"Historic Places at the Crossroads"

6th Annual Preservation Week 2004 Photo-Essay Competition

Second Place: Cassie Cooper

Title: Historic Places at the Crossroads

One definition for a crossroad is a link or a connection. This building has several connections to our past. It is a good example of a crossroad.

This house is called Stony Castle. It is located on Lafferty Pike near Berry, Kentucky. It is made of stone - That's how it got its name.

The first link to the past is the age of the house. It was built in 1807 by John Smith. Just imagine, in 1807, Thomas Jefferson was the president of The United States. Kentucky had only been a state for fifteen years.

The second connection to the past is that it was built on land granted by Patrick Henry. He was the governor of Virginia. He was also a hero of the American Revoluton.

The builder of Stony Castle, John Smith, was a postmaster. A part of this house was used as a post office. It was the first post office between Lexington and Covington. This helped to connect people and towns by delivering the mail. They were able to keep in touch with each other.

A fourth connection to the past is that Stony Castle stood through the Civil War. It was taken over by General John Hunt during one of his raids through Harrison County. He used it as a place of rest for his tired and wounded soldiers. This makes it a very important piece of history.

So, you see, Stony Castle is a good example of a crossroad in history. It connected people and towns to each other as a post office. It connects us to our history of nearly 200 years. It has connections to heroes and leaders of both the Revolutionary War and the Civil War.

This is why I think Stony Castle should be preserved. This building is an important part of our past. Please don't ever tear it down.

This essay and photograph(s) are the property of Preservation Kentucky, Inc. and Kentucky Heritage Council and that any use of the photo or essay must be approved by PK and KHC.