John Wesley
In the distance, the rugged outline of the Appalachians, their high peaks bluish-purple in the mountain mists, stand out against the skyline. Closer in are vast fields of Kentucky burley tobacco. To the west neat, white wooden fences border rolling fields of bluegrass, dotted with small stands of Kentucky Ash. Thoroughbred mares graze contentedly, their foals frolicking around them. From distant farm buildings come the sounds of roosters crowing and the occasional barking of a ranch dog.
The History
Down Broadway, in route to the train station, the buildings and grounds of Transylvania University are seen. John Wesley Hunt and Mary Lincoln's farther, Robert Todd, helped found it. Now in its eightieth year, it is the oldest institution of higher learning west of the Alleghenies. Jefferson Davis, John C. Breckenridge, and Edward M. Johnston are among its graduates. At the far edge of the grounds stands the little old cabin of Robert Patterson, one of the early settlers. He built it before the town was organized in 1781.
The Town
A little farther along is the Keene property, purchased from Patrick Henry who received it as a grant from the government in the frontier days. In 1861 talk of a harness racing track in the not-too-distant future is causing a sizable controversy in the community.
Market Street passes Christ Church. The Episcopalians, who owned the property since 1791, erected the Gothic revival building in 1845, The fourteen-story mansion of the Todds, built in 1806, but owned by the Todds since 1832 rises above West Main Street and near the station.
The Lexington branch of the Bank of the Bank of Kentucky stands near the center of town. Richard Todd, son of the wealthy patrician Robert Todd and descendent of Revolutionary War heroes, Indian fighters, merchants, politicians, and philanthropists from the various branches of his family tree (Todds, Porters, Parkers) is president of the of the Bank. Richard is the brother of Mary Todd Lincoln. The Todds came to Kentucky as a part of the frontier movement, but that is all over now and Lexington has become a social, cultural, and in some sense the political center.
The Politics
Henry Clay, among the most prominent of the many famous persons to live and move in Lexington, came weekly late in his years to the Bank to sit and talk politics with his crony Robert Todd. Clay was the most prominent Whig in Fayette County and of the state, though the Whig party saw its heyday fade after Lincoln abandoned it for the Republican Party, which he has taken to national prominence.
Copious parties are common in Lexington, being thrown more or less constantly for important politicians from the Senate and from state houses, party politicians, and important visitors from across the country and abroad. Many of these events take place in the Todd mansion, as they have for many years, and both Richard and little Mary know most every major politician in the country.
The Economy
Tobacco is big in the Lexington area and has been since the turn of the century. Calvin Morgan, master of Hopemont Estate two and a half miles outside of Lexington and father of famous Colonel John Morgan and the beautiful Catherine Morgan, is the agent and spokesman for the tobacco industry. His wife, Henrietta Hunt, is the sister of the mayor of Lexington. Their father, John Wesley Hunt, figured prominently in the settling and culturing of Lexington.
A cacophony of life goes on constantly in the streets of Lexington. It is the gateway of the west for those looking for fortune and adventure beyond the Mississippi River. John Wesley Hunt made a fortune building prairie wagons and outfitting pioneers, settlers, and homesteaders.
The Culture
The mansion and estate of Joseph Bryan, grandnephew of Daniel Boone stands about a mile outside of Lexington. Ashland, the beautiful brownstone palatial manor built by Henry Clay in 1812, the year of the war, is only a short distance away. It nestles in a magnificent stand of Kentucky Ash, from whence its name derived, and is surrounded by a huge green, thickly matted, and neatly mowed lawn.
Beautiful two-story brownstone and red brick townhouses; their porticos supported by pilasters or columns featuring ornate Corinthians capitals and well worked cast iron bases, feature thick, dark-green hedges, rich lawns and neatly gardened flowers. Dogwoods and Broad Leaf Maples are a common sight. Kentucky Ash line the streets.
The Ambiance
The wonderful aromas of farms, tobacco fields, the exotic perfume of the Dogwood blossoms and the delicious odors of fresh-baking bread and other culinary delights waft delightfully on the crisp but invigorating early morning air.
The charm, refinement, and cultural ambiance of Lexington is so widely noted and regarded at home and abroad that it is known as the 'Athens of the west.'
© Copy Right, Earl Cripe, 1999, all rights reserved.
Earl Cripe, Phd
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