African Cemetary No.2

Burials occurred in African Cemetery No. 2 as early as the 1820's, initially the land was purchased and chartered as a burial ground by The Colored Peoples Union Benevolent Society No. 2 in 1869.

The cemetery is approximately 8 acres in size and contains over 5,000 graves of which only 1,200 are identified and fewer than 600 contain identifiable markers. There have been no burials since 1974.

The Cemetery is the final resting place for forty-eight United States Colored Troops, eleven Buffalo Soldiers, seventeen who fought in World War I, and four World War II veterans.

A Poem by Belle Brezing

Kisses

Sitting to night in my chamber, a school girl figure
and lonely, I kiss the end of my finger, that and that only.

Reveries rises from the smokey mouth.

Memories linger surround me.

Boys that are married or single.

Gather around me.

School boys in pantalets roumping,

Boys that now are growing to be young lands,

Boys that kiked to be Kissed; and like to give kisses.

Kisses. I remember them: Those in the corner were fleetest:

Sweet were those won the Sly in the Dark were the sweetest.

Girls are tender and gentle. To woo was allmost to win them.

They lips are good as ripe peaches, and cream for finger.

Girls are sometimes flirts, and coquettish;

Now catch and Kiss if you can sin:

could I catch both - ah, wasent I a happy Girl.

Boys is pretty and blooming sweetly,

yea sweetness over their rest!

Them I loved dearly and truely. Last and the best.

Writing by Belle Brezing, Lexington Ky

Lexington's Most Notable "Madam"

The most notable Madam in Lexington's history is Belle Breezing. She was born June 16, 1860 to Sarah Anne Cox. Belle had a very traumatic childhood due to the drunkenness and violent behavior of her parents.

She started out working for a madam in Mary Todd's childhood home on Main Street. With money from a wealthy client, she built a three story brick, 27 room mansion.

In 1938 Belle was diagnosed with uterine cancer; she died at 4:30 am, Sunday, Aug. 11, 1940. She is buried in the Calvary Cemetery on West Main Street.

The Mary Todd House Tour

The tour you receive at the Mary Todd House in Lexington is Highly recommended for anyone who is interested in Mary Todd, or the history of the house.

The tour guides are are very pleasant to be around and they walk you through each room of the house giving you the history that surrounds the room. They are very, very, very informative tour guides. Before they move to the next room on the list they always ask for any question you might have.

I believe the fee for the tour is seven dollars for an adult. The tour last for around an hour.

The Worst Flood in Lexington's History

The worst flood in Lexington's history occurred on 2 Aug 1932. On that day water from the Town Branch rosed and covered Main Street with over three feet of water. The water flooded basements, and did considerable damage to the stores, hotels, banks, and other businesses that lined Main Street. The damage from the flood was estimated at over 1 million dollars.

The First Millionaire West of the Allegheny Mountains

The first millionaire west of the Allegheny Mountains was John Wesley Hunt. He moved to Lexington, Kentucky in 1795. Hunt was a very successful business man. Hunt was a merchant, horse breeder, hemp manufacturer, and banker-just to give you an ideal of his success.

In 1799 President John Adams named Hunt as postmaster of Lexington Kentucky. As postmaster, Mr. Hunt established a mail route from Lexington to Washington, D.C. And in 1814, Hunt built a two-story brick mansion known as "Hopemont" in Gratz Park.

How Lexington Got it's Name

In 1775 a group of surveyors were camped at a spring a couple of miles from present-day downtown Lexington Kentucky when word reached them of a battle between the British and the colonists at Lexington, Massachusetts. To commemorate that battle, they named their campsite "Lexington."

The first newspaper ever published in Lexington

The first newspaper ever published west of the Alleghany mountains was established in Lexington, in 1787, by John Bradford. It was then called the Kentucke Gazette.