“Never live in the opinions of others.” ~ Jim Rigby
Just when you think I’ve shown everything there is to show of tiny Augusta, along comes one more place of interest. In the heart of town stands the oldest original jail in Kentucky. It was built in 1811 beside the Bracken County courthouse, which burned in 1848 and the county seat moved to Brooksville, home of Ironside actor Don Galloway whom I wrote about last year. To see inside the jail, you have to call the tourism board to arrange a tour, but I snapped a few shots through the window bars just to see what I could, which wasn’t much. It would be interesting to see what’s on the top floor since, clearly, the cells are on the bottom. As an aside, Augusta was founded on a Native American burial ground. For real. Apparently most of the bottomland on which Augusta rests is a cemetery. An estimated 10,000 ancient bodies are buried in the vicinity. Early settlers claimed their gardens grew exceptionally well as a result of the organic material. Recent body discoveries dating back 3,000 years seem to confirm the myth. That has absolutely nothing to do with the jail, but I thought I’d share. Go visit Augusta sometime. It’s surprisingly fun!
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