My Kentucky historic adventures are becoming a little more planned now that I’ve hit many, if not all, of our most popular historic sites. Now that I have a goal of finding at least one historic site in each county, I look at my map and plan ahead rather than just hitting the road and finding things along the way. This week, I had the pleasure of traveling with a high school friend out to Muhlenberg County, where we visited the Bard Distillery. This visit has two layers of Kentucky history, so come along as we start with a little town called Graham, Kentucky.
William Graham (W.G.) Duncan (1851 – 1929)
W.G. Duncan was born on September 4, 1851, in Scotland to Andrew and Mary Duncan. The Duncans immigrated to the United States shortly after William’s birth. Once settled, Andrew managed a coal mining operation for Robert Alexander in Muhlenberg County in the Pennyrile Region of Western Kentucky.
In 1873, the Duncan Family moved to Ohio County, where W.G., his father, and a gentleman named Colonel Henry McHenry opened the McHenry and Echols Coal Company (Muhlenberg County History). By 1899, W.G. was back in Muhlenberg County, opening his own coal company, known as W.G. Duncan Coal Company, in Greenville. He opened a mine just west of Greenville known as Luzerne. His first mine was so successful that in 1903, he opened a second mine.
An Early Brief History of Kentucky & Coal
I don’t know about you, but when I think of coal, I think of Eastern Kentucky. It’s clear, I have not had the full picture of Kentucky’s coal industry. I don’t know that I’ll even begin to scratch the surface of Kentucky’s history with coal in my research for this post, but here are a few quick facts:
- In 1750, Dr. Thomas Walker discovered and used coal in Kentucky County.
- The earliest known coal production was in 1790. Twenty tons were commercially produced in today’s Lee County, Kentucky. (In 1790, it was either Fayette or Bourbon County.)
- In 1820, the first commercial mine, known as “McLean drift bank,” opened in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, near the Green River and Paradise. 328 short tons were mined and sold in Kentucky. (Kentucky Coal Education)
- “Robert Triplett built the first railway in Kentucky, 1826. Coal was moved from Bon Harbor hills to steamboats on the Ohio River. Triplett was the first to get coal substituted for wood as fuel on river boats below Louisville. Coal was shipped south, sold by barrel.” (Kentucky Historical Society)
- In 1855, annual production exceeded 100,000 tons of coal.
- In 1879, production exceeded one million tons for the first time.
- Railroads were built in both the Eastern and Western Kentucky coalfields in the 1870s through 1900, which “significantly improved the efficiency of producers to deliver coal to urban and industrial consumers and opened up areas to development.” (Kentucky Coal Facts, 17th Edition)
- Use of Kentucky’s coal ramped up through the 1930s due to railroad companies depending on coal to run steam-powered engines.
- Numerous towns and coal camps grew along the railway lines throughout Kentucky.
Graham, Kentucky
As noted above, towns popped up around the coal mines to support the hard-working men (and their families) who braved the dark and dust to dig the coal out of the Earth. W.G. Duncan’s Coal Company was no different. W.G. named the new community at his second mine “Graham,” which was his middle name. His town grew so quickly that in 1904, a post office was established.
W.G. Duncan’s coal mines were so successful that he became a very wealthy man. He had two homes built in Greenville, KY – a Queen-Anne style home and a Spanish-Mission style home within five years.
W.G. Duncan died on June 10, 1929, in Greenville, Kentucky. He was buried in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville. He was described as “ostentatious but [a] generous man” donating to worthy causes and caring for others.
Graham High School
W.G.’s generosity was evident in his small town of Graham. In 1915, W.G. commissioned the building of a school for the children of his town on a 4-acre parcel of land that he donated for the school. The school was completed in 1920 with its first graduating class in 1923 (in the background of the photo below). In 1929, an additional piece of land was donated to the community of Graham, adjacent to the original Graham School property, for another school building. A beautiful, three-story Art Deco style brick building was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) on the hillside of Graham in 1930. The building “became the centerpiece of the community” (Bard Distillery). The high school moved into the new building while the grade school moved into the original building. In 1955, a gymnasium was built (on the left of the photo below), and later a cafeteria and library were added to the high school building (not seen in the 1963 photo).
In 1954, the coal mine started by W.G. Duncan, 51 years earlier, closed its doors. That negatively impacted the community of Graham as residents moved to find other jobs. In 1990, Graham High School was consolidated with other county high schools because the town population continued to dwindle. The elementary school then moved into the high school space, abandoning the original grade school building. In 2004, the elementary school closed its doors, leaving all three buildings empty.
The Second Layer of Kentucky History – The Bards
Thomas Bard and his wife, Kim, purchased the Graham School Complex in 2015 with the idea of turning the campus into a bourbon distillery. Thomas Bard had attended the Graham School from Kindergarten through 6th grade, before the school was consolidated, and three Bard generations before him had attended the Graham School. So, when Thomas and Kim had the idea to begin a distillery, Thomas knew exactly where he wanted to do it – in his hometown of Graham – and he knew the exact property to do it in – the Graham School.
While that alone makes this story pretty darn cool, there’s still more to this story! My lovers of Kentucky history will know why the Bard name sounds all too familiar. Not only does Thomas Bard hail from three generations of Bards in Graham, Kentucky, but his lineage also goes back to two gentlemen named David and William Bard. “The Bard Brothers,” as these two men are known, were the founders of….. you guessed it! Bardstown, Kentucky! That’s right. Thomas Bard is the 4th great-grandson of William Bard and the 4th great-nephew of David Bard. How incredibly cool is that!?!
(Want to know the story of the Bards and their founding of Bardstown? You know I’ve got you covered! You’ll find that history in Chapter 15 of my book, From Wilderness to Commonwealth 1750 – 1792: Kentucky’s Early Story through Today’s Historic Sites, found on Amazon here.)
The Bard Distillery
Thomas and Kim’s long-term plan for the campus is to use the high school building for the production of their bourbons – Cinder & Smoke and Muhlenberg brands. The elementary school will be used as the rick house with a planned capacity of 7,000 barrels, and the gymnasium will be used as an event space. The Bards have plans for the old cafeteria and library additions to become a restaurant, retail, and gift shop space, and a small conference center. Because the buildings need A LOT of TLC, the entire project will take a bit of time.
For now, production is taking place between the high school and the gymnasium. Their barrels are being housed in the elementary school, but at a much smaller capacity. The gift shop is in the lobby of the gymnasium, with its award-winning bottles of bourbon showcased in the old trophy case. Bourbon tasting takes place in the lobby as you are served out of the concession stand window. It is all so incredibly cool!
My Visit & Reflection
As I stated in the beginning, I took a high school friend with me for this road trip. As I’ve noted in previous posts, I’m not much of a bourbon connoisseur, so I like to take my friend on these trips with me because she makes me look better! I always say, “I’m here for the history, she’s here for the bourbon.” 🤣
With the time change from Eastern to Central, we arrived just as the “Open” signs were being placed in the ground. We were greeted with a smile from our wonderful hostess and tour guide. Because it was so early and we were the only two there, we were gifted with additional history of the town, the property, and the plans for the future.
We then walked over to the high school to peek in the windows. There are no tours within that building at this time, because it is in such rough shape inside. Unfortunately, while the buildings sat empty, they were vandalized; copper was stripped, walls were “painted,” and damage was done to brickwork, woodwork, and the architecture found inside. The Bards do have plans to open the building for tours once all the repairs have been made.
We returned to the gymnasium, where we toured the facility. As stated above, production is taking place on the stage of the gym for now, but that will eventually be moved to the high school. White tents run along one wall of the gym where their bottling currently takes place, and in the back of the gym, they package their bottles for distribution. The remainder of the gym is set up beautifully for events: weddings, small concerts, larger tastings, etc. Of the three buildings, the gymnasium was in the best shape when the Bards purchased the property, so that’s where they began. The gymnasium is beautiful from the ceiling to the floor, and the space looks amazing.
We finished with a tasting of Bard Distillery’s bourbons. We enjoyed samples from 7 different bottles. I learned that my palate much prefers the flavored bourbons. We tried their Apple Pie Muhl Whiskey, Blackberry Muhl Whiskey, and I believe Salted Caramuhl Cream. (After looking at their website, I’d love to try their orange cream, too! ) You’ll find their spirits listed on their website, found here. My friend took home a bottle of their Cinder & Smoke OLOROSO, and I took home the Apple Pie Muhl Whiskey. (I plan to pour that over some vanilla ice cream this weekend! YUM!)
Before making my purchase, I picked up a really cute Bard Distillery t-shirt. I mean, I had to! I’m a sucker for a Kentucky t-shirt, and I had to support the Bard Family’s efforts at historic preservation.
All photos are property & courtesy of KHT unless otherwise noted.
I absolutely LOVED my visit to Bard Distillery. I know they have plans to eventually move the gift shop and tastings into the high school space, but I really love where they have it now. It truly is such a great use of the space. Historic preservation is so often related to repurposing spaces, and I think their current layout is brilliant! The experience is just so unique that it will not be one that I easily forget. I mean, I am getting older, and I have been to many places. This one will stand out from the rest of our visits because of their creativity, uniqueness, and an overall wonderful experience.
I honestly can not wait for the Bards to make progress on their overall plan. I know it’s going to take some time. They have a financially daunting task of revitalization on two very large spaces. I do hope my blog post will send a few visitors in their direction. As I always say, a tour puts money in their pocket, which allows preservation to continue. I look forward to visiting again when more progress has been made.
Even if you are not a fan of bourbon, you absolutely should make this visit. The experience is so unique, and the Bards are keeping their roots where they started, right here in the great state of Kentucky! You have to give them many kudos – and lots of support – for that!
Congratulations, Thomas and Kim, I’m cheering for you from Taylorsville!
Go on, my dear followers! Get out and see Kentucky!