Madison County

The last stop on our venture, this time out was Madison County.  There is sooo much to do there, but our time was getting short and the kids were getting tired and ready to be at home.  You could spend days seeing the sites, but we only had a couple of hours, so we made the best of it.  We also had the same problem in Madison County, that we had in Rockcastle.  No way to stop on the interestate to get a photo of the county sign.  We will pick one of these up though, when we visit Clark County.  But now it's time for a little Madison County background.

MADISON COUNTY BACKGROUND

In 1779 a group of settlers petetioned the Virginia legislature to build a settlement at Boonesborough.  Soon after, a warehouse was built.  In 1785, Madison County became the seventh county formed in the Commonwealth.  It was named in honor of the Constitutional Convention member and Virginia stateman, James Madison, who eventually became President of The United States.  The city of Richmond was formed in 1798 and became the county seat.

Madison County has several well know cities and towns, including Richmond, Berea, Paint Lick and Bybee.  Richmond is home to Eastern Kenucky University and Berea is home to Berea College.

In 1906, the Kentucky General Assembly approved a Bill to establish a Normal School in eastern and western Kentucky.  Richmond civic leaders sponsered a successful campaign to have the Eastern University located there.  It was to be located on the the site of the Walters Collegiate Institute formerly the grounds of Central University.  Today Eastern is home to over 15,000 students and 2,700 faculty and offers numerous degress in in 27 different programs.

Berea College was founded in 1855 as an interracial and coeducational college in the south.  Berea is unique in that they do charge tuition. All student work a minimum of 10 hours per week in campus and service jobs.  The college has an inclusice Christian character which is expressed in its motto "God has made of one blood all peoples of the Earth".  Berea offers Bachelor of Arts and Science degrees in 28 fields.

The community of Bybee was founded in 1809 by a group of potters, interested in the clay that was naturally occuring there. 

OUR VISIT

Let me start of by saying, that we did not visit Boonesborough State Park while we were in Madison County.  It is located on the Clark / Madison County line.  This is one of the few occasions we will probably back track a little when we visit Clark County.  It is one one those places that is tied so deeply in Kentucky history and close to home, that the boys have to visit.

The first stop on our visit was to the city of Berea.  Berea is best known for its local craftsmen and is considered as the Arts and Crafts Capital of Kentucky.  It has also recently been named to the list of the Top 25 Arts destinations in the nation, by AmericanStyle Magazine.  You can't throw a rock and not hit some sort of craft or artisan store.  It's one of those unique places, not only in Kentucky but throughout the country.

Our first stop was at the Berea Welcome Center and Tourism Office.  There, we met the nicest two ladies.  I spent most of my time talking with them while mom and the boys spent time looking at their exhibits.  One of the things that mom said she wanted to do on the trip to Madison County was to visit the world famous Bybee Pottery.  In talking with our new friends at the Tourism Office, we had just over an hour before the pottery shop closed, and we were almost 45 minutes away.  That meant we were not going to get to visit the Berea College campus.  I have vsited there numerous time, but the boys have never seen it, so that is something else added to the "when we go back" list.

Needless to say we scooted on out and headed towards Bybee.  I must drive a little faster than the two older ladies we met in Berea, I made the trip in just over 30 minutes, and that was after taking a wrong turn.  The good news is we made it.  I didn't really know what to expect, but was surprised when we got there.  The business is housed in a log cabin that they have been in for over a century.  Bybee is the oldest pottery west of the Alleghenies.  This is another one of those stories that I could not do justice too, so I recommend you visit their website and find out for yourself.

Of course we couldn't visit without buying a piece or two.  I really didn't like the first one she picked, but we finally agreed on 2 pieces that we both liked.  Surprisingly it wasn't as expensive as you might have thought.  That's the other cool thing about the 120 in 12, the souveniers we are collecting!

So, that was the end of our journey for this go 'round.  After visiting Bybee, we headed on home.  Our next day trip is scheduled for 08/21/10, this time, we'll be headed north.  We hope to hit at least four counties that day and may try to squeeze in a fifth.  If we can hit at least four though, we will be 1/10 of the way through, which has us ahead of schedule!  I hope you are enjoying reading as much as we are living it.  See you next week...

Rockcastle County

Then next stop on our journey was Rockcastle County, home of the world famous Renfro Valley.  We crossed the county line both in and out, on the interstate, so we were unable to get a picture of the green highway sign.  It made me realize we have to do a little better planning from here on out, so that we can get a picture.  But we we found the sign pictured at the left, downtown Mount Vernon.  As usual, we will cover a little background on Rockcastle County.

ROCKCASTLE COUNTY BACKGROUND

The county seat is Mount Vernon, and is named for George Washington's home.  The area was originally settled around 1790 and was a stop on the Wilderness Road by 1792.  The surrounding area was originally swampland. 

The county was formed in 1810 from portion of Lincoln, Madison, Knox and Pulaski counties.  Rockcastle was the fifty-second county formed in Kentucky.  The county shares its name with the Rockcastle River which was named by explorer Isaac Lindsey in 1767.  The name comes from the large cliffs along the river the Lindsey described as castles.  Almost one fourth of the county lies within the Daniel Boone National Forest.  The county has seen its population grow by almost 50% since 1970.

The extraction of saltpetre from the Great Saltpetre Cave was one of the first industries in the county.  Saltpetre is used to make gunpowder.  The cave also served as shelter for both Union and Confederate troops during the Civil War.

Rockcastle County is also home to Renfro Valley.  It is the site of the "Renfro Valley Barn Dance" national radio program.  This show was started in 1939 by John Lair.  Refro Valley still hosts several shows a week, ranging from local Bluegrass talent to major country music recording stars.

OUR VISIT

Our visit to Rockcastle County was unfortunately pretty quick.  We jumped off of I-75 and headed into Mount Vernon, the county seat.  We parked on Main Street and took a few minutes to check out downtown.  The more of these towns we visit, the more I enjoy the "small town" atmosphere.  There wasn't much going on, so we head on out to Renfro Valley.

We were expecting to see a crowd out there, but being a monday afternoon, nothing was open.  We were the only ones there, except for a few workers.  But we were able to get a few pictures and we can say we have been there.  None of us are really country or bluegrass music fans, but it's one of those things, that speaks to our Kentucky heritage.  Renfro Valley is the home to the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and as luck would have it, they were closed on Mondays.

It was a short trip, but a good trip.  My guess is, we will head back that way to see a show at Renfro Valley, like I said, it's just part of who we are as Kentuckians.