ivel in 1796. Tandy Stratton, who had married Mildred Layne, a daughter of William S. Layne, and a sister to James S. followed his brother·in-law - if indeed, he did not arrive at the same time. Also came Solomon Stratton, veteran of the Gen.George Rogers Clark Illinois Expedition, as did Richard Stratton, his son. Thomas Johns, who had married Nancy Layne, sister of James S. followed after his in-laws, and founded an influential family.

But still no explanation of who Betsy was. Could she have been James' mother, perhaps? That's my guess, because Knott Kentucky Kinfolk lists his descendants as being Tandy Middleton, Jennie, John Lewis, William Henry, Lindsey, Sam George, Nancy Porter, Solomon, Mary, and Arminta. Nary a Betsy in the bunch.

I wonder if the locals are so used to it that they don't even think about the name anymore, or if they're always, in some recessed part of the backs of their minds, aware of this mystery woman. There's no escaping her: a glance at the city directory shows a Betsy Layne Auto Sales, Betsy Lane Pharmacy, Betsy Layne Dairy Bar, Betsy Layne Elementary School, Betsy Layne Volunteer Fire Department, Betsy Layne Flea Market, and of course, the Betsy Layne Church of Christ.

(I also wonder if locals often encounter the typographic error of "Besty" for Betsy, since humans seem to have something hard-wired in them to type "Pasty" Cline instead of Patsy.)

Crayne!

Every little spot-in-the-road in Kentucky has a long and fascinating story behind it, a time-track of history that could easily fill books and blogs all by itself. Most of their past greatnesses go unsung or are diffused piecemeal via various disparate sources, awaiting some nutty archivists like ourselves to gather back what has been sown to the wind.

Not so with Crayne, KY. Although it's obscure enough that it doesn't yet have its own Wikipedia article, it's nevertheless well documented and represented on the web by Brenda Underdown, a historian who publishes two kick-butt blogs about Crayne and its environs. Forgotten Passages is all about Crittenden County history in general, while her Crayne, Kentucky... My Hometown blog focuses on the past and present glories of Crayne and its progenitor, Crayneville. Brenda also has a Forgotten Passages book you can order here.

Crayne/Crayneville was named for Emma Crayne, the landowner who granted access to the Illinois Central railroad to use her land to cut through. The resultant community became Crayneville, then shortened to Crayne in 1907.


Photo above: the Crayne String Band: Jonas Rushing on guitar, Elbert Brown on violin, Hughey McCaslin on double bass (though it looks more like a cello to me in the photo) and Nat Sutton on Mandolin.

Phoenix Hill

Most Louisvillians probably don't think of the downtown "Nanny Goat Strut" alley, the corner of Broadway and Floyd, and the corner of Barret and Rubel as all being part of the same neighborhood. But in fact, they are. Says Wikipedia of the Phoenix Hill area:

Its boundaries are Market Street to the north, Preston Street to the west, Broadway to the south, and Baxter Avenue to the east. The area was originally known as Preston's Enlargement, part of the land granted to Colonel William Preston in 1774. The area was annexed by Louisville in 1827, known at the time as Uptown, and was densely populated by the time of the Civil War. Some of the Bloody Monday riots occurred in Phoenix Hill near the St. Martin of Tours church.

A triangular portion of the neighborhood bounded by Beargrass Creek was not developed at all before the Civil War. Though a park was built in 1865, most of the land was not developed until the 1890s.

According to John E. Kleber's Encyclopedia of Louisville, The Phoenix Hill Brewery, built in 1865, was the main center of attraction in the area and John Philip Sousa often performed here. Sadly, it closed in 1919 due to prohibition and subsequent land-alteration destroyed much of the actual hill for which the area is named.

While "Preston's Enlargement" was a pretty great name, I'm most curious what motivated someone to change the area's monicker to Phoenix Hill, and when exactly it happened. A Phoenix, of course, is an ancient mythological firebird originating with the Phoenicians and resonating into later Egyptian and Greek cultures. The neighborhood's signage clearly and boldly acknowledges the connection.


The village's most famous namesake, Phoenix Hill Tavern, is just at the very farthest edge of the area's boundaries, at the corner of Broadway and Baxter. (In actual practice, of course, boundaries of these neighborhoods have always been vague, sketchy, wobbly, and shifting. Most people just refer to everything between Feeder's Supply and Preston Arts Center as "The Highlands" anyway.)

Possum Trot

This is a small spot in the road outside of Calvert City in Marshall County, bearing one of my favorite Kentucky town names. (Dogtown, Fairdealing, Scale, and Symsonia are also in the general vicinity)

While Googling Possum Trot, I came across tasithoughts' blog post featuring a Mormon missionary's diary reminiscences of proselytizing there in the early 1980s, a discussion about a local full service Harley shop called Possum Trot Choppers, and Brittany Donald's blog showing a photo of the Possum Trot Quick Mart (complete with cartoon possums scampering across the sign).

Cannel City

Today I received some nice photos from fellow seeker-of-creepiness David Domine, who says:

"I was doing some research in eastern Kentucky a couple of weekends ago, and I drove through this weird little town, Cannel City, which turns out to be one of Kentucky's ghost towns. (I read your post about Fudge, but don't know if you'd heard of this one...)

I found this info about it online."

From that link, we learn:

A type of coal high in volatile constituents and thus burning brightly, cannel coal was once prized as a fuel used in lighting homes and businesses: and so in 1910, the coal veins in this patch of Morgan County in central Kentucky were a significant commercial commodity, enough to warrant a large mining operation, the importation of hundreds of miners, a special railroad (the Ohio and Kentucky Junction-Cannel City line), and a bit later a major chemical plant operated by the Pearsite Company. With all this, Cannel City prospered: churches, a bank, an elegant hotel.

The usefulness of cannel coal, however, declined once coal gas, then electric lighting, became commonplace.

Fudge, KY

Ever heard of of Fudge, KY (not to be confused with Kentucky Fudge)? It's now said to be a ghost town, but it reportedly was once a small community in Fulton County, approximately 4 miles southwest of Hickman.

According to Wikipedia:

A small town in the 1850s and 1860s with a population of less than 50, Fudge was abandoned after a few years after settlers determined that the land was inarable. Poor drainage and salinity on the site rendered the soil inadequate to support sustained farming cycles. The earth beneath the site is rich in limestone, with collapsing (slowly dissolving) caverns beneath.

Several of Fudge's abandoned farmhouses and structures still stand today, and have served as a backdrop for several rock band videos, including The Flaming Lips' "Chrome Plated Suicide" and Big Red Bouncer's "Animal Child".

Monkey's Eyebrow

When people sit around riffing on all the oddly named Kentucky towns, Monkeys Eyebrow is always sure to come up in the conversation. It's an unincorporated rural community in Ballard County, close to Bandana, KY.

According to Wikipedia, "There were two Monkey's Eyebrows, commonly known as Old Monkey and New Monkey. One was at the top of a small hill, the other at the bottom. There were stores at both locations. Today, there are no stores. According to an article nearly 30 years ago in the county newspaper, the Advance Yeoman, the area acquired its unique name around the turn of the 20th century". However, like most of Wikipedia's content, there are no sources given for these claims.

Roadside America says, "There used to be a store there, then a souvenir stand that sold t-shirts and trinkets, but I think the only thing there now is a sign for the Monkey's Eyebrow Taxidermy Service. There are several local accounts of how the name came to be, but some folks think it applied to a crescent-shaped hill called Beeler Hill, which someone thought looked like a monkey's eyebrow when the grass was tall."

I'm pretty sure I drove through Monkey's Eyebrow two summers ago while working on the book, but I'm not sure. I didn't actually see any indicators that I was there. I fear the aforementioned taxidermy sign may be gone. I also didn't see this sign that someone took a photo of in 2004.

Ulysses

What could have inspired 19th century farmers to name their Lawrence County hamlet after an ancient Greek mythological figure? I lie awake at night pondering such things. And how did their descendents feel about the controversial James Joyce novel of the same name?

Rabbit Hash

This biker-dominated town in Boone County is well known for its unusual name, its delightfully old-school general store, and its tradition of electing animals as mayors. Their current mayor is a border collie named Lucy Lou. According to Lucy Lou's campaign office:

She is in town every day and has appointed herself the town tour guide, meeting visitors and making sure they see all the sights. She's running on the non-partisan canine ticket and supports feline and canine presence in the General Store. Lucy Lou promises to lend her support to all fund rainsing events and activities. She accredits her aspiration to Rabbit Hash's esteemed former mayor, Junior Cochran, stating that he was her hero.

According to Wikipedia:

"The name Rabbit Hash may derive from the historic use of the local rabbit population as food. The hamlet's most notable building, the Rabbit Hash General Store, is regarded as the best known and best preserved country store in Kentucky. Rabbit Hash is unincorporated and therefore without fixed boundaries, which makes its exact population a matter of opinion, but the population is generally regarded as between four and 40 depending on how the boundaries are drawn."

A film documentary exists called "Rabbit Hash, Center of the Universe" which covers all these curiosities and more.

Pisgah

Pisgah is a very small spot on the map on Highway 60 between Versailles and Lexington, but there’s a lot of Kentuckiana of note here:

Happy Chandler is buried at the local Pisgah cemetery, William Shatner’s horse farm is nearby, and one of my favorite donut places in the entire universe - Doughdaddy’s - is located right next door. (Shatner donut-run sightings are rampant, not surprisingly).


But what most people are drawn here for is the famous castle overlooking Versailles Road. Known for years as “The Martin Castle,” it sat abandoned for decades and was long the subject of myth and speculation regarding its purpose and its reclusive creator, who died a few years back. Although temporarily set back by a fire, the new owner is renovating it and hopefully soon we’ll be able to do more than just peer at it through the majestic front gates and wonder.

And hey, if you find yourselves underwhelmed by all this excitement, don’t forget Keeneland racetrack is just minutes away from here as well.

Fulton

For many years, the humble town of Fulton, KY billed itself as "The Banana Capitol of the World". Why? Well, it's complicated, but the short version is that for reasons relating to rail commerce and train car refrigeration, 70 percent of the nation's imported banana supply stopped here regularly.

Now, I'm not sure how that would make Fulton the banana capitol of the world - I mean, at best, that would make Fulton the banana capitol of the nation, right? But we'll forgive them a little America-centric thinking, because it was a good excuse to throw a heck of a party: from 1962 to 1992, the town hosted what they called the "International Banana Festival" (although to be nitpicky again, it's unclear how many other nations took part).

Best of all, the festival boasted the yearly creation of the world's largest (two tons!) banana pudding.

Although the banana train no longer passes through Fulton, I see no reason to let such a trifle spoil the festival. But no, what's done is done: the International Banana Festival has since been renamed to the less catchy Pontotoc Festival, after its historic railway station.

Burning Springs

Back in the glory days when Kentucky was being explored by Europeans in the 1600s, the early settlers were dazzled by natural gas vents in the Earth, also known as "burning springs". I'm not sure if history records how someone first figured out there was highly flammable gas spewing from these vents, but if a frontiersman bearing a torch happened to walk up to one, I'm sure what happens next would be quite a shock!

Today, Kentucky still has a town named for one such gas vent: Burning Springs, KY in Clay County. Burning Springs was once a bustling place, but its post office closed in 1965 and it's currently listed as an unincorporated community. According to Robert Rennick's "Kentucky Place Names" book:

"A very early settlement, it was named for the ignitable springs of natural gas, in seemingly inexhaustible supply, discovered before 1800 at several sites in the area."

Another Kentucky burning spring was in Magoffin County, which dried up in 1900 after being tapped by an oil & gas company in the 1880s. Today the small community named Burning Fork is a remnant of those days. This spring was a literal spring of water, which emitted from the ground mixed with the natural gas. According to "A Library Of Wonders And Curiosities Found In Nature And Art, Science And Literature", by I. Platt:

A spring here breaks out at the foot of a hill, forming a basin of water about six feet in diameter and two feet deep, at the bottom of which issues a stream of gas, which in volume and force is about equal to the blast forced from a common smith's bellows; but there is no cessation of its force, which is such as to create a violent ebullition in the water. Being heavier than common atmospheric air, the gas, on passing up through the water, constantly occupies the surface, which is still the lower part of an indenture in the earth at that place. On presenting a taper, this gas instantly takes fire, and burns with great brilliancy.

Yet another one was near Beaver Creek in Floyd County, mentioned by Lewis Collins in 1847 his "Historical Sketches of Kentucky". According to Collins, the local gas vent was known as a "place of notoriety" to the early residents of Floyd County, and marveled at how the site "instantly ignites on the application of fire".