Historic Todd County, Inc.

09/02/2026

08/20/2026

Last week, a team from the University of Louisville Department of Geographic & Environmental Sciences returned to Todd County as part of the ongoing HTC, Inc. project to determine the age of a pioneer era log cabin.

After Undergraduate Research Assistant Aubrey Knerr, Graduate Research Assistant Isaac Grimm, Undergraduate Research Assistant Max Bell, and Associate Professor Maegen Rochner, PhD posed with Jim Weathers, the the best logs were selected for study.

The first samples taken in the spring of 2025 did not yield the minimum number of tree rings to conclusively establish their age. To obtain the highest number of rings, cores were taken from several of the largest logs by coring diagonally from the corners through the hearts.

Dr. Rochner plans to compare the recent cores with the ring pattern of a 200 year old tree that was harvested in the 1960s near Mammoth Cave.

The Todd County cabin was the home of Jim Weathers' grandparents, Mary Idella Scruggs (1887-1977) + Louie Montrose Weathers (1887-1969). According to a Todd County Standard article, Weathers' family lore identifies the cabin's builder as the Patriot, Col. Anthony New (1747-1833).

Pages 12 and 13 of the 1809 handwritten journal of the American explorer and soldier, William Clark (1770-1838) state that he "staid the night" with Col. New and after breakfast, set out for Russellville on his eastward return from St. Louis to Washington, D.C. The cabin was Col. New's home until the following year when he built the brick residence he called "Dunheath".

Historic Todd County, Inc. initiated the project to establish the cabin's date in December 2024 and is working with the Lewis & Clark Trust to mark the eastern return trail through Todd County.

07/16/2026

Among the several artifacts recently donated for the benefit of Historic Todd County, Inc. by Johnny Walker is a wooden souvenir marked "JEFFERSON DAVIS MEMORIAL FAIRVIEW, KY".
Each of the donated items were collected by the Pepper and Walker
families who resided in the Kirkmansville area in the 20th Century.
Mr. Walker's generosity in support of our ongoing preservation, education, and celebration efforts is greatly appreciated.

07/15/2026

A very limited supply remain of the America 250-Todd County Commemorative Coin!

Purchase at the locations listed through Friday, July 17th!

07/04/2026

Following the Reading of Todd County's Revolutionary War Soldiers' Names, these notes were read to a full house in the Welcome Center at the Commemoration Ceremony hosted by
Historic Todd County, Inc.

03 July 2026 Notes on Commemoration of the Declaration of Independence 250th Anniversary

Following this ceremony, Historic Todd County, Inc. will display this bronze plaque in the Welcome Center as a lasting tribute to our patriots of the American Revolutionary War who lived and died in Todd County.

Our freedom was forged by these 39 men.
They came from all walks of life - real men of spit and fire.
The earliest was born in 1734, a Virginian, as were most of these men.
Others hailed from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and the Carolinas.
Five even crossed the Atlantic as immigrants. Four came from Ireland. One came from Scotland.

Some answered the call to arms as mere boys.
They served under Washington and fought alongside Lafayette.
They carried the physical and emotional scars of battle, enduring enemy captivity, and daring escapes.

Yet, every single one of them was a survivor of the Revolution.
At least one was there to witness the proud British surrender at Yorktown - with his own eyes.
Packing up everything they needed to survive, they journeyed west to build new lives here.
Together with their wives, these brave souls became Todd County’s true pioneers.

Between the first death in 1809 and the last in 1853, all thirty-nine were laid to rest within what is now Todd County.
Though most have no monuments or headstones, their legacy remains.
Today, we honor these Patriots - our ancestors - who lived and died here.
We also acknowledge the other unnamed Patriots who once made Todd County their home before moving onward to find their final rest in other lands, near and far.
Every person at this reunion, and every generation to come, stands in debt to them all.

To honor that debt, please sign the attendance register with your email address before you leave today. Doing so ensures you will receive individual notes on any of these patriots of special interest to you.

Historic Todd County, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to three core goals: to preserve and restore, to educate and inform, and to commemorate and promote.
To help us continue this vital work, I encourage each of you to complete a membership application after the ceremony. I will be happy to answer any of your questions at that time
More than two years ago Squire Billy Bryant challenged our organization to commemorate the 250th anniversary of our nation’s Declaration of Independence.

Today, at the very place - Public Square where our Patriots swore to their service records, we have met that challenge.
Let us carry their fire forward into the next 250 years.

03/19/2026

In an age where replacement is often simplified to be easier, faster, and cheaper, we are reminded that the true value of an historic building lies in what remains, not what is replaced.

The windows of the Milliken Memorial Community House were specified in 1928 by architect George Koyl, then Dean of the Yale School of Architecture and a member of the distinguished firm Marr & Holman. The windows are not simply functional elements, they are part of the building’s architectural design.

These windows were crafted with intention: mathematical proportion, profiles informed by centuries of design theory, and use native materials, all carefully considered to complement the structure as a whole. Their wavy glass carries nearly a century of light. Their authentic wood grain and joinery communicates an era of local expertise, true craftsmanship, and are essentially the work of a master of their profession.

To replace them would be to erase that legacy, to erase an object that was used by your grandparents, their parents, to deny ourselves and future generations a tangible connection to our shared ancestry.

Equally as important, repairing these original windows preserves not only the intrinsic value they possess, but is economically the best option; and here's why:

Repair keeps our money at home.
The repair of these windows is simple enough that locals can fix them, meaning that local working families benefit, which keeps money circling in our local economy. New windows would likely place our money in the hands of big business, located elsewhere outside of our community.

Longevity
The Community House's windows have now lasted 100 years. They currently are in need of repair, but still don't need replacement, just typical upkeep. A new window with argon gas and vinyl or aluminum components may last 20-30 years and before needing replacement due to seal leaks and fogging.

Tourism and Marketability
New aluminum and vinyl windows just don't match up to the beauty of historic painted wood windows. Their contemporary, complicated, and one-size-fits-all clumsy design can immediately be detected for their lack of character and authenticity. Tourism potential wise, no one is coming to tour historic buildings to admire new replacement windows. Bottom line: tourism, or if not established yet, the potential of tourism, is an asset that brings in guests who generate income for our community. Beauty in historic buildings doesn't come from inauthentic materials attempting to play the role of the real McCoy.

Restoring the original windows for the Milliken Memorial Community House will continue to be the best choice for this important landmark.

Historic preservation is not only about honoring the past, it is about building a stronger, more resilient local economy.



Special thanks to Kentucky Heritage Council - SHPO for your dedication to providing helpful public information in the form of window restoration workshops and literature.