Heading West With No Destination In Mind - Part Five

When we departed the Spring Valley Frontier Campground in Waynesville, we went by the tallest corn I have ever seen. I wish there was a place to pull over to take a picture … I am sure the corn was seven feet or taller! Across the street was the most beautiful patch of sunflowers … there must be something in the water here! We got back onto 42 heading south and went by Rivers Edge Outfitters. It is an outdoor adventure family business on 45 acres of riverfront property. It is along one of the least crowded and most secluded sections of the Federal and State Designated Scenic Little Miami River.

A little further down 42, we came across a cow tied to a fence … why was the cow tied to the fence you ask? We asked the same thing … the cow was an oversized statue of a cow, I really doubt it was going to wander off, but just maybe?!

Just off of 42, you can head to Caesar Creek State Park. The park is leased by the State from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who in the 1970s erected a dam on Caesars Creek to impound a 2,830-acre lake. The total park area, including the lake, is 7,941-acre. The park offers guests 43 miles of hiking trails and 31 miles of bridle trails. Caesar Creek State Park is highlighted by clear blue waters, scattered woodlands, meadows and steep ravines.

We passed by the Red Stewart Airport and Sky Dive Warren County. It made me think of our own Sky Dive City in Zephyrhills. We are lucky to be able to sit at our home and watch them jump every day! In 1960, a group of skydiving pioneers, the Cincinnati Sport Parachute Jumpers, made their home at Waynesville Airport and thus planted the seed that would eventually end up as Skydive Warren County. In 1977 Steve Stewart developed one of two of the first modern “piggy back” container system in skydiving called the Sweethog. Steve was one of the pioneers to bring the main and reserve parachute into one container system which was worn on your back, rather than your main parachute on your back and your reserve parachute on your front. This type of container system is now an industry standard and has dramatically improved the safety and reliability of parachutes today. The Sweethog, having gone through many dramatic changes since the past, can still been seen on skydivers across the globe. In 1987, Stewart embarked on a journey in Richmond, Indiana to bring the sport of skydiving to a completely new level by starting what is now known as Richmond “THE” Boogie. A six-day skydiving festival for area licensed skydivers to jump out of exotic aircraft and with the best professionals in the industry. This event became the second largest skydiving event in the world, second only to the World Free Fall Convention in Rantoul, Illinois. The final event was hosted in 2009 making for a 22 year stretch... one of the longest, continuously operated skydiving events in the history of the sport.

In Lebanon Ohio, we saw a Frick’s Big Boy. It has been a long time since I have seen a big boy! The Golden Lamb is recognized as the oldest continuously operating business in the State of Ohio. On December 23, 1803, Jonas Seaman spent $4 for a license to operate a "house of Public Entertainment". The Golden Lamb got its name due to the fact that many early pioneers could not read, so giving a business a name that could be easily drawn and recognized, such as the Black Horse or Golden Lamb, was a necessity. In 1844 a third story was added. In 1878, a fourth story was added to accomodate the workers who were bringing the railroad to Lebanon. The gift shop and Black Horse Tavern were added to the structure in 1964.

The Glendower Mansion is located on US Route 42. It is a historic Greek Revival style house in Lebanon, Ohio. It was built in the 1836 by Amos Bennett for John Milton Williams, a Lebanon merchant, and named for Owen Glendower.

It has been called one of the finest examples of the Greek Revival architecture in the Middle West. Until 2007, Glendower was operated and maintained by the Ohio Historical Society. In December 2007, it was transferred to the Warren County Historical Society.

Mason is another bustling town on Route 42 boasting beautiful tree lined and flowering medians. How does a town get its name? For Mason, it was a long road to get the name it holds today. On June 1, 1803, Revolutionary War veteran William Mason paid $1,700 at auction to purchase 640 acres of land in what is now downtown Mason. In 1815, he platted 16 lots on this land and named the village "Palmira." In 1832, two years after the death of William Mason and according to his will, more than 40 additional lots were platted on the north, south, and west of Palmira. When the plat was officially recorded, the name of the village was listed as "Palmyra." In 1835, a petition was sent to the federal post office to correct the name of the town. It had been listed as Kirkwood, possibly an error because the postmaster at the time was William Kirkwood. When village officials were informed that there was another Palmyra in Ohio, the name was officially changed to "Mason."

We moved off 42 onto 27 South in Cincinnati. Who would expect to see a forest in the middle of Cincinnati, well there is! The Mount Airy Forest was established in 1911. It was one of the earliest, if not the first, urban reforestation project in the United States. With nearly 1,500 acres it's the largest park in Cincinnati's park system. It includes natural areas, planned landscapes, buildings, structures, and landscape features. The numerous hiking trails, bridle paths, walls, gardens, pedestrian bridges, and various other improvements within Mount Airy Forest reflect the ambitious park planning and development that took place in Cincinnati in the early-to-mid-20th century. Conceived as the nation’s first urban reforestation project, the park has developed over the years—especially during the Depression and post-World War II period- into a park with a variety of areas, spaces and structures designed to accommodate recreational, social, and educational activities. Today it continues to offer a large expanse of protected land within the city limits where the public can enjoy the richness and diversity of nature. The park now includes 700 acres of reforested hardwoods, 200 acres of forested evergreens, 269 acres of wetlands, 170 acres of meadows, and a 120-acre arboretum.

Route 27 took us right by Great American Ball Park, home to the Cincinnati Reds and Paul Brown Stadium home to the Cleveland Browns. Training camp for the Browns was going on while we drove around the stadium.

We crossed the river into Southgate Kentucky. Southgate is the location of The Beverly Hills Supper Club fire. It is the third deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history. It occurred on the night of May 28, 1977, during the Memorial Day holiday weekend. A total of 165 persons died and over 200 were injured as a result of the blaze. It was the deadliest fire in the United States since 1944, when 168 people were killed in the Hartford circus fire in Hartford, Connecticut. It was a major attraction, less than two miles outside Cincinnati, just across the Ohio River in Southgate, Kentucky. It drew its talent from Las Vegas, Nashville, Hollywood and New York, among other places. The site had been a popular nightspot and illegal gambling house. Additions created a sprawling complex of function rooms and service areas connected by narrow corridors. It is believed as many as 3,000 patrons and 182 employees were inside the club at 9:00 p.m. on the evening of the fire, just as the early show was beginning in the Cabaret Room. Many of those who had not evacuated would later be found dead piled up near the main entrance. The flames spread so rapidly that a full evacuation of the sprawling, crowded building was not possible.

Route 27 has beautiful rolling hills and is definitely the land of horse lovers. We were treated to a donkey trying to mount a horse and the larger horse kicked it away as if to say “don’t be a jack a_ _.” We drove through Harrison County in Kentucky, their county motto is “Piecing together our past, present and future.” It is one of those sayings that make you go hhhhmmmmmmmmm.

Harrison Counties motto is “Where agriculture, industry, and kids can grow together.” History has left tracks in Harrison County beginning with Revolutionary Col. Benjamin Harrison (for whom the county was named). Robert Harrison donated the land where the county seat is now located. The city of Cynthiana was named after his two daughters, Cynthia and Anna.  

Henry Clay practiced law in a log cabin which still stands just off the courthouse square in downtown Cynthiana. General John Hunt Morgan of Morgan's Raiders fame, concentrated his Confederacy efforts in the Harrison County area. Many Civil War battle sites are within the county and city. In the center of Kentucky's Bluegrass Region, Harrison County provides the basis for diversified agriculture in soils, temperatures, seasons, and environment. All this and our primary concern for the next generation, encourages all to continue to invest in the youth making their community a choice location to build their future. Speaking of building for the future, the courthouse is getting a much needed facelift! During the Civil War two battles were fought in the little town of Cynthiana, Kentucky. Both battles involved Confederate General John Hunt Morgan. In the first battle, Morgan and the Confederates defeated the Union forces, but in the second battle of Cynthiana some two years later, Morgan and his Confederates were dispatched, or I should say routed by Union forces.

There are more stone fences in Kentucky than any place in the USA. In Central Kentucky only 5 -10% of these 19th century rock fences built by Irish Immigrant stonemasons still stand. These stonemasons passed their craft on to black slaves that became masters of the craft of building rock walls. This is where the term, "slave walls" came about. The walls are mostly built with local limestone that is plentiful in the fields. Once cleared and prepared for agriculture, the stone was easily used as border walls to pastures. All the stones are laid free-handed with no mortar.

On Route 27, you travel through the campus of Transylvania University. It is a private university in Lexington. It was founded in 1780, making it the first university in Kentucky and among the oldest in the United States. Transylvania's name, meaning "across the woods" in Latin, stems from the university's founding in the heavily forested region of western Virginia known as the Transylvania colony, which became most of Kentucky. Transylvania has educated two U.S. vice presidents, two U.S. Supreme Court justices, fifty U.S. senators, over one hundred U.S. representatives, thirty six U.S. governors, and thirty four U.S. ambassadors, making it a large producer of U.S. statesmen. It also educated Confederate President Jefferson Davis, prior to his transfer to the United States Military Academy at West Point.

We turned onto 25 South and found more wineries and yet more horse farms. We crossed over the Kentucky River and paralleled 75 while we traversed the rolling hills of Kentucky.

We also came across an Army Depot neither of us had heard of … Blue Grass Army Depot. Blue Grass Army Depot is a US Army storage facility for conventional munitions and chemical weapons. The almost 15,000-acre site,

composed mainly of open fields and wooded areas, is used for munitions storage, repair of general supplies, and the disposal of munitions. BGAD provides munitions, chemical defense equipment, and ammunition support to the joint warfighter. It is the Department of Defense’s primary center for surveillance, receipt, storage, issue, testing and minor repair for the Chemical Defense Equipment Program. BGAD maintains and supports CDE stocks for deploying units and homeland defense forces, and is a training site for reserve component and other deploying units.

Shortly after seeing Blue Grass Army Depot we arrived at our overnight stop. It was a picturesque site on the top of a hill in Renfro Valley at the KOA. It was another great location that we found by chance.