Jessamine History Walks: Recent Episodes

Jessamine County Public Library

Take a walk through Jessamine County history on these self-guided audio tours from the Jessamine County Public Library. Find tour maps and more information on our website at www.jesspublib.org.

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Take a self-guided audio tour of Camp Nelson National Monument in Nicholasville, Kentucky. Ranger Steve T. Phan will guide you through nine different sites in this historic park, beginning with the U.S. Army's Officers' Spring and ending with Fort McKee. Be sure to bring water and wear comfortable shoes.

The Camp Nelson History Walk is a partnership between the Jessamine County Public Library and Camp Nelson National Monument.

About Camp Nelson National Monument

Jessamine County established and administered Camp Nelson starting in 1998. In 2018, Camp Nelson was declared a National Monument by Presidential Proclamation, becoming the 418th unit of the National Park Service. The park encompasses 465 acres and includes a visitor center, museum, walking trails, and the Fee Memorial Church.

The U.S. Army established Camp Nelson as a fortified base and supply depot in 1863 during the Civil War. The site evolved to become one of the largest recruitment and training centers for United States Colored Troops [U.S.C.T.] and served as a refugee camp for their families. The monument is a testament to the courage, resiliency, and perseverance of those seeking freedom from slavery and pursuing self-determination during and after the Civil War.

Tour Stops

  1. U.S. Army's Officers' Spring
  2. Provost Marshall's Ice House
  3. Military Prison
  4. Fort Jackson
  5. Grave No. 1
  6. Fort Putnam
  7. Fort Pope
  8. Fort Taylor
  9. Fort McKee

Episode Credits

Written by Steve T. Phan.

Narrated by Carrie Green and Steve T. Phan.

Recorded and engineered by Carrie Green.

Music by Scott Whiddon.

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Tour Stops

  1. Jessamine County Courthouse
  2. Hemphill Pharmacy
  3. Nicholasville Baptist Church
  4. The Old Jail
  5. First Baptist Church
  6. Public Well
  7. Hotel Nicholas
  8. Bethel Church
  9. Farmers Bank
  10. E.R. Sparks Building
  11. Acme Book Club/Withers Library
  12. Withers Memorial Library
  13. The Wagner House

Tour Map

View a Google Map of the Nicholasville History Walk. Click each numbered point on the tour to see photos of the stops.

Sources

To see a complete list of our sources, visit our website at https://jesspublib.org/nicholasville-history-walk

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Locust Grove Cemetery is an African-American cemetery on state highway 169 in Nicholasville, KY. Join us for a self-guided audio tour, where you'll hear stories and memories about the following community members who are buried there:

Andrew McAfee
George Combs
Anna Bell Holloway Jackmon
Frank Cannon, Sr.
Ora Belle Hamilton Cannon
Lizzie Cannon
Emma Jean Guyn Miller
Dorothy Smith
Andrew Thomas Smith
Joe Pelman

For more information about the project, visit our website at www.jesspublib.org/locust-grove/.  

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We recommend bringing a tour map with you. Download a PDF Maple Grove Map, or use the Maple Grove Cemetery Walk Google Map. On the Google Map, you can click each point on the tour to see photos of the graves. Click the grave photos to open them in a new window.

Sources

“Common Headstone Symbols and Their Meanings.” Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust, www.gmct.com.au/

History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. Jessamine County Historical and Genealogical Society, 1993.

The Jessamine Journal. Nicholasville, Kentucky.

“Maple Grove Cemetery.” Find A Grave, www.findagrave.com/cemetery/225249/maple-grove-cemetery.

“Our Founder: Dr. Lena Madesin Phillips.” BPW International, www.bpw-international.org/index.php/about-bpw/history/our-founder.

Sergio, Lisa. A Measure Filled: The Life of Lena Madesin Phillips. New York, R.B. Luce, 1972.

“Symbols Found on Gravestones.” Cemetery Club, www.thecemeteryclub.com/symbols.html.

Teater, Howard Curry. Maple Grove Cemetery Records: Nicholasville, Kentucky. 1988.

Young, Bennet Henderson. A History of Jessamine County, Kentucky: From Its Earliest Settlement to 1898. Louisville, Courier-Journal Job Printing Co., 1898.

Episode Credits

Research assistance by Ernestine Hamm, Jessamine County Historical Society.

Written by Michael Cunningham, Carrie Green, and Les Lehman.

Recorded by Carrie Green and Les Lehman.

Engineered by Carrie Green.

Music by Scott Whiddon.