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Excavations at 19th-Century Kentucky Distillery

News October 28, 2013

(Kim McBride)
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Kentucky Pepper Distillery
(Kim McBride)
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY—Near the modern Woodford Reserve distillery, a team lead by Kim McBride of the Kentucky Archaeological Survey is uncovering the remains of an 1812 log cabin where the settler Elijah Pepper first constructed a still, and where his son, the master distiller Oscar Pepper, was born. "We hoped to find any artifacts or architectural remains that would help fill in the picture of life there at the Pepper house," said McBride. So far the team has discovered stone walls built at the same time as the cabin, and a number of animal bones, as well as a copper condensing coil, toys, cutlery, and what might be a pool cue, among many other artifacts. The team has also uncovered the remains of what might be a kitchen that also doubled as slave quarters. 

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