Marion County is also home to Maker's Mark Distillery, a National Historic Landmark that continues to produce the world-famous Maker's Mark Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. The Maker's Mark Distillery, with its cypress vats dating back at least 100 years, is the only continuously operating distillery that was established on January 28, 1815. Buildings dating from the 19th century have been lovingly restored and are open for free tours six days a week from 10:30 a.m. through 3:30 p.m. (call 270-865-2881 for more information). Visitors are especially intrigued by the hand dipping of signature red wax on the distinctively shaped bottles.
Marion County contains Kentucky's geographic center. Its variety of geographical features range from rolling bluegrass fields to rugged knoblands. A portion of the Cumberland escarpment rims the southern and western borders of the county, offering panoramic overlooks over long looping bends in the Rolling Fork River. Visitors can spend the day touring the rural areas, absorbing the flavor of communities settled more than 200 years ago.
In the 1860's, Lebanon was a crucial location on the L&N Railroad and the scene of considerable Civil War activity. It served as a recruiting center, a hospital center, headquarters for the Union Army and headquarters for the Confederate Army.
Lebanon, the county seat, was incorporated as a city on January 28, 1815, and because of its superior style and beauty, elegant homes and flourishing businesses, it had the reputation of being Kentucky's Philadelphia and was considered for the site of the state capitol.
During the Civil War, General John Hunt Morgan's Raiders descended on Lebanon, and after Morgan's brother, Tom, was killed during a battle, the raiders burned much of the town in retribution. Even though twenty buildings were destroyed in the attack, Lebanon recovered, and more recently the downtown historic district was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Also, our Historic Homes and Landmarks Tour is part of the Kentucky's Civil War Heritage Trail and includes twenty-four listings.
On the Civil War Discovery Trail, three landmarks stand out. The Commissary Building which is the old Sunnyside Dispensary Building was in place during the Civil War and supplied dry goods and food stuffs to the Union Garrison here. The Shuck building, which is now Henning's Restaurant, was the office of General George H. Thomas, when he gathered an army of several thousand to go to Mill Springs to defend the Cumberland Valley. Myrtledene Bed and Breakfast was where General John Hunt Morgan rode his horse in the house and started up the stairs. General Morgan used the property as his headquarters while he was in Lebanon.
On the southern limits of Lebanon is the National Cemetery, where many of the Union Soldiers who fell in the 1862 Battle of Perryville were laid to rest. The cemetery is the site of many military funerals and hosts annual Memorial Day celebrations.
Many of Lebanon's brick homes date from the ante-bellum period, including Hollyhill, where Confederate General John Hunt Morgan's brother was interred until war's end after being mortally wounded during the 1863 Battle of Lebanon, and Myrtledene Bed and Breakfast, where the footprint of Morgan's horse is said to be imprinted on the front stairway. Much of Lebanon's downtown business district was recently placed on the National Historic Register.
About 12 miles away is Saint Charles, where Belgian priest Charles Nerinckx and three Kentucky frontier women founded the Sisters of Loretto, the first native American order of Roman Catholic nuns, in 1812. A dozen years later the order moved its headquarters to Saint Stephen's farm, now called Nerinx, where Stephen Badin, first priest ordained in the United States, had centered the missionary activity which earned for him the title "Apostle of Kentucky".
In the 19th century, Lebanon was one of the stops along the National Turnpike from Maysville to Nashville, and Henry Clay and Andrew Jackson met here long before the Civil War.
Today Lebanon is a growing and increasingly industrialized community, but it maintains a reputation for heritage and hospitality.
(1861-1865)
Starting in June of 1864, the Union Army started mustering Black troops into the US Army at Camp Crittenden for 3 years of service.
The pay at this time was $13 a month for white troops, but only $9 a month for the Black troops. A large number of Black units was mustered at Lebanon with White officers over the units.
Camp Crittenden mustered into U.S. service, at Lebanon, KY, from June of 1864 to April of 1865, a total number of 2,043 Blacks from the state of Kentucky alone. And of this number of Black troops, 211 of them died at Camp Crittenden from 1864 to 1865. There is just no way that all these troops are buried at the Belltown Cemetery, so where are they?
The total number of soldiers called for from April 15, 1861, to April 14, 1865, by the President of the United States was 2,659,049; and of this number, there were 186,017 colored troops. The total for troops enlisted into the Confederate army during the war is not known. There were only 273,025 surrendered at the close of the war.
A good number of these Black troops were in fact Marion County Blacks and today we can still see nine of these graves with stones at the graves.
There is a large genealogy research room located in the new addition of the Marion County Free Public Library.