Bourbon Air Tours Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 (edited) This is the post-prohibition distillery built by Leslie and TW Samuels at Deatsville, KY. It replaced the distillery that was one mile north at the family farm that was operating from 1844. Star Distilling partnered with the Samuels' by buying out most of their interest. The Distillery operated until 1954, although some say later. The rickhouses are used by HH for storage. Note the 'pagoda' style roof lines. These are the only three-tiered rickhouses that I know of. During WWII this distillery produced tank car loads of industrial alcohol fuel for the US Navy's torpedos. The distillery is to the left of the tracks and L&N train station is to the right of the tracks. Note the bright red L&N caboose just this side of the station. The photo was taken from 1,000 feet, looking east. Edited March 7, 2019 by Bourbon Air Tours correction 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bourbon Air Tours Posted March 7, 2019 Author Share Posted March 7, 2019 The elder TW Samuels's brother Ruben Samuels lived in the house just above the chimney. It has a green roof. He was a Doctor in Bardstown in the 1850-1860 era. He married one of his patients, The Widow Zerelda Simms. Prior to her marriage to Mr.Simms, she was married to Robert James. Robert and Zerelda were originally from Kentucky and relocated to Missouri, where they started their family. Zerelda was Frank & Jesse James' mother making Ruben their stepfather. Oddly, at this same time, TW was the Nelson County Sheriff. TW asked his brother to get the James boys out of town so he would not have to arrest them as they were quite rebellious after returning home after the Civil War. The rest of their story is in dozens of history books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil T Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 Here are some ground photos taken last year. It's very close to Bardstown 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bourbon Air Tours Posted March 8, 2019 Author Share Posted March 8, 2019 Taken looking north on highway 523. The old 1844 distillery is about 1 mile north of where you took these. There are two of the original rickhouses standing. These buildings are made with free-standing iron frames, not the traditional wood structure. The IDECO company had the patent on the design. The term IDECO is a trade name derived from the International Derrick & Equipment Company, Columbus, Ohio, a division of International-Stacey Corporation. The National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form survey of 1988 is here. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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