Everything OddWay knows about. Narrow it down by what you're after, or where you're going.
Real events too strange to have made the textbook.
Lexington, KY
Actor Jim Varney, best remembered as Ernest P. Worrell and the original voice of Slinky Dog, is buried in Lexington Cemetery. Fans frequently leave Mello Yello cans, photos and other Ernest-related objects at his grave.
Paducah, KY
John T. Scopes, the teacher prosecuted in the famous 1925 "Monkey Trial" for teaching evolution in Tennessee, was a Paducah native and is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery. A historical marker near the cemetery entrance explains the trial and its role in the continuing American conflict over science, religion and education.
Tiptonville, KY
Kentucky Bend is a geographical oddity where a looping Mississippi River left a small piece of Kentucky surrounded by Tennessee and the river. Road access comes only through Tennessee, creating an isolated Kentucky pocket that feels disconnected from the rest of the state; travelers should remain on public roads and respect the surrounding farmland.
Benton, KY
A modest roadside sign identifies the birthplace area of Vernon Rudolph, who went on to found Krispy Kreme. The original home is gone and the site is now an open field beside US 68, making the understated marker a strange contrast to the enormous brand Rudolph later created.
Louisville, KY
Completed around 1860, this ornate column disguised a functioning water-system standpipe behind the appearance of a classical monument. Often described as the world's oldest ornamental water tower, it stands beside the equally elaborate pumping station and WaterWorks Museum.
Lexington, KY
Legendary racehorse Man o' War was embalmed and buried in an oversized casket before his remains and monumental bronze statue were later moved to the Kentucky Horse Park. The memorial now stands prominently near the park entrance among the graves of other famous horses.
Smithland, KY
This enormous natural sandstone bridge spans roughly 150 feet and sheltered Cherokee people during the forced-removal journey remembered as the Trail of Tears. About 1,800 Cherokee were stranded in the area during the bitter winter of 1838–39 while waiting for ice conditions on the Ohio River to improve.
Hardy, KY
A roadside historical marker identifies the McCoy family cemetery associated with victims of the Hatfield-McCoy feud. Because access to the cemetery itself can be restricted, OddWay should route travelers to the public marker rather than encouraging entry onto private or controlled land.
Drakesboro, KY
Country musician Merle Travis, known for his influential fingerpicking style and for writing "Sixteen Tons," was cremated after his death in 1983. His ashes were scattered around this freestanding memorial near Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church rather than placed beneath a conventional cemetery headstone.
Murray, KY
Self-taught inventor Nathan Stubblefield publicly demonstrated wireless voice transmission in 1902 but died poor and largely forgotten in 1928. His later headstone in Bowman Cemetery boldly identifies him as the inventor of wireless telephony or radio, reflecting the continuing debate over how his experiments fit into radio history.
Bowling Green, KY
In February 2014, a sinkhole suddenly opened beneath the National Corvette Museum's Skydome and swallowed eight rare Corvettes. The museum recovered the cars and incorporated the disaster into its exhibits, preserving damaged vehicles and the story of one of the strangest museum accidents in automotive history.
Pikeville, KY
The Pikeville Cut-Through rerouted a river, railroad and highway through Peach Orchard Mountain in one enormous engineering project. A public overlook gives travelers a clear view of the artificial gap and the reshaped landscape below.
Hardy, KY
The original well survives at the site of Randolph McCoy's home, where the Hatfields attacked the family on New Year's night in 1888 and burned the cabin. Archaeological work recovered bullets, nails and household fragments, and the site now includes interpretation and a chainsaw-carved Randolph McCoy.
Manchester, KY
A large sandstone block known as the Red Bird Petroglyph bears a confusing mixture of carved markings and inscriptions and was moved for preservation after falling from its original cliff in 1994. Some writers have claimed the markings represent ancient Old World scripts, but those interpretations are controversial and are not accepted as established archaeological evidence.
Louisville, KY
The grave of three-year-old Samantha "Sami" McDonald is marked by a life-size bronze sculpture depicting the child happily swinging while Jesus holds the ropes. The unusual and deeply personal memorial stands in Cave Hill Cemetery and is officially titled "Sami Swings."
Cave City, KY
A short National Park Service trail leads to an overlook near Sand Cave, where Floyd Collins became trapped during a 1925 exploration attempt and died after a rescue effort followed across the country. The cave itself is dangerous and not open for entry; OddWay should route visitors only to the established boardwalk and overlook.
Benton, KY
A black stone memorial near Soldier Creek remembers a B-29 Superfortress that crashed in this area on July 1, 1945. Nine men were killed and one survived, turning an otherwise quiet rural roadside into the marker for a largely forgotten wartime aviation disaster.
Louisville, KY
Installed in 1907, this 14-foot granite sphinx guards the Peaslee family plot in Cave Hill Cemetery. Its Egyptian styling was unusually exotic for Kentucky cemetery art at the time and remains one of the cemetery's most conspicuous monuments.
Frankfort, KY
William Goebel was shot outside Kentucky's Old State Capitol on January 30, 1900 during a bitterly disputed gubernatorial election. He was sworn in as governor while dying and died days later, becoming the only U.S. state governor assassinated while in office; a marker identifies the attack site.
Mayfield, KY
Colonel Henry Wooldridge commissioned a crowded cemetery tableau of 18 life-size statues depicting himself, relatives, dogs, a horse, a deer and a fox. Often called "the strange procession which never moves," the restored group fills his plot in Maplewood Cemetery.
