Museum Newsletter - 10 Nov 2005

Friends of the Bullitt County History Museum
E-Newsletter
November 10, 2005

Activity.

>> Biggest grant yet! I am very happy to announce the museum has been awarded yet another grant. This one, for $6,710 (the full amount requested), is for preservation work on the Old Shepherdsville Cemetery. I have written before about the fine work being done on this cemetery by volunteers and by the city. This grant money is for fencing the cemetery, as well as for a new marker telling about it, and for reseeding the grounds. Ellen Williams, Commissioner of the Governor's Office for Local Development (GOLD) said in her letter informing us of the grant award, "We commend your efforts in cemetery preservation and your interest and support of the historic resources of your community."

I am very pleased to say that so far the museum has a record of five grants awarded out of six attempts.

>> New artificial tree for the Holidays. As the Holiday Season approaches, some of us at the courthouse (where our museum is housed) have discussed the desire to do better on decorations. In particular, we wanted a nice, big, lighted, well-decorated artificial tree at the top of the grand staircase where it can be seen through the large front window. It will really bring a nice touch to the building. I stepped forward and bought a good one with my own money. That is OK, but if you want to contribute a bit to the effort, that would be appreciated.

Donations:

As the Kentucky Historical Society says, "No maps are consulted more in academic and public libraries than Sanborn fire insurance maps - the detailed property and land-use records that depict the grid of everyday life in dozens of Kentucky towns over a century of change." For Bullitt County, these maps are available for Shepherdsville and Lebanon Junction from 1886 to 1929. The maps are wonderfully detailed and accurate layouts of the cities. Compare the different maps over the years and you can get almost a moving picture of how things change. Each building in the town is laid out showing such things as dimensions, use of building, where porches were, heat and utility source, and much more.

The Bullitt County History Museum has direct access through its computers to The Kentucky Historical Society digital collection of these maps for the state.

We also have several of these maps on large prints available for research from the Tom Pack collections that were donated to the museum, but one problem exists with both of these resources: they are black & white copies of the original color prints, and some of the information depends on the color codes.

Now longtime community supporter Bill Hardy has donated an original 1920 Sanborn Map of Shepherdsville that includes the color coding. The colors designate, for example, which buildings were brick, stone, sheet metal, or combinations.

Come by the museum research room and check them out sometime.

Announcements:

>> Need a log cabin? I know at least one that is looking for a good home.

John and Karen Sullivan own a very old white-poplar log cabin on their land in Bullitt County. They may be selling or developing the land in the near future and hate to think the old family cabin would have to be destroyed. They would love to find someone who would save the old cabin and give it a new home. Interested? Contact them about it.

>>Books for sale....Limited time only.

Several months ago, I personally ordered sixteen copies of the great new Civil War history book "Kentucky's Civil War 1861-1865" published by Back Home in Kentucky at a pre-production price. After some delay, they have finally arrived and I am selling them (while they last) at a special price of $20 for paperback (normally $24.95) and $30 for hardbound (normally $34.95) as a sort of public service. At this price, they are only available at the museum. Half of them are already sold so grab yours fast if you want one.

Needed:

>> A blacksmith. Still need one for work on our salt kettle display. A visitor came by the museum who does blacksmith work in the area as a hobby, but I neglected to get his name.

>> Looking for cheap (even damaged) electric fireplace logs. I can use one in the museum fireplace and can use pieces for part of the salt kettle display.

Another Great Resource:

>> Here is an unusual object of praise from a historian: Ted Korfhage and Steve Plenge are developing a very nice subdivision, called "Heritage Hill", in Bullitt County. What is especially nice from our perspective is that they are developing the land with a respect for history (hence, Heritage Hill). In an age of "quicky" developments focused entirely on making money without regard for the land, this is an all-too-rare occurrence, so I applaud them for their efforts. They have developed a nice web site that includes some history. Check out www.heritagehillcommunity.com.

As always, thank you all for being a Friend of Bullitt County History!

David Strange
Bullitt County History Museum
Executive Director
Museum Phone: 502-921-0161
E-Mail address: David.Strange@BullittCountyHistory.org