JOIN TODAY
JOIN TODAY

Excavations at 19th-Century Kentucky Distillery

News October 28, 2013

(Kim McBride)
SHARE:

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. 

Recommended Articles

Off the Grid September/October 2012

Aquincum, Hungary

Read Article
(Courtesy Aquincum Museum)

Off the Grid July/August 2012

Pucará de Tilcara, Argentina

Read Article
(Niels Elgaard Larsen/Wikimedia Commons)

Ancient DNA Revolution September/October 2024

Ancestors of the Blackfoot

North American High Plains

Read Article
Members of the Siksika First Nation, 1913
Library of Congress

Ancient DNA Revolution September/October 2024

A Stranger in a Strange Land

Cambridgeshire, England

Read Article
Relief depicting Roman and Sarmatian battle
PA Media Pte Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo

More to Discover

Features September/October 2013

Wolf Rites of Winter

Archaeologists digging a Bronze Age site on the Russian steppes are using evidence from language and mythology to understand a remarkable discovery

Read Article

  • Features September/October 2013

    Tomb of the Vulture Lord

    A king’s burial reveals a pivotal moment in Maya history

    Read Article
    (© Kenneth Garrett)

  • Letter from Norway September/October 2013

    The Big Melt

    The race to find, and save, ancient artifacts emerging from glaciers and ice patches in a warming world

    Read Article
    Norway melting ice patch
    Courtesy Oppland County Council, Photo: Johan Wildhagen/Palookaville

  • Artifacts September/October 2013

    Roman Writing Tablet

    A tablet bearing a birthday party invite includes the earliest Latin script penned by a woman

    Read Article
    (© The Trustees of the British Museum/Art Resource, NY)

  • Digs & Discoveries September/October 2013

    No Changeups on the Savannah

    Read Article
    (Private Collection/J.T. Vintage/The Bridgeman Art Library, Werner Forman/Art Resource, NY, Pat Benic/Copyright Bettmann/Corbis/AP Images)