Antiquing in Glendale, Kentucky

Downtown Glendale, KY

Cheryl and I are antiquers (not a word, I know). Follow this blog for a while and it'll become obvious that, when visiting a city/town/region, seeking out the local antique shoppes tops our to-do list. Therefore, when putting together our anniversary/Mother's Day plans this year I made a point of including a visit to one of Kentucky's antique hot-spots - the village of Glendale.

Straddling the former Louisville and Nashville (now CSX) rail line, quaint Glendale lies in Hardin County just outside of Elizabethtown and is only a 50-mile drive south of Louisville. Even though the Glendale is within easy reach of metropolitan sprawl, insightful community leaders and officials have put ordinances and historic protection measures in place to keep the village's rural nature pure and intact. While you will not, thankfully, find fast food chain restaurants and "dollar store" retail establishments here (those can be found just two miles away at the Interstate, if absolutely necessary), this sleepy former depot town offers plenty of shopping and dining excitement.

The centerpiece of Glendale is the Whistle Stop restaurant. First opened in 1975 as a sandwich shop in the town hardware store, the eatery has evolved into a must-visit attraction for down home cooking connoisseurs. Don't take our word for it, though, since gluten free options are understandably absent from the menu. The Whistle Stop was voted as having the Best Desserts in Kentucky (we hear their pies are to die for) as well as the Favorite Non-Franchise Restaurant in Kentucky for the past 5 years running by readers of Kentucky Monthly magazine.

Surrounding the Whistle Stop are a variety of antique and boutique shops in which you'll find something for just about every taste from shabby chic to "crows and stars" primitives. Traditional antiques and vintage items are well represented, of course, with Bennie's Barn Antique Mall earning our vote as the best "old stuff" shop in town. Boasting three jam-packed floors, Bennie's is an antique hound's dream. Some of their inventory stretches into the pricey side of the spectrum, but believe me when I say that there are some incredible bargains to be found!

Our absolute favorite Glendale business is the Glendale Broom Company. Proprietors Tommy and Allie Shadowens offer, just as you expect, a variety of handmade brooms and walking sticks - including magical wands! Huge fans of the Harry Potter series of novels and former staples on the Renn Faire circuit, the Shadowens incorporate a considerable touch mysticism and folklore into their beautiful works of utilitarian art. After we concluded a lengthy conversation with Tommy that included everything from Glendale history to Appalachian folklore, Cheryl left carrying a beautiful walking stick that is sure to see plenty of use on our future hikes.

Though we obviously had our favorites, each of the shops in Glendale offer unique browsing/shopping opportunities. The hours flew by as we took in all that there was to see, and though we left with our dogs barking (does anyone even say that anymore?) we're looking forward to another opportunity to rummage through the town's treasures. We missed the annual Spring Fest by a week, but the Crossing Festival held in October is already lodged firmly in our calendar. Maybe we'll see you there and maybe, unlike me, you won't fail to snap a few photos as a train barrels through the center of town.

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Kentucky Towns: Pleasureville

Original site of Pleasureville, at the intersection of US-421 and KY-22

Located in southern Henry County on its border with Shelby County, the town of Pleasureville (38.346099, -85.115404) occupies land originally settled in 1784 as part of a Dutch Huguenot colony. About a mile and a half northwest of what is now the intersection of Castle Highway (US Route 421) and Kentucky Highway 22, the Dutch erected their fort and named the subsequent settlement Bantatown after the colony's land manager Abraham Banta.

In 1828, a post office was established and the town's name officially changed to Pleasureville. Sources are unclear as to the actual origin of the new name, with most published accounts suggesting that a visitor to the area proclaimed his stay to be so pleasurable that the town's name should be changed to reflect the citizens' hospitality. The other story centers around the old Pleasureville Hotel. A brothel was supposedly operating in the building which caused the town to be referred to as Pleasureville among the hotel's patrons. As much as I would like to believe this particular story to be the truth of the matter, the chronology simply doesn't add up.

The old Pleasureville Hotel

The original settlement that became Pleasureville in 1828 is located about a mile north of where the Pleasureville Hotel sits. In 1858, a full three decades after the town was renamed, what would ultimately become the Louisville & Nashville railroad passed south of Pleasureville. Not much later, a new town - which included the hotel - sprung up around the depot. By 1878, the post office (as well as the name) of Pleasureville had relocated south to the now bustling community at the depot. The original settlement became known as North Pleasureville and actually retained its own post office until 1962.

In its heyday, Pleasureville boasted not only a hotel and railroad depot, but also a cigar factory, multiple banks, and an ice cream parlor (among many other businesses). It also has the distinction of being home to Henry County's first school when the Lindley Academy was founded in the North Pleasureville vicinity in 1806.

The Pleasureville depot, site of at least 5 Civil War executions

Pleasureville also played a role in the Civil War when a band of Morgan's raiders attacked the town on June 9th, 1864. Captain Richard J. Sparks, who was the Provost Marshall of the town and had earned a reputation as an overbearing and punitive sort of commander, was killed in the engagement. In retaliation for Captain Sparks' death, Major General Stephen Burbridge (known as the Butcher of Kentucky) sent two Confederate prisoners via rail from Lexington to Pleasureville to be executed. Blood would flow at the Pleasureville depot once again in November, as three suspected Confederate guerrillas were shipped to Pleasureville and executed as retribution for the killing of two local African-Americans.

What remains of downtown Pleasureville

Today, virtually all of the earliest structures have disappeared, as have the L & N tracks. The depot remains, and so too does the hotel (as an apartment complex), but the once thriving downtown is now mostly vacant. There is a hardware store, a pool hall, and until recently a diner occupied the old depot, but Pleasureville appears to be headed for ghost town status.

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