Susan Orlean, of the New Yorker, once said that living in a rural region exposes the body and mind to marvelous things: the natural world, the “particular texture” of small-town life and the “exhilarating experience” of open space. It’s not difficult to argue that. Located in a remote town in the hills of eastern Kentucky, Hazel Green Academy, set among the…
While the demise of rural life in many areas is overstated, there are many areas that are in long-term decline, brought about by sustained job losses and single-focus economies. In Cannel City, Kentucky’s case, it was coal and timber.
A photographic essay of the former Frenchburg Presbyterian College in Frenchburg, Kentucky.
The Old Louis Hunter Distillery in Harrison County, Kentucky closed in 1974. After 40 years of abandonment, it’s still wonderfully intact.
Much thanks to everyone who came out to Old Crow Distillery along Glenns Creek in Kentucky! The weather was perfect – partly cloudy skies and mild temperatures provided the perfect exploring experience.
Revisiting an old friend several weeks ago at a whiskey bar, I was reminded of a famous Mark Twain quote.
Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whiskey is barely enough.
Just like the old friend, I repaid another visit to Old Crow Distillery in central Kentucky with several architects.
Want to explore, photograph or learn more Old Crow Distillery in Kentucky? Mark your calendar down for July 5 or July 26!
Down many miles of winding, two-lane roads lies the community of Gest, Kentucky and the Kentucky River Lock and Dam No. 3.
Tucked in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Kentucky is Peyton’s Store. It’s a rural community of several households, named after an old general store that was once located along the roadway, but it’s nothing more than a wayside today.
Old Taylor Distillery, located near Frankfort, Kentucky, has been in a rough patch for several decades. But a new startup is destined to change that.
I miss the January and Wood Company in Maysville, Kentucky. Dating to 1834, the firm was a cotton mill that diversified into synthetics. It closed in 2003.
Located near the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, Old Crow Distillery once produced Old Grand Dad, Bourbon DeLuxe, Sunny Brook and other bourbon beverages. The plant has been closed since 1987 as a result of a buy-out from competitor Jim Beam.
The Eastern Kentucky Railway (EK) was a 36 mile railroad in northeastern Kentucky that connected Riverton to Webbville. Serving several mines and early pig-iron blast furnaces, the railroad was abandoned in 1933 during the height of the Great Depression.
Several years ago, I ventured inside the abandoned but historic William Tarr House in central Kentucky. I composed several photographs of the magnificent entryway, player piano and the collapsing rear. But with a backlog of photographs that span years and incomplete keywording in my internal image database, I thought that I had lost these images to the dust bin… until two days ago. I located these photographs on a backup drive, unedited.
“They say when you are missing someone that they are probably feeling the same, but I don’t think it’s possible for you to miss me as much as I’m missing you right now.”
– Edna St. Vincent Millay
In late February, I set out to explore the knobs of Kentucky and wander the back roads. Feeling at ease with being back in my home state but missing it dearly, I set aside some mellow tunes, cranked the window down and pitted myself against the cold with the heaters blaring. It was a melancholy and overcast afternoon which lent itself well to what I discovered.
The Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans Railroad’s 34-mile Paducah-East Cairo line was constructed in 1902 and 1903 between East Cairo and Paducah, Kentucky. At the time of its construction, the Illinois Central operated two major north-south routes which converged at Fulton, Kentucky. Forming a “V” through Kentucky and Illinois, the western line passed through Cairo, Illinois while the eastern line went through Paducah. The completion of the Paducah-East Cairo route allowed trains to travel east to west and west to east without having to tour through Fulton.
When I attended the University of Kentucky, I traveled the back roads of my state – a lot. On one of my excursions, I came across the abandoned Buckeye School. Back then, its lot was filled with relics of the past, namely automobiles. Jaguar, Jeep, Land Rover and Volkswagen carcasses lay scattered around the several acre lot. But I never went inside the actual school, and despite my vows to find the owner of the property – I graduated from school and moved away.
A while back, I ventured to Krypton, Kentucky to visit a small closed surface coal mining operation. It is located along the CSX Eastern Kentucky Subdivision, which was formerly part of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad.
The Frenchburg Presbyterian College in Frenchburg, Kentucky was the first high school in Menifee County and offered a broad education for 50 years. The facility closed in May 1957 after serving 500 students and 30 staff. After closure, the buildings became home to a nursing home and retirement facility that operated for a few years, and later, a Boy’s Rehabilitation Center by the Commonwealth’s Child Welfare Agency. Most of the buildings are used as residences or as offices.