Old Stone Inn__Win18_Ed-final.qxp_Road Trip_Cinci.qxd 11/26/18 2:43 AM Page 19
old stone inn & tavern | profile that President Andrew Jackson and Revolutionary War General Lafayette visited. Fast forward a little and oral histories and speculation claim that Abraham Lincoln must have also stayed there due to family nearby. The building survived the Civil War and stood silently as the railroad pushed its way across the nation.When Midland Trail became a coast to coast “auto trail” in the early 1900s, the 100-yearold establishment was right there on the newly named Route 60, ready to evolve into a new life as a restaurant for the next century.
鵻 The Future
It’s been almost 100 years since the structure became the first Old Stone Inn restaurant owned and run by a pair of sisters whose names seem to be lost to history. When the sisters could no longer manage the restaurant, the Purnell brothers at the neighboring “Old Folks” Sausage farm wanted to keep the restaurant tradition alive. They purchased the property in the 1980s and leased it to a variety of proprietors with a lease that stipulates the name may have variations but must always include “The Old Stone Inn.” The brothers have always had a vision to restore the restaurant to what it once was, and now it
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The Old Stone Inn sits at 6905 Shelbyville Road in Simpsonville, a waypost to those throughout history who have pioneered their way to something new. Like the many people who have passed through its doors, the building itself has passed through many roles — and it looks pretty good for being over 200-years-old. “Several years ago, I moved to the area and fell in love with the building,” Executive Chef David Danielson said. “I wanted to take the restaurant back to what it was and tell the history of the Old Stone Inn and Shelby County and this part of the country.” Those stories are all intertwined. According to the Shelby County Historical Society, people already lived in surrounding areas, but Daniel’s brother Squire Boone led pioneering settlers into the Simpsonville area in the late 1700s. By the end of 1790, Simpsonville had over 100 men, women and children, and Kentucky became a state two years later. Danielson said a farmer purchased about 300 acres with a limestone quarry for around $1700 at about that same time. It took almost 20 years for stones to be drug up from the quarry and assembled into the building that remains on that property today. It was finished around 1817, making it the second oldest standing stone building in Shelby County. During the early 1800s, the building originally served as a stagecoach stop known as Stone Tavern, providing food and shelter for travelers along the old Midland Trail. It was during this time
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鵻 The History
Old Stone Inn & Tavern 502.384.0795 6905 Shelbyville Road Simpsonville, KY oldstoneinntavern.com www.foodanddine.com Winter 2018 19