Buechel Terrace Neighborhood Association

A History of the Buechel Area, Part II

Feb 19, 2009

Landmarks nearby Buechel included the Bashford Manor Farm, famous for its thoroughbred horses. The farm produced three Kentucky Derby winners ?– Azra in 1892, Manuel in 1899, and Sir Huon in 1906. Parts of the movie ?“Raintree County?” were filmed here in here 1955. The site became Bashford Manor Mall in 1973.

Across Bardstown Road and up Bashford Manor Lane, the main farmhouse of the old George W. Scroggan Horse Farm is operating as a Bed & Breakfast. This farm produced a Kentucky winner in 1893 named Lookout.

The Skyway Drive-In Theater at Hikes Lane and Bardstown opened 1947 and continued for 25 years. The liquor store across the street still uses the Skyway name. It?’s also said that Foster Brooks used to run a hamburger stand near this intersection.

One well-known local resident was Anton Busath. He owned the old Busath?’s Candy Store on S. 4th Street in downtown Louisville, which was locally famous for its Modjeska caramels; advertized as "the caramel marshmallow wonder."

Busath named his candy for Helena Modjeska, a famous Polish actress, who performed in Louisville during 1880s. Today, Modjeska caramels are produced by Muth Candies and Bauer's Candy. See www.shop.muthcandy.com or www.bauerscandy.com for a history of the Modjeska.

Busath Avenue is named for Anton Busath. It intersects Buechel Bank Road.

Development in the Buechel area boomed after the General Electric Appliance Park opened in 1950s. Within a few a few years, the area became one of the most desirable business and residential locations in Jefferson County.

A little further out Bardstown Road is Fern Creek. This area was named for the fern-bordered steam that runs from Jeffersontown to Wildwood County Club, and eventually ends in Okolona.

One of the first settlers in Fern Creek was James Guthrie. He received 400 acres near Cedar Creek in payment for his service during the Revolutionary War and built a stone house at Bardstown Road and present-day Beulah Church Road which lasted until 1892. Another stone building on the property was used for many years as the post office and a grocery.

Farms and mills soon appeared in the area. Bardstown Pike (now Bardstown Road) was constructed as a toll road along an ancient trail used by buffalo headed for the salt licks in Bullitt County. One of the toll gates was located where St. Stephen?’s Lutheran Church stands today. Another was positioned south of Thixton Lane, just past a covered bridge.

Fern Creek became a popular stagecoach stop. But, the area was called Stringtown in those times because it was strung out along the road. Large farms nearby with cattle, poultry, and orchards were foraged by troops of both sides during the Civil War.

Around 1877, an annual fair was organized by local strawberry growers on the present-site of Beulah Presbyterian Church mainly for the display and sale of their crops. This event eventually grew into a full-scale county fair with a grandstand and racetrack on what is now Fairgrounds Road.

The Nicholson Hotel was popular place for home cooking from around 1910 into the 1930s. Restaurant patrons would ride the interurban train to end of the line at Fern Creek Road and walk the rest of the way. The Nicholson was located just south of the present-day volunteer fire station. Some took the local taxi to Mount Washington for a drive in the country. It?’s said that a number of sports and Hollywood celebrities visited here.

Like the Buechel area, development boomed in Fern Creek after the General Electric Appliance Park opened in 1950s. This area became a very desirable business and residential location too.