Tag Archive: Kentucky

Historic Aetna Gas Station – Middletown – Kentucky

Historic Aetna Gas Station – Middletown – Kentucky

Historic Aetna Gas Station - Middletown - Kentucky

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This was Middletown’s (a suburb of Louisville, Kentucky) first gas station, built in the late 1920’s by I.W. Quesenberry. The gas station sold Aetna Oil Company gas, and other products, and includes a Deem gas pump. The gas station’s original life was pretty short. As the construction of U.S. 60 (Shelbyville Road) to the north in 1936, diverted away much of the traffic that would have used the station. In the intervening years, the station was used by a drying cleaning business, and a taxi cab service. In 1996 the building was donated to the city, and a federal grant was used to restore it back to its original purpose.

Shaker Village Pioneer Home Interior – Pleasant Hill, Kentucky

Shaker Village Pioneer Home Interior – Pleasant Hill, Kentucky

Shaker Village Pioneer Home Interior - Kentucky

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Pleasant Hill, Kentucky also known as Shakertown, was a Shaker (the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing) religious community from 1805 to 1910. With many well-preserved buildings, the village was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1971.

The Kentucky Shaker village was founded by three New England Shaker missionaries, John Meacham, Benjamin Seth Youngs, and Issachar Bates. They founded the community around the teachings of Mother Ann Lee who believed in celibacy. Kentucky’s Shaker community ultimately died out, in part because of their beliefs in celibacy, problems encountered during and after the Civil War, and a declining interest in their way of life by potential converts . But their legacy of hard work, and fine craftsmanship lives on at Pleasant Hill.

Shakertown is located near the present day cities of Danville and Harrodsburg in central Kentucky.

Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill – Website
National Park Service – History of the Shakers

Old Stone Bridge – Louisville to Nashville Turnpike – Kentucky

Old Stone Bridge – Louisville to Nashville Turnpike – Kentucky

Old Stone Bridge - Louisville to Nashville Turnpike - Kentucky

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One of the oldest bridges in the state of Kentucky, it can be found outside of military base of Fort Knox, along what remains of the old Louisville to Nashville Turnpike, and shares a trailhead with Tioga Falls. As the name implies, the turnpike ran between Louisville, Kentucky and Nashville, Tennessee. There were two segments, known today as Highway 31 West and 31 East. The turnpike was used by both Union and Confederate troops during the Civil War, and the bridge dates back to before that time period. It was also traveled by President Andrew Jackson on several occasions. The western turnpike passed through Elizabethtown, Bowling Green, Glasgow Junction, and Franklin. And the eastern turnpike ran through Bardstown, Buffalo, Glasgow, and Scottsville.