Abandoned category
I found another old building in LBL, tucked away and mostly forgotten about in the northern part of Empire Point. It’s important to dive into the backstory of this building before I go on.
Before Land Between The Lakes came into existence in the 1960s, a large chunk of the lands along and north of US 68 were already a wildlife refuge, known as the Kentucky Woodlands Wildlife Refuge.
Continue reading Kentucky Woodlands Wildlife Refuge
We’ve all been to the doctor at some point in our lives. Being in the 21st Century, we are accustomed to all the fancy technology, modern-day medicine and all the headaches that come with paying for it.
Continue reading This Old Building in Land Between The Lakes was a Doctor’s Office
Prior to the Land Between The Lakes being taken over the by US Forest Service from TVA, one of the more popular attractions in the park was Silo Overlook. It was located on the shores of Lake Barkley near Honker Lake at the end of Mulberry Flat Road (GPS 36.908W, 88.016N).
The structure was an abandoned silo that rises about 40 feet from the ground. It was converted into an overlook with a wooden incline built to the top. Folks could walk up the top of the silo for beautiful views of Lake Barkley.
“Vampire Hotel” (moniker) is an abandoned structure near Kentucky Lake in the Land Between The Lakes. The stone and concrete structure was partially torn down in the 1960s with the creation of LBL but part of it remained. It was one of just a handful of remaining structures in LBL not completely removed. Throughout the 1990s, it had become a popular hangout spot with locals – some of whom were less than reputable.
We’ve always enjoyed experiencing and seeing the oddities of the Four Rivers region. That’s why this site, Four Rivers Explorer, exists. But before we began this site, we had a section of our main tourism site, Explore Kentucky Lake, that was dedicated to the unusual and lesser-known aspects of our area. We called the section “Explorations”.
The remains of this limestone slab furnace are all that is left of The Great Western Iron Works. Great Western opened in 1855 and in a 34-week period produced 1,350 tons of iron. The production of high-quality iron required twenty bushels of charcoal, 800 pounds of ore, and 80 pounds of limestone.
St. Stephen’s Church in Land Between The Lakes is historically significant because it is only one of a handful of the known original remaining buildings in LBL. The church was built in 1900 by German Americans seeking a place to worship. The final service was held in 1945. For the next 18 years, the church sat vacant next to the church’s cemetery.
Continue reading St. Stephen’s Church in Land Between The Lakes
Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area was once home to over 2,000 families and several small tight-knit communities. The Tennessee Valley Authority took over the vast 170,000-acre peninsula between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley in the 1960s. TVA purchased the land from the families and many of them found new homes in nearby communities.
One resident, however, refused to move.
Continue reading The Last Resident of Land Between The Lakes
A few weeks ago, Lisa Trimble, a Facebook fan of Four Rivers Explorer, sent me a photo of an old abandoned school bus in Land Between The Lakes.
I asked Lisa regarding the whereabouts of the bus and she gave me some good information on how to find it. The location is a popular hunt for geocachers and actually has a name on geocaching.com – Homer’s Garage.
Empire Farm is an abandoned farming educational and demonstration area in Land Between The Lakes. Empire Farm once served as the headquarters of the Kentucky Woodlands National Wildlife Refuge in the 1930s. The refuge covered large swaths of land in the northern portion of present-day Land Between The Lakes.
When Land Between The Lakes became a National Recreation Area in the 1960s, Empire Farm became an agricultural education center until sometime in the 1980s. The fields today are still maintained by cooperative farmers, but the buildings and barns have been abandoned for quite some time.
