County Seats Archives - ExploringKentucky.com https://exploringkentucky.com/category/county-seats/ Exploring Kentucky Sat, 18 Mar 2023 21:13:18 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 https://exploringkentucky.com/wp-content/uploads/cropped-ExploringKentucky-favicon-1-32x32.png County Seats Archives - ExploringKentucky.com https://exploringkentucky.com/category/county-seats/ 32 32 A Walk In Pineville Kentucky https://exploringkentucky.com/a-walk-in-pineville-kentucky/ Sat, 18 Mar 2023 20:12:38 +0000 https://exploringkentucky.com/?p=380 I had the pleasure of taking a walk in Pineville, Kentucky on Sunday, March 5th, 2013. The first thing I saw was a beautiful layer of morning fog and beautiful mountains all around. The county seat of Bell County traces its history back the 1781. The downtown area has a

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I had the pleasure of taking a walk in Pineville, Kentucky on Sunday, March 5th, 2013. The first thing I saw was a beautiful layer of morning fog and beautiful mountains all around. The county seat of Bell County traces its history back the 1781. The downtown area has a number of beautiful buildings including the Bell County Courthouse, the Bell Theater, and a number of shops with second and third floors likely used as lofts. In addition to the great architecture and rich history, the buildings surrounding the courthouse showcase a number of beautiful colors, giving the city a feel all its own. There’s a few cool bars and pizzerias giving this community of just around 1,600 residents plenty to choose from. Many buildings seem to have party walls meaning that buildings share a wall between them. Other buildings have some space between them, creating a nice amount of architectural diversity.

Bell County Courthouse

I really like that the county takes pride its courthouse grounds. I especially liked the Mountain Gateway sign, as well as the Joshua Fry Bell one which was immaculate. The grounds were landscaped, there was absolutely no litter anywhere, and the building itself seemed very well looked after. Although I didn’t see any law enforcement while visiting Pineville, the community seemed extremely safe to me. I walked pretty much the entire downtown area without incident. All the people I came across were very nice, and you could tell they took great pride in where they lived.

The Bell Theater

I saw a great many U.S. flags all throughout town, but I didn’t see one at the post office. I’ll admit that kind of threw me off since every USPS branch I’ve come across in the United States has Old Glory flying proud. As I said on the video, though, it’s very possible their flag was either old, faded, or torn, and they had ordered a new flag. I do plan on returning to Pineville and hope to see the stars and stripes flying.

Bell County Detention Center

Pineville’s city hall is a rock’s throw from the county courthouse and is a beautiful building. It seems like a a great example of fiscally-responsible spending. They have a few offices in a small building and seemingly take care of business. The United Methodist Church, across the street, looks very beautiful. Interestingly, the Bell County Detention Center looks several times bigger than city hall and almost as big as the courthouse. Why does a county with a population of under 2,000 people have such a large corrections facility? Could be it be that only a portion of the building is used for housing inmates? Perhaps it shares a floor with another agency or two? I don’t really know, but I’m clearly intrigued.

A Walk In Pineville Kentucky

One last note, which may seem a little trivial, but there are A LOT of birds in Pineville. I filmed in three or four parts of downtown and there seemed to be different birds wherever I went. Between the fog, the mountains, and the birds, Pineville seems to be embraced by Mother Nature. All in all it’s an absolutely beautiful city and county seat with plenty of life. If you’re ever in the area, by all means check it out. And especially look into the Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival, Pine Mountain State Resort Park, and all the great eateries and shops.

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A Walk in Barbourville https://exploringkentucky.com/a-walk-in-barbourville/ Sun, 12 Mar 2023 02:02:36 +0000 https://exploringkentucky.com/?p=375 I had a lovely walk in the beautiful city of Barbourville, Kentucky, on Sunday March 4th, 2023. I was able to tour the beautiful seat of Knox County and took in the sights. Although this is a small city by Lexington or Louisville standards, it has a number of great

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I had a lovely walk in the beautiful city of Barbourville, Kentucky, on Sunday March 4th, 2023. I was able to tour the beautiful seat of Knox County and took in the sights. Although this is a small city by Lexington or Louisville standards, it has a number of great places to eat, plenty cool shops, and some of the nicest and most caring people in all of Kentucky. Unfortunately, I was so mesmerized by the beautiful Love You! mural that I didn’t look where I was walking. I’ve toured dozens of cities and towns and I’m always very mindful of my surroundings, but one of the few times I wasn’t, cost me dearly. It was an accident and that’s that; however, I made pretty good impact with the concrete embankment, fell, and had a pretty touch ‘n go time. I ended up getting 9 stitches later in the day at Baptist Health in Corbin. Thankfully, I kept my head at the scene of the fall, didn’t panic, and dealt with the situation as best as I could. I was very lucky to have been helped by some wonderful people that really made the difference!

Another Beautiful Mural

One gentleman drove by and was very concerned. I asked if he could bring me some water and he drove off. Next, I saw a lady getting out of her car and asked her if she had any water. I was pretty parched and had dry mouth as a result of the fall. She brought be a bottle of water and her companion/family member/friend Alister went back to the vehicle as they were about to go into the Mexican restaurant and brought me some gauze from the car (he’s on the video). And right after he gave me the gauze, the gentleman who had driven off returned, with a huge bottle of ice cold Cumberland Springs water. I honestly was extremely lucky to have been looked after by such nice people. Barbourville is truly a great place. It’s very well-maintained, has tons of history, and absolutely wonderful, kindhearted residents!

A Walk In Barbourville

I can’t wait to come back to Barbourville and check out Court Square at night. The Alley looks like a pretty happening place. The Mexican restaurant looks to be very good and I’d love to have a cup of Joe at The Ugly Mug Coffee Shop. If you’re ever in the area, make it point to visit Barbourville and spend a few bucks in town. Also, don’t forget to check out the beautiful courthouse! As you all know by now, I’m a huge history buff, and Barbourville/Knox County has plenty of it!

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Visit Munfordville!! https://exploringkentucky.com/visitmunfordville/ Sun, 15 Jan 2023 10:14:20 +0000 https://exploringkentucky.com/?p=355 If you’re a history buff, then come on down to Munfordville, Kentucky. Here you’ll find a remarkable amount of history from the U.S. Civil War and the very interesting role Kentucky played it in. Although Kentucky was a border state and declared its neutrality at the onset of the war,

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If you’re a history buff, then come on down to Munfordville, Kentucky. Here you’ll find a remarkable amount of history from the U.S. Civil War and the very interesting role Kentucky played it in. Although Kentucky was a border state and declared its neutrality at the onset of the war, the Confederacy wanted to absorb it just the same. After all, there was a confederate shadow government in place and Kentucky sent more troops to fight for the South than it did for the North. That said, its neutrality was a matter of record. The Battle of Munfordville took place here and there are numerous historic points of interest throughout the community dating back to it. There were also numerous confederate, union, and guerrilla raids throughout the Commonwealth. Munfordville and other cities in Hart County have tons of history!

The beautiful Hart County Courthouse

On Saturday, January 7th 2023, I had the pleasure of touring Munfordville for ExploringKentucky.com and got some amazing footage. The Hart County courthouse is exceptionally beautiful with excellently-maintained grounds and tons of learning opportunities. There are numerous benches laid out for guests to sit in, whether to take in the sights, read a book, or just interact. The landscape couldn’t be neater and the surrounding shops create a very upbeat, small town, and hospitable vibe throughout the county seat. If you visit here, be sure to have your phones, cameras, and/or camcorders ready. You’ll have plenty memories to make and plenty great shots to capture. Also, the locals are extremely nice, motorists are very considerate with pedestrians, and everything seems exceptionally orderly. That said, I didn’t see a single police officer in sight, which makes me think the community does their fair share of keeping an eye on things.

Henry Clay Furnace

Don’t get me wrong, I love law enforcement and respect the very noble work they do, but it takes a village to have a successful city. Munfordville is an example of this because the residents take pride in their community. You won’t find any litter here, there’s no graffiti, and there’s no riff raff making trouble or creating a scene. The city and the county have done their homework. You will love visiting, and who knows, you may never want to leave.

Oh and before I forget, Munfordville is also site of a blossoming Amish community. There’s an Amish settlement that was started near here in 1989 and during my brief visit I was able to see several horse-pulled buggies throughout the city. The Amish are some of the hardest-working, most honest, and upstanding citizens in our fine land. It’s so awesome that they’ve chosen Hart County to call home.

If you’re looking for a great place to visit, you’ll be very happy to come down to Munfordville. Also be sure to check out the Munfordville Civil War Reenactments, visit Battle for the Bridge Preserve, and by all means join Hart County Happening Now! – Kentucky (Facebook Group).

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