Article: Meade County Outdoor Museum on the Riverfront ================================== KYGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with policy of providing free information on the Internet, this data is freely distributed to entities as long as this message remains on all reproduced material. Commercial use of this data requires permission from the submitting author before downloading. ================================== Thomas Hembrey, thembrey@aol.com Mary Yoder, mayoder@davesworld.net Webmasters, ATHS County Coordinators, KYGenWeb Project ====== Meade County Outdoor Museum on the riverfront By Frank Morris REPRINTED FROM THE MEADE COUNTY MESSENGER, APRIL 21, 1999 A dream is unfolding for a living history museum with memorials along a sidewalk from the foot of the Brandenburg Main Street on the east for hundred and fifty yards to the large parking lot. In the center of the new circle on the riverfront, there will be a large new monument titled, "Crossroads of a Young Nation" that will show how this community was crisscrossed by important early men and events. Originally, there were buffalo trails and Indian paths, which interestingly, later formed the route of the railroad from Muldraugh, west while the paths became the highways. This monument will also reveal how meade County was traversed by famous people of early America: Daniel and Squire Boone, Abraham Lincoln, John Jay Audubon, George Rogers Clark, and Tecumseh (who had the meeting of the northern and southern tribal chieftains near Doe Run); how Conestoga wagons crossed this land going west; how passing our fifty-eight miles of river bluffs were LaSalle, LaFayette, Aaron Burr and Andrew Jackson (the latter stayed overnight in the Crecelius log cabin in Paradise Bottom); how the Civil war impacted this community as Confederate and Union Forces traveled back and forth; and how other famous travelers visited us (such as the James boys). The exact plan for the "Crossroads of a Young Nation" memorial is undetermined. Our anticipation is that we will have a major contributor who will join in the planning. This may be an enclosed fountain or a large obelisk. It will be the centerpiece of the circle road at the end of Main Street by the Ohio River and will dramatically announce the outdoor museum. Along the new sidewalk beside the riverfront, there will be four cluster sites informing walkers of the history of this area. The Meade County Museum and Arts Center (MCMAC) is defining the significant memorials and encourages those interested in the early history of the county to offer suggestions. At the present time we see four areas: The Settlers, the Civil War, the Afrian-American heritage and the Native American section near Flippins Run where they used to cross the Ohio and enter Meade County. At the settler site there will be a memorial to Solomon Brandenburg and his shipbuilding, a tribute to farmers, and a miniature lime kiln. The Civil War site will have a relics section, an explanation of the crossing of John Hunt Morgan, and an Alice Dean memorial. The African-American area will emphasize the Underground Railroad and the ambivalence of this area on the slave question. The native American are will have a stone age flint display, a Tecumseh site, and the first industry tool making, and an Ohiopiomingo memorial. Our desire is to honor all our history and show the roots of who we are as a people. We are openly asking for feedback on our plans by those who know and love Meade County. Help us out with information. Help us with prospective items that can be included in our outdoor museum. And, eventually, help us out by sponsoring a memorial or raising funds for a particular monument. If you have any other ideas or a special memorial you want included, please tell us. This is a community project among partners. MCMAC is working in conjunction with the city of Brandenburg on this project. Alice Bondurant Scott is our historical consultant. We are open to your suggestions, and especially your interest in contributing to a memorial that sparks your interest. Please contact a member of the executive board with your input: Dr. Bill Denton, Kentin Smith, Donna Brown, Tom McQuary or Frank R. Morris.