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Has anyone ever heard of the McCrackin Distillery in Woodford County? The National Historic Register list it as being a distillery and mill located on on KY-1659(the same road as Woodford Reserve, Old Taylor, and Old Crow. Does anyone know if there use to be another distillery on that road as well?
There were several other distilleries on that road besides Woodford, Crow and Taylor, but not of which anything remains, to the best of my knowledge.
This is a barn/warehouse located a few miles toward Versailles from Woodford Reserve along McCrackin Pike. I haven't ever seen a barn or whatever like this one.
The structure is in bad shape and missing the the outside on one half of it. I was able to get a picture of that side, and the spacing between the rails looks much small than a typical tobacco barn. Could those be about the size to hold barrels?
I found a reference on a historic website that said the McCrackin Distillery and Mill were examples of stone structures. I always thought this was a cool barn, but maybe it isn't really a barn. I never thought it might be an old warehouse.
I would say it probably was a whiskey warehouse. It's in the right location for one and there seems to be little reason to build a limestone barn, even if limestone is plentiful, as it is around there. If you can get inside, check out the foundations. Because of the weight of full whiskey barrels, rackhouses have substantial foundations and not just along the building's perimeter but every few feet across the entire ground level.
In that area, I suppose a thoroughbred stable is a possibility. Again, the foundation will tell the tale.
The lack of substantial X bracing makes me think it is a barn.
I thought the same thing about the x bracing, and that made me think it was just a barn. Then I thought the same thing as Chuck said, 'why build a limestore barn?'; so I thought it may have been a former warehouse that was altered for other farm uses. Who knows!
This could be a pre-1872 warehouse. In 1872, Fredrick Stitzel patented the system of ricks used in the warehouses today. Before that the stone warehouses all looked similar to the whiskey warehouse that can be seen along I64 just before the Georgetown exit. This building does have a similar look with the tall windows and stone structure.
Mike Veach
That is the remains of the Stegge Distillery. Since I'm sure you'll want some verification, I'll try to get more info and post it.
Are you from Woodford County, and how do you know about this? I would like to see more info if it can be found.