Gallatin County

Like I said in our last post, we got behind from the very start on this trip. I had no choice but to shift it into high gear and get us to Gallatin County.  We took US 42 out of Boone County, which is not the straightest road I've ever been on.  But we saw some great sites along the way. I guess I would have fit right in at the Kentucky Speedway, as fast as we got there.  Before I tell you all about it, we'll cover a little background.

GALLATIN COUNTY BACKGROUND

Gallatin County was established in 1798.  It was the Commonwealth's 31st county and was formed from parts of Franklin and Shelby Counties and is situated in northern Kentucky along the Ohio River.  Over the years, parts of Gallatin County were carved off to create three other counties, Owen County in 1819, Trimble County in 1836 and Carroll County in 1838.  After these reductions, Gallatin County today is only one tenth of its original size. Today, Warsaw is the county seat, it was originally founded as Fredericksburg.

During the early nineteenth century,  there was a brisk river trade route between Gallatin County and New Orleans.  Producers shipped numerous products from there, including soap, hemp, furs, produce and salt pork, to name a few.  Although there are large sand and limestone deposits in the area, agriculture remained the primary economic resource.  As late as 1987, over 80% of land in the county was used for agricultural purposes.

Gallatin County was also a hotbed of activity during the Civil War.  There were several skirmishes within its borders.  It has been reported that in September of 1864 George M. Jesse and his Confederate troops controlled Gallatin as well as a few other Kentucky Counties.

In December of 1868 one of the worst steamboat accidents in history happened near Warsaw.  Two separate passenger steamers, The America and the United States collided in the middle of the night.  The America rammed the United States setting the kerosene it was carrying on fire.  Flames consumed both boats and spread over the surface of the river.  One hundred sixty two people lost their lives in this tragedy as well as over $350,000 worth of property.

As time moved on, river trade began to decrease and the age of the riverboat was gone.  Today though, Interstate 71 runs through Gallatin County, connecting Cincinnati and Louisville. 

In 1956 the Army Corps of Engineers began construction on the Markland Lock and Dam, that connects Gallatin County with Switzerland County in Indiana.  The dam was placed in operation in 1959 and was completely finished in 1964.  Today, Duke Energy operates an 81,000 kVA electric generating facility at the dam.

One of the biggest draws to Gallatin County has to be the Kentucky Speedway.  It is located just off of I-71 in Sparta.  The track opened in 2000 and will finally host a NASCAR Sprint Cup Race in July of 2011.  As of today, construction has begun to expand the facility and add 50,000 more seats.

OUR VISIT

The first stop on our visit to Gallatin County was the Kentucky Speedway.  As luck would have it and like several other stops on the 120 in 12, the track was closed and we could only see from the road.  We did however drive around the perimeter to get a good look at the facilities.  With the announcement of the NASCAR race next year, the construction work has already started. 

Because we were running behind, we were going to let that be our only stop in Gallatin County, but gawking at the racetrack and stopping to take pictures every few hundred yards, we made a wrong turn.  So we headed on into Warsaw, and man are we glad we did.  It is a quaint little town of just over 1,800 people.


We headed straight downtown and parked.  I got out to take a picture of the Courthouse, when this guy came up to me, laughed and said, you know all pictures are $5.  We had a good laugh and I asked him if there was any where good to eat nearby.  It was lunchtime after all.  He said there sure is, it's right behind you, and they should open in about 5 minutes.  So we walked around downtown and took a few more pictures, while we waited for Jewell's on Main to open.

Jewell's on Main was your typical small town diner/restaurant stepped up a level or two.  I guess you could call it more of a casual dining restaurant.  I had the catfish, mom had the chicken salad and z had chicken strips.  None of us had any complaints.  It was just good old home cooking.  Mom and z also shared an order of fried green tomatoes.  The decor was very simple but otherwise appealing.  If I have one complaint, it would be that we weren't greeted real warmly.  We were obviously "strangers" in town, by the looks we were getting.  I was hoping the owner would come out and introduce himself, but he never did.  Other than that I would give the place two thumbs up.  If you ever find yourself in Warsaw, Kentucky I would recommend stopping by Jewell's on Main for lunch or dinner.

After taking an hour for lunch, we were really running out of time fast!  I had every intention of getting us to a total of 12 counties by the end of the day if it killed us.  So, we scooted out of town down Hwy 35 towards Owenton in Owen County.  Stick around and we'll see you there.