The View from Up Top

What would a trip to Wilmore be without a visit to High Bridge? The High Bridge homecoming festival was held while I was there, so I went with my parents to check out the festivities. It was great getting a chance to be a part of small-town americana again. There was music...



Here's a shot of my parents enjoying the show. See if you can guess the inspiration for the title of my post...



OK, actually the title of my post is for this...



Note the riverboat down below, from Shaker Landing. For those unfamiliar, High Bridge is still the tallest railroad bridge over a navigable stream. It used to be quite a tourist attraction, with people coming down by train from Cincinnati to hang out at the park and look at the bridge. The park is now restored, and the pavilion that was the site of many dances to bluegrass music over the years is once again the site of some great bluegrass music. Our culture doesn't just dance much anymore though, so everyone sits down to listen.

High Bridge is fascinating to those of us who lived close because it's our little secret. You can't get to High Bridge unless you're trying to. The road ends there, although if it went through it would shave about 30 minutes off the drive to Harrodsburg and Danville. Once, while touring the Smithsonian, I saw a model of High Bridge in their railroad section. It's probably still there. So this wonder of engineering and piece worthy of the Smithsonian is in Jessamine County, KY. Countless idiots have ascended the banks of the bridge to walk on it, and I'm sure in its 100+ years, there have been plenty of deaths on it.

Many years ago, they raised the level of the track so they could widen it, and to support ever heavier trains. They straightened the approach at the time, and much of the old railbed still exists. This guy has a lot more history on the bridge, including lots of pictures of construction and renovation. He's also lobbying for a "rail trail" to follow the old bed, as a hike from Wilmore to the bridge. I don't live there anymore, but I'm all for the idea. The old bed followed the river for a while, and covers land that is not easily accessible, but is some of the most unique in the area.



So that's High Bridge, a surpisingly influential part of living in Wilmore for so many years. I can't believe I wrote so much about it. It's just a friggin' bridge.