CACHE DESCRIPTION: A small container holding a log. Bring your own pen. This path can be accessed from the entrance off Old Nicholasville Road. Since this is on an abandoned path that is not maintained, it is recommended only during daylight hours. Depending on the recent weather, the path can be wet from the stream that runs along side it--not really "wading", but you may have to walk through very shallow water to get to ground zero.
UPDATE: 1/20/20 Replaced geocache with a new camouflaged container since the original one was stolen. Please hide the geocache in exactly the same way you found it so it is less likely to be stolen again. Stealth is recommended to avoid attracting attention from the neighbors nearby. Dogs are not recommended since the path runs behind several backyards, which may have dogs that will get riled up and compromise your stealthiness.
THE OLD COUNTRY LANE
Hidden away from the noise and traffic of nearby Nicholasville Road are the ruins of an entrance to a quiet and abandoned old country lane. The cracked walls, the overgrown trees, and a stone path will lead you to a geocache in this little corner of Fayette County that has been forgotten by time.
This little country lane once led to the farm of Harry Pettit, who was the son of one of the original pioneers of the area. His father, Nathaniel Pettit, was born in colonial Virginia and crossed into Kentucky through the Cumberland Gap. According to the History of Kentucky and Kentuckians,
Nathaniel Pettit was born and bred in Virginia and there acquired a substantial education. As a young man he came to Fayette county, Kentucky, to teach school, being one of the early and successful educators of the state. He subsequently invested his earnings in land, buying a tract lying on Nicholasville Pike, about six miles from Lexington, where he was afterwards engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred while he was in manhood’s prime. He married Rebecca Owens, whose parents were pioneer settlers of Kentucky, and she survived him, living to a ripe old age. Their children were: Nancy, Polly, Nathaniel, John, Harry, and Rebecca.
Harry Pettit, the youngest son of the parental household, was brought up on the home farm and in early life became familiar with the various branches of agriculture. When ready to establish a home of his own, he bought land near the old homestead, and there followed his chosen occupation the remainder of his life, passing away at the age of seventy-seven.
--E. Polk Johnson, History of Kentucky and Kentuckians, 1912
This map from 1861 shows this path leading from “Nicholasville Pike” to the home of “H. Pettit”. Harry Pettit settled here with his wife, Juliet (Atchison) Pettit, and they had five children: Sarah, Nancy, William, Nathaniel, and Florence Rebecca.
As you will note from the map, Nicholasville Pike curved in a semi-circle at this point before straightening back out to resume its way to Lexington. Road construction in the 20th century removed this curved portion from Nicholasville Road. While part of the original curve remains as “Old Nicholasville Road” today, the remaining portion of the old road can still be found in the backyards of the homes in this neighborhood. That abandoned portion of the original “Nicholasville Pike” runs from the entrance of this old country lane to a spot close to where Nicholasville Road meets Toronto Road.
Urban development eventually reached this area by the mid-1960s, and farms like Mr. Pettit’s original farm were turned into suburbs and housing. These maps from the 1950s-1970s show the progress of development of the area—as well as the old country lane and the position of the homes that once stood here.
Tucked between a neighborhood on one side and a landscaping and nursery company on the other, this abandoned country lane is all that is left of one of Fayette County’s original settlements.