Bardstown, KY Summary

Bardstown is the seat of Nelson County, 34 miles south of Louisville via US-150. It is sometimes known as “the Bourbon Capital of the World” because 90 percent of America’s bourbon comes from Kentucky and, of that, 60 percent is distilled in Nelson County and neighboring Bullitt County.

Visitors can investigate Heaven Hill Distillery, America’s largest family-owned distillery, and the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History, which examines the history of bourbon with old advertising posters, stills, rare historical documents, a cooperage, and antique bottles.

As the second-oldest city in the state, Bardstown also has much to offer in the way of historic buildings and sites. The visitor center offers a self-guided walking tour of downtown or narrated tours on horse-drawn carriages.

Attractions include many historic homes: McLean House (1814) which served as Bardstown’s first post office and a Civil War hospital; the elegant Colonel’s Cottage, which was built in 1850 and is decorated with early nineteenth-century antiques and furniture; and Wickland, “the Home of Three Governors,” which was built in 1817 and features fine architectural details and antique furniture.

The Talbott Tavern is where Jesse James and France’s King Louis-Phillippe once stayed. Built in the 1780s, it is considered the oldest stagecoach store in America.

Unfortunately, it was damaged by fire in 1998. St Joseph’s Proto-Cathedral (1816-19) was the first Catholic cathedral west of the Allegheny Mountains. It features paintings donated by King Louis-Phillippe. The Abbey of Gethsemani was founded in 1848 and is home to America’s largest and oldest order of Cistercian Monks. The public can attend vespers in the lay balcony. Spiritual writer and monk Thomas Merton is buried here.

At Old Bardstown Village, a frontier community is re-created with nine log cabins dating from the first half of the nineteenth century, crafts from the late eighteenth century, and a 52-minute multimedia presentation about Kentucky’s history and culture.

The Civil War Museum features the state’s largest collection of artifacts from the war’s western theater. The Women of the Civil War Museum examines the contributions of women to the causes of both the North and the South.

An old plantation house, Federal Hill (1818), is the focal point of My Old Kentucky Home State Park.

The site’s name celebrates its connection with Stephen Foster who, it is alleged, was inspired to write “My Old Kentucky Home” after visiting his cousins at this house in 1852. It is furnished in period style with tour guides in period costume. On summer evenings there is a performance of the popular show, “The Stephen Foster Story.” The nearest airport, train, and bus service is in Louisville.