Bullitt County, Kentucky is steeped in history!
Visitors and county residents can take a self-guided tour of many historic sites, ranging from preserved school houses near the Board of Education to Civil War sites preserved by historical markers detailing their rich history.
You can view a list of historical stops within the county on our page titled Along The Backroads.
Stories of Heartache, Murder, and Mystery Haunt Bullitt County
Bullitt County, like many other places of historical interest, has its fair share of ghost stories and tales of tragedy.
The Bullitt County History Museum has done a wonderful job of documenting and sharing these stories on its website.
With permission, we are sharing some of the more popular stories here.
The Lady in Lace
The Bullitt County Courthouse, located in the county seat of Shepherdsville, is over a century old and has seen its fair share of tragedy.
For instance, in December of 1917 the deadliest train wreck in the state of Kentucky occurred just behind the courthouse. Forty-nine people sadly lost their lives. During the rescue efforts, the courthouse was used to contain the injured and dead.
At another point in time, there was a vengeful shooting over a woman on the courthouse’s grand staircase. It is this same staircase where visitors to the courthouse have reported seeing the mysterious “Lady in Lace”.
Those who have seen her say that she is dressed in a floor-length, lace gown. Some have seen her just out of the corner of their eye while ascending the stairs, but when they turn to get a better look there’s no one there.
Another witness claims they saw a woman dressed in a turn-of-the-century gown staring at them from the reflection of a glass doorway, but when they turned to confront the woman, she was gone.
The ghostly being does not appear angry or disturbing. She simply is…and then she isn’t.
You can read the original article written by David Strange about The Lady in Lace here.
The Lone Grave
Visitors from all over the country used to travel to Bullitt County to visit the Paroquet Springs resort, whose mineral springs were considered medicinal.
Legend has it that in the early 1800’s, a young, southern lady met a refined, young man at the Paroquet Springs spa. The two spent the summer together and fell in love.
They would often spend time beneath a grove of trees on the property, and as the summer came to an end they vowed to reunite and marry under those same trees.
After parting, the young man was sent to fight in the Mexican-American war, where he tragically lost his life in the Battle of Vera Cruz. The young woman, in turn, died from a broken heart.
On her deathbed, the woman requested that her body be returned to Paroquet Springs and buried beneath the grove of trees where she had spent the happiest days of her life.
An iron fence was installed around the grave to guard its lone occupant. The final resting spot succumbed to time and neglect until a group of volunteers stepped up to clear the grave site and install a new fence in 2009.
The Lone Grave is now located on private property near Barger’s Lake at the end of South Lakeview Drive.
You can read more about The Lone Grave here.
The Shooting of Doctor Crist
In 1872, two prominent Shepherdsville men got into an argument over a woman that resulted in a shooting death.
Dr. Ben Crist was a twenty-three-year-old man who sought out pharmacist John West on November 15th to demand an apology for a remark he made to a mutually known woman.
After he refused to apologize, Dr. Crist grabbed Mr. West by the shirt collar. Although both men had their pistols drawn, it was Mr. West who was able to fire his weapon and strike his opponent. Dr. Crist passed away the next day.
To compound the tragedy, Benjamin Crist’s father, Dr. Henry Clay Crist, died one month after his son.
Some speculate that he died of a broken heart, considering the fact that he was still quite young at the age of forty-eight.
Both men are buried next to each other in the old Shepherdsville Pioneer Graveyard near the city park.
