Discover 11 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Bardstown (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History, My Old Kentucky Home, and Bardstown Civil War Museum. Also, be sure to include Wickland in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Bardstown (Kentucky).
Table of Contents
Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History
Museum in Bardstown, Kentucky. The Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History is a museum in Bardstown, Kentucky, that chronicles the history of American whiskey from Colonial days through the 1960s. Abraham Lincoln's liquor license, advertising posters, prescriptions for the medicinal use of alcohol during National Prohibition, whiskey bottles, and other artifacts, including several moonshine stills, are on display.
The museum is part of the American Whiskey Trail.[1]
Address: 114 N 5th St, 40004-1449 Bardstown
My Old Kentucky Home
State park in Bardstown, Kentucky. My Old Kentucky Home State Park is a state park located in Bardstown, Kentucky, United States. The park's centerpiece is Federal Hill, a former plantation home owned by United States Senator John Rowan in 1795. During the Rowan family's occupation, the mansion became a meeting place for local politicians and hosted several visiting dignitaries.
The farm is best known for its association with American composer Stephen Foster'ssentimental ballad. "My Old Kentucky Home, Good Night." Foster was a cousin of the Rowan family and reputedly an occasionally visitor to Federal Hill, though Foster was likely inspired to write the ballad by Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin.
After the popularity of the song increased throughout the United States, Federal Hill was purchased by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, dedicated as a historic site, and renamed "My Old Kentucky Home" on July 4, 1923. Foster's song by the same name was made the state song of Kentucky in 1928. The Federal Hill mansion was featured on a U.S. postage stamp in 1992, and it is one of the symbols featured on the reverse of the Kentucky state quarter issued in 2001.[2]
Address: 501 E Stephen Foster Ave, 40004 Bardstown
Bardstown Civil War Museum
Museum in Bardstown, Kentucky. The Civil War Museum in Bardstown, Kentucky, is a collection of five attractions along what is called "Museum Row". It was established in 1996 by Dr. Henry Spalding. The leading attraction is the Civil War Museum, which is the fourth largest American Civil War Museum and is dedicated to the Western Theater of the war. The main building was originally the icehouse and waterworks of Bardstown, and is 8,500 square feet.
The four attractions are:
- Civil War Museum of the Western Theater: organized by chronology and geography. It is the largest collection of Civil War Artifacts of the Western Theater in America. A notable exhibit is the flag of the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry, which was captured when John Hunt Morgan was captured after his Raid ended in Ohio.
- Pioneer Village: Commonly called the "Civil War Village", it features buildings built in Nelson County, Kentucky, from 1776 to 1820.
- Women's Civil War Museum: Opened in 1999, it is the only museum that looks into the role of women during the American Civil War. It is in the historic Wright Talbott House.
- Hal Moore Military Museum: Honors those who came from the middle of the United States who fought for freedom from the first Revolutionary War to Operation Desert Storm.
Address: 310 E Broadway St, 40004-1566 Bardstown
Wickland
Mansion in Bardstown, Kentucky. Wickland is a historic mansion in eastern Bardstown, Kentucky. It has been the home of three state governors: two for Kentucky, and one in Louisiana.[4]
Address: 550 Bloomfield Rd, 40004-2011 Bardstown
Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral
Parish church in Bardstown, Kentucky. The Basilica of Saint Joseph Proto-Cathedral is a Catholic parish church at 310 West Stephen Foster Avenue in Bardstown, Kentucky. It is the original cathedral of the present Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville, originally erected as the Diocese of Bardstown — "proto-cathedral" means the former cathedral of a see that has transferred or moved. During its years as a cathedral, the pastor was Benedict Joseph Flaget, the first bishop of Bardstown.[5]
Address: 310 W Stephen Foster Ave, 40004-1421 Bardstown
Confederate Monument of Bardstown
The Confederate Monument of Bardstown, in Bardstown, Kentucky was erected in 1903 in the Bardstown St. Joseph's Cemetery to honor the sacrifice of 67 Confederate States Army soldiers, who died during the American Civil War. Some 17 of the soldiers are still unknown.[6]
Church of St Thomas
The church of St Thomas, the Apostle and Howard-Flaget House is a historic Roman Catholic church and home located at Bardstown, Nelson County, Kentucky. The church is a brick, cross-shaped plan with a round apse. It was designed by Baltimore architect Maximilian Godefroy and built 1813–1816. It closely resembles Godefroy's earlier St. Mary's Seminary Chapel in Baltimore, another Sulpician church. St. Thomas is the oldest Roman Catholic church in Kentucky and considered "The Cradle of Catholicism in Kentucky."
St. Thomas Roman Catholic Church and Howard-Flaget House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.[7]
Address: 870 St Thomas Ln, 40004 Bardstown
Nelson County Jail
Building in Bardstown, Kentucky. The historic Nelson County Jail in the Bardstown Historic District in Bardstown, Kentucky is a property on the National Register of Historic Places. It is next door to the Old Talbott Tavern.The property served as Nelson County, Kentucky's jail from 1797 to 1987. The old jail was originally built in 1819.[8]
Address: 111 W. Stephen Foster Ave, Bardstown
Spalding Hall
Museum in Bardstown, Kentucky. Spalding Hall is a building listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Bardstown, Kentucky. It was built in conjunction with the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral. The hall was originally built in 1826 and named for Bishop Martin John Spalding.
It was the main building of St. Joseph's College, a Catholic college in the 19th century, which was the first Catholic college in Kentucky. The current building was built in 1839 to replace the previous building, which had been destroyed in a fire. The college was closed during the American Civil War and the building briefly served as a hospital for Union soldiers.
It served as St. Joseph's Preparatory School from about 1911 until 1968.
The building houses the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History and the Bardstown Historical Museum.[9]
Address: 114 N 5th St, 40004-1449 Bardstown
Artists Barrel
Museum, Shopping, Gift shop
Address: 208 N 3rd St, 40004-1528 Bardstown
Bardstown Historical Museum
Museum in Bardstown, Kentucky. The Bardstown Historical Museum is a museum of local history in Bardstown, Kentucky, USA, that is located in Spalding Hall, along with the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History.
The exhibits at Bardstown Historical Museum include Native American and American Civil War clothing, weapons and artifacts, items from St. Joseph Preparatory School, Stephen Foster memorabilia, an exhibit about Trappist monks, and other local historic cultural items, documents and photographs. The museum also features a large collection of American silver dating from 1860 to 1990.[10]