Courtesy of a Christmas gift certificate from our youngest daughter, the wife and I spent a Friday and Saturday night in an 1820's plantation mansion that's been converted to a Bed and Breakfast. There were over a million and a half dollars spent on renovations to the place. It's part of a property that was originally 6000 acres and the commerce center for 140 years for that area of Kentucky. The current owners have a full golf course there, building sights for sale, are renovating some of the old buildings (store, mill, etc.).
There is the old fireplace from the original summer kitchen behind the house 30 feet or so. Though the kitchen building is no longer there, they've built a beautiful deck with tables and chairs, and Saturday night we enjoyed a roaring fire in the old fireplace while sitting and talking with a couple that are part owners in the property.
The owner was talking about some of the interesting history of the Green family that owned this property until the last descendent passed away a few years ago. In the early days the Greens had slaves, and at the end of the Civil War one of the northern carpetbaggers came through, rounded up their slaves, told them they were now free and they were to come with him to be resettled. The Mr. Green that was the owner at the time, went into the house, came out with a shotgun and killed the carpetbagger. They threw his body into the Rough River to never be seen again. He then told the slaves they were indeed free, could do what they wanted, but he wouldn't tolerate some outsider saying they had to go with him. He told them they were free to go or to stay on the property, and they all stayed. He gave them each an acre of land, a cabin and a cow to do with as they wanted, and hired any of them that wanted to work for him just as they'd done as slaves. The Green family was such an important family to the commerce of the area they even issued their own money that was recognized as legal tender over many surrounding counties.
