SNAPSHOTS OF history

BY MEGHAN TARNEY

If you’re a history buff, or just curious to learn more about Fayette County, you’re in luck. Fayette County’s Historical Markers Driving Tour brings you to nine key places that represent the area’s rich past. Grab a brochure from the Fayette County Historical Society and prepare to travel back in time.

Start your tour in Washington Court House, where you’ll find seven of the nine sites. The first stop, Fayette County Courthouse, has stood since 1885. Head to the south side of the building to see something remarkable: bullet holes from an 1894 riot at the courthouse still litter the south doors. Next, pay homage to some of the significant figures who called Fayette County home, including U.S. Attorney General Harry Daugherty of the Warren G. Harding administration. You can see his final resting place at Washington Cemetery, which is also home to Soldier’s Row — a government-issued gravesite for veterans who didn’t have the means for burial elsewhere. Fayette County isn’t short on noteworthy cemeteries; explore four more of them on the Driving Tour. Starting in Washington Court House, St. Colman Church and Cemetery is the burial site of three dozen veterans from multiple conflicts ranging from the Civil War to World War I. Good Hope Cemetery, meanwhile, houses the grave of David Jones, a respected Medal of Honor recipient who fought in the Union Army during the Civil War.

The Driving Tour also includes one of the oldest cemeteries in Fayette County. Founded alongside Washington Court House in 1810, Old Washington Cemetery holds some of the county’s earliest settlers. A few miles away, Bloomingburg Cemetery contains several veteran graves in a village that was once central to the Underground Railroad. Then, make your way to Eyman Park, where you’ll find a display of a steam locomotive alongside a marker highlighting the accomplishments of Ohio-born inventor Granville T. Woods. Woods’ frequent trips to Washington Court House inspired him to improve train operations in the 19th century.

End your trek with a short drive south to Greenfield, to see the grave of Augustus West Born into slavery, West eventually escaped and developed a hidden settlement in Fayette County for escaped enslaved persons.