Our Campus

The Oldham County History Center Campus is located just 25 minutes from downtown Louisville at the La Grange Exit 22 off I-71.  Nestled on the corners of historic Main Street, Second Avenue, and Jefferson Street in downtown La Grange, our campus is comprised of three historical buildings, a cellar original to the Peyton Samuel Head home and Colonial garden, and the new Dahlgren Pioneer Barn. We offer hands-on activities, year-long programs for children and adults, an Author Dinner Serieswalking toursholiday workshops, and monthly programs, including Living Treasures and Barnyard Fun. Check out Events for more information.

J.C. Barnett Library & Archives

The J.C. Barnett Library and Archives is a restored 1840s “Kentucky Four Square” house. The Archives building holds a vast collection of documents, genealogical records, photographs, a family name database and a library of regional and local history materials, including extensive family files. In 2016 the Archives received an Underground Railroad designation by the National Park Service Network to Freedom – the ONLY archives designation in Kentucky! The building also serves as the administrative headquarters for the Oldham County History Center. This building was originally owned by James Mount and Amanda Malvina Railey Mount, who were one-time slave owners. Many people living in the community still remember the home from their youth. A Kentucky Historic Resources Inventory described the house as the oldest building on the square and one of the oldest in town.

 

The J.C. Barnett Library and Archives houses family papers and cemetery information for genealogical research. These papers contain deeds and records that include information dating to Oldham County families beginning in 1824. There is an $8 research fee per day for individuals conducting research. There is an additional charge for any photocopies made. The Oldham County History Center also offers research conducted by staff at the rate of $20 per hour with a one hour minimum. There is a fee for photocopies and postage of researched materials.

Peyton Samuel Head Family Museum

The Peyton Samuel Head Family Museum, originally built in the 1840’s, is now an interactive and interpretive community museum. Peyton Samuel Head (Sept. 8, 1849-Nov. 28, 1928) was a banker and landowner in Oldham County during the early 20th century. He invested in real estate, was one of the county’s earliest bankers, was town treasurer and served as deputy sheriff of Oldham County. Head’s daughter, Louise Head Dodge Duncan (b. about 1900-d. Dec. 30, 1990), inherited her father’s estate. In her will, she donated her home to the Oldham County History Center for the site of the current museum. Mrs. Duncan believed in giving back to the community, as proven by leaving the majority of her estate (over $5 million) in a trust for charitable groups in Oldham County. She owned the Archives building at one time as well. The museum has undergone a complete renovation as part of a $2 million capital campaign project for the entire campus. It has been added onto over time, and is painted in historically correct colors on the exterior, and trimmed in Victorian era scroll work.

 

The campus is also home to The Peyton Samuel Head Root Cellar, a unique attraction from the 1840s that educates about food preparation and storage in Antebellum America.

Oldham KY History Center Campus

Rob Morris Educational Building

In 1880, La Grange resident Amanda Mount deeded property for the construction of a Presbyterian Church near her home. It would become the church were Dr. Rob Morris, founder of the Order of the Eastern Star, often served as a Ruling Elder. He would many times be called upon to occupy the pulpit in the absence of the church’s regular minister. Morris would frequently lecture on his travels in the Holy Land in the interest of Masonic research. The Oldham County History Center presently owns the Presbyterian Church, now known as the Rob Morris Educational Building, and uses it for educational classes, meetings and public programs. It was remodeled and dedicated on August 20, 2006 by Freemasons and the Order of the Easter Star. Rob Morris said there were two things in life dear to his heart: his little Presbyterian Church and Freemasonry.

Dahlgren Pioneer Barn

The Dahlgren Pioneer Barn is a demonstration barn for different programs and events. The History Center offers hands-on activities, year-long programs for children and adults. It gives great depth to our educational programs, expanding our family activities and providing unique exhibits. Come enjoy the smell of wood smoke, roasting meats and fresh bread as an inviting way to entice people to experience history!”

 

The Road Warrior Sculpture: A Tribute to World War II Veterans

In 2021 the Oldham County History Center installed the Road Warrior Sculpture, a hands-on, interactive sculpture on the campus created by local sculptor Wyatt Gragg.  The sculpture has been a huge draw for a wide variety of audiences.  It has been a unique way to talk about our World War II Veterans and their sacrifices which is exactly what Dr. Heilman would have wanted!  He was very aware of the project and we hoped he would have been present at the dedication but unfortunately passed away before it was completed.” According to Board of Director member, Terri Miller.

 

The sculpture depicts Oldham County native, Bruce Heilman (1926-2019), riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle. Bruce’s father was a tenant farmer in Ballardsville and like so many children during the Depression, grew up with few necessities but also thrived on the farm.   A Marine in WWII, Bruce was involved in the Battle of Okinawa and also in one of the first troops that landed at Hiroshima after the bomb was dropped.  When he returned to Kentucky he was educated on the GI bill at Campbellsville College.  He had a very successful career as a college administrator and was President of Richmond University in Virginia for 30 years where he raised millions of dollars and in later years served as Chancellor. 

 

At age 76 he decided to return to riding a motorcycle which was one of his favorite activities in his youth.  He became the spokesperson for the Greatest Generation Foundation and started riding his cycle across the United States to bring recognition to Gold Star Families and WWII veterans.  Bruce passed away in October 2019 at the age of 92.  He rode his motorcycle this past year!  He has travelled the world and he has accompanied many veterans to WWII sites, the last being a visit to Japan in 2018.

 

The motorcycle features Bruce posed on the cycle and there is extra space behind Bruce to let people “hop on” and take a ride with Bruce so it is somewhat “interactive”.

 

The sculpture is also a tribute to the WWII permanent exhibit at history center museum that features stories which have published and a computer where visitors can listen to over 75 oral histories that have been recorded of WWII veterans through the Veterans Oral History Project that began in 2001.

Augmented Technology Trail Blazer Marker

The Kentucky Black Trailblazers AR Experience is a black history project two years in the making that bring to life the stories of influential black Americans in each county with a program jumpstarted with ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funding. The History Center’s campus is home to the Trail Blazer Marker of Alex Beaumont. Alex Beaumont was born a slave in 1839 in Garrard County. He was enslaved in Oldham County by Susan Beaumont who signed for him to enlist in the Union Army on June 16, 1864 at Camp Nelson, KY. He was in the 116th Regiment of the U.S. Colored Troops, African American soldiers who fought for the Union. Camp Nelson was a recruitment center for U. S. Colored Troops. The Conscription Act of 1864 allowed for the recruitment of slaves and free blacks into Union troops. As a result, records show that by 1865, 10,000 African-American men mustered into Camp Nelson — making it the largest recruitment center in Kentucky for African-American troops. Beaumont mustered out on January 17, 1867 at New Orleans. He married Lucy Fible and they had six sons and one daughter. He is buried in La Grange’s Historic African American Cemetery.