We found our place in Kentucky! (Bardstown, New Haven: employment, friendly, retired)

[JefferyT]

I can't wait to leave Maryland and after being in Bardstown for only 4 days, I can't imagine retiring any place else.

...from Maryland to Kentucky. A bit of ironic Bardstown area trivia is that many of the first settlers in that area were from Maryland, which is why there is a large rural Catholic population. I think this Catholic settlement was more south and east of Bardstown, between Bardstown and Lebanon and Springfield. But a neat bit of historic trivia.

[beilart]

Originally Posted by JefferyT

...from Maryland to Kentucky. A bit of ironic Bardstown area trivia is that many of the first settlers in that area were from Maryland, which is why there is a large rural Catholic population. I think this Catholic settlement was more south and east of Bardstown, between Bardstown and Lebanon and Springfield. But a neat bit of historic trivia.

They must have hated it here too.

[kygman]

Don't forget to go eat at the Old Talbott Tavern downtown. Haven't been there since it burned but have heard the food (and drinks) are great!

:::Welcome to The Old Talbott Tavern Web Site:::

[DerbyCityDiva]

kygman,

All my "then" 14 year old noticed was the aroma outside the Jim Beam Distillery! lol

Makes me want to sing to him. "Can you smell that smell?"...
If y'all were in Bardstown proper, you were smelling Barton's distillery. Heaven Hill's distillery burned in 1996. Beam's is about 15 miles north, Maker's about 15 miles south, so from Bardstown, you can't really smell those guys so much.
Personally, I love that smell...I grew up in Shively around 7 distilleries. Smells like money to me...

InLondon,

The population of Nelson County is 43,113; according to...

Shoot, I really apologize. I meant to say 'city'. All for a CITY of 11,000 people.

P.S. to the 'gman, if your Dad played golf until he was 85, you tell him for me, he's my hero!

[JefferyT]

They must have hated it here too.

I figure since Maryland was landlocked people who wanted land had to go beyond the mountains to pioneer, so ended up in Kentucky. I don't know from what part of Maryland those early settlers came from...maybe a good question for the history buffs.

Bardstown and vicinity is a popular day trip from Louisville, and has some of my favorite scenery, the way the Knobs and Muldraughs Hill are contrasted by the flat bottomlands of the Rolling Fork and the rolling Bluegrass plains. The Knobs look like something out of Japanese or Chinese wash drawing. And it's neat driving down Muldraughs Hill on some twisting road, down a hollow or valley into the flatlands, with occasional panoramic glimpses of the landscape opening up. I just love that part of Kentucky.

This countryside is slightly known out of state from the writings of the monk Thomas Merton, who occasionally referenced the landscape in his essays. Merton was at the Gethsemane abbey, south of Bardstown.

Another quaint locale to the east of Bardstown, but still in Nelson County, is Bloomfield. Not much there but its a picturesque place that makes a nice execursion destination.

Anyway, glad you found a home here in Kentucky, which, as has been said, is a "heaven of a place"!

[ColorsOfMe]

I'm SO happy for the OP, you will love Kentucky! (I'm from there, and I occasionally miss 'home'). If you get a chance, head to my hometown of Cynthiana (north of Lexington). Cynthiana has a lot of history (Benjamin Harrison, city is named after his two daughters Cynthia and Anna).

[kygman]

Originally Posted by DerbyCityDiva

kygman,

If y'all were in Bardstown proper, you were smelling Barton's distillery. Heaven Hill's distillery burned in 1996. Beam's is about 15 miles north, Maker's about 15 miles south, so from Bardstown, you can't really smell those guys so much.
Personally, I love that smell...I grew up in Shively around 7 distilleries. Smells like money to me...

P.S. to the 'gman, if your Dad played golf until he was 85, you tell him for me, he's my hero!

Diva, when we took that trip I mentioned, we stopped at Jim Beam on our way from our hotel in Shepardsville to Bardstown. As soon as I parked the car the aroma hit us. We didn't stop by any in town.

As for my dad playing golf, if he could he would still be playing. He has neuropathy (sp?) in his feet and can't feel them. Said it was hard to walk up to the elevated tees. On the humorous side, Mama said at night in bed, he'll stick his feet against her legs and ask if his feet are cold. lol They both laugh about that.

Beilart, somebody mentioned looking around Cynthiana when you get settled. Don't stop after that! This is a big state with lots to see. And people would wonder what was wrong with me if I didn't mention Kentucky and Barkley Lakes in western Kentucky. Kentucky Lake is the largest man made lake, by surface area (over 160,000 acres) east of the Mississippi River. Hope you enjoy living in Kentucky.

[DerbyCityDiva]

JefferyT,

...from Maryland to Kentucky. A bit of ironic Bardstown area trivia is that many of the first settlers in that area were from Maryland, which is why there is a large rural Catholic population. I think this Catholic settlement was more south and east of Bardstown, between Bardstown and Lebanon and Springfield. But a neat bit of historic trivia.

I just can't tell you how cool it is that you mentioned this. I am a descendant of the Maryland Catholics, my Grandma was a Burks (Burks Spring, they built the distillery where Maker's Mark distills today). They also settled east in Springfield, and south at a place they named St. Mary's, because most of them came from St. Mary's County in Maryland. After that, they started popping up all over...

You must be either a Catholic, originally from the area, or a huge history buff. Most folks don't know anything about the League of Catholic Families, or why they came. It amazed me to learn that they didn't leave Maryland so much because they didn't like it, but more because Maryland didn't really like them.

You mentioned Bloomfield, and you are so right. It's a beautiful little town. It's gotten even nicer in the last several years, because Linda Bruckheimer has bought a large section of downtown and redone it. Jerry & Linda Bruckheimer bought a lovely old Kentucky Georgian-type home on several acres right outside Bloomfield 8 or 10 years ago. The folks in Bloomfield see them around pretty often.

[JefferyT]

You must be either a Catholic, originally from the area, or a huge history buff. Most folks don't know anything about the League of Catholic Families, or why they came. It amazed me to learn that they didn't leave Maryland so much because they didn't like it, but more because Maryland didn't really like them.

Yes, I am Catholic and a history buff, but not a native Kentuckian. I did know there was a Catholic community down there through various ways (one was my dad having a co-woker from Howardstown), and somehow found out about the Maryland connection, but don't know the details.

You mentioned Bloomfield, and you are so right. It's a beautiful little town. It's gotten even nicer in the last several years, because Linda Bruckheimer has bought a large section of downtown and redone it. Jerry & Linda Bruckheimer bought a lovely old Kentucky Georgian-type home on several acres right outside Bloomfield 8 or 10 years ago. The folks in Bloomfield see them around pretty often.

Thanks for that info! I didn't know that, and am going to have to take a road trip down to Bloomfield to see these changes next time I'm in KY.

[samstersmom]

Originally Posted by beilart

They must have hated it here too.

I'm surprised that you say that Beilart, since you have said only positive things about Annapolis.