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We’ve nearly come full circle now. See that four-story, red brick building that says W.A. Gaines & Co. 1868? That was our corporate headquarters when we were the proprietors of The Hermitage and Old Crow distilleries. See how Lewis Street runs down to the Kentucky River, where we’d cross on the covered bridge to go back over to check on distilling operations at The Hermitage?
In front of you – where Sullivan Square is today – that’s where City Hall was. During my mayoral days –all 17 years of them – this street was bustling with industrialists, and statesmen, workers, and shoppers. City Hall was the center of activity and I had easy access to my offices, to the banks, and to the State Capitol. Labrot and Graham – and many other area distillers – had their offices here as well. Frankfort was – and still is, by God – the hub of America’s distilling industry.
The great citizens of Frankfort ran a bustling town full of butchers and bakers, and carpenters, and clockmakers. We had fine hotels, restaurants, bars – and an opera house where touring troupes performed and entertained. There were livery stables, blacksmiths, farriers, coopers, millers, and commodity distributors. Farmers came to town for supplies and an afternoon’s entertainment – and, I reckon, they’d enjoy a dram of bourbon, or two.
By the end of my life, pretty much everyone was calling me The Colonel. But, you probably know by now, I did not serve my country in the military. In Kentucky, this is an honorary title and I am proud to be a Kentucky Colonel and proud to have been of service to my town, my state, and my country.
I’m glad we got to spend a little time together here. As far as I’m concerned, Frankfort – my state Capitol, my town, and its citizens – are of topmost class, like my whiskey.
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