THE OLD TALBOTT TAVERN
BARDSTOWN, KENTUCKY
PAGE ONE

The Old Talbott Tavern


Bardstown, Kentucky

Plaque on side of Talbott Tavern

History

The Talbott Tavern had it’s beginnings in 1779 as one of the oldest western stagecoach stops in America.  Located at the intersection of the North, South, East and West Post roads, it is one of the oldest buildings in Bardstown.  Every stagecoach would stop at the inn before continuing on its journey.  Today, it is located at 107 W. Stephen Foster Avenue in Bardstown, Nelson County (formerly Jefferson County), Kentucky.

It is said that during the exile of King Louis Phillippe, he, his two brothers and other members of his entourage stayed at the Inn on October 17, 1779.  Murals, discovered in 1927 during renovations are believed to have been painted by one or more of his party. 

There is a long list of famous and infamous travelers who have passed through the doors of the Tavern, some looking for lodgings, others, for a meal or a mug.  Among their names you will find:  Andrew Jackson; Henry Clay; William Henry Harrison; General George Rogers Clark; Jesse James ( reportedly related to the sheriff of Nelson County – Donnie Pence);  Stephen Collins Foster; Abraham Lincoln; John Fitch (inventor of the steam boat); Daniel Boone; Alexander Walters (co-founder of the NAACP was born in the kitchen area – his mother was a slave) and the list goes on.

Throughout the years, the Tavern has seen many changes both in title and in structure.  It was known as the Hynes House, Bardstown Hotel, Chapman’s House, Shady Bower Hotel, the Newman House, Talbott Hotel, Old Stone Tavern and today is known as the Talbott Tavern.  It is located next to the Jailer’s Inn Bed & Breakfast, which was once the county Jail (1800s-1985) and is also reputed to be haunted.

The Tavern as it stands today on Court Square was apparently constructed in three stages.  The original building has two-foot thick, solid stone walls and wide plank flooring and is the most eastern part of the building.  Sometime in the early 1800s the brick section, the western wing was added and in the 1960s, a final addition (originally used as a drugstore) completed the Talbott Tavern.  Unfortunately, on March 7, 1998 a fire destroyed most of the 2nd floor and the Tavern re-opened in November, 1999.  The murals received heavy smoke and water damaged, and although I did not see them, I understand that they have yet to be restored.

As you walk into the Tavern, you can feel the rich history of the place.  In the room with the murals, I am told that you will find a dozen or more bullet holes said to have been put there by Jesse James one night when he had had a wee bit too much of the other kind of spirits.  There are five guest rooms named after famous people who have visited the Tavern:  Abraham Lincoln, Washington Irving, Daniel Boone, Anton Heinrich and the Generals Quarters named after Gen. George Rogers Clark (1775-1818) and Gen. George S. Patton (1885-1945).  All of the rooms are furnished in period antiques but also include modern luxuries.

The Town of Bardstown is a wonderful, historic site, home to St. Joseph’s Basilica (first Catholic Church west of the Allegany’s); Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey history; My Old Kentucky Home mansion of Federal Foster; Civil War Museum and many antique shops and museums to browse through.  Unfortunately, we arrived after 8 pm and were not able to taste the fare of the Talbott Tavern, which I am told is very good.  For more information visit their website at:  www.talbotts.com.   When traveling through Kentucky, a stop at Bardstown is one that you won’t want to miss!

References:           1.      Information flyer from The Old Talbott Tavern
                                2.     Ghost Hunting in Kentucky and Beyond
                                        Author:  Patti Starr
                                        Publisher:  McClanahan Publishing House Inc.  ISB# 0-913383 84 8

Margaret’s Investigation Notes:

January 16, 2006
Baseline Room Temperature: 19C
EMF Baseline Readings:  minimal (1-2 gauss)
Moon Phase:  Waning Gibbous 95% full
Solar X-Rays: Normal
Geomagnetic Field:  unsettled
Weather:  light rain beginning overnight

Thank you, Wendy for recording moon phases, geomagnetic fields and solar X-rays for me while I was traveling.

 My husband and I arrived in Bardstown around 8:20 pm Eastern Standard Time after traveling by car for over 10 hours.  After checking into our room, “the Anton Heinrich” room, we went to Pizza Hut for dinner, as the Talbott Tavern’s restaurant was closing.  The tavern’s staff informed us that there would be no staff on duty overnight.  They would be leaving after the restaurant closed.  When we returned to the Tavern, I did a base-line reading of our room with my EMF detector and Lazor Digital Thermometer after which I took my digital camera and went out onto the front balcony to take some shots of the town center and a few photographs of the hallways and foyer.   I also had my digital recorder running and did not pick up any EVPS at that time.  While I was out on the balcony, I watched the staff saying their good-byes as they left for the night.

When I returned to our room, I took some more photographs and found some orbs.  I did another EMF reading, but did not find any variations from the base-line readings.  It was getting late, and we had another 10 hour drive ahead of us the next day, so I set up a locked-off camcorder with super night-shot and an external infrared light to record the room while we slept.  I had the video set for long record time and let the video camera and digital recorder run.

During the night, I heard footsteps and voices in the hallway long past midnight, the sound of my door opening and then a woman’s voice, although it was locked from the inside and there was a faint smell of lavender that lasted only briefly beside the bed.

In the morning, my husband and I met the other couple from Michigan and I asked them if they had seen or felt anything during the night.  I was told that they had heard people walking the hallways, a woman laughing and that he had also noticed the scent of lavender in their room.  They had been staying in room 5 (The Daniel Boone Room), next to ours.  Before leaving the Tavern, I checked with the staff to make certain that they did not use a lavender scent on their linens or a lavender air freshener.  I was told that they did not. 

After reviewing my digital recordings, I discovered what sounded like my bedroom door opening and then a woman’s voice saying “Thank you” around 12:45 am as well as a male voice saying “Tally-ho” or “I told you so” around  2:00 am.  There were other sounds and bumps in the night that I could not identify and recorded them as unknown sounds.  There was also one EVP on the video recording as well as several light anomalies (orbs in motion).  Although I am not thrilled with the idea of allowing you to watch me getting into bed in my nightgown, in the interest of scientific discovery, I have included those video clips, only because of the extraordinary orb action.  After watching hours of video tape from the Talbott Tavern, I can be reasonably sure that these are not dust particles.  Some of the digital stills contain faint orbs others are quite noticeable.  I have also included an edited picture of the couple from Michigan at breakfast the next morning.  I almost missed the orb on the chair!

Is the Old Talbott Tavern haunted?   My job as a Paranormal Investigator is to collect the evidence or lack thereof whichever the case may be and present it to you.  You be the judge.  As always, the photographs, videos and evps are subject to interpretation.  What I can tell you is this, the Old Talbott Tavern and Bardstown is a place that I am looking forward to visiting again.  If you stay at the tavern, you will find a guestbook in each room where you can read of the experiences of others who have stayed before you.  Please be sure to record your own!

 CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO AND PHOTOS, AND HEAR THE EVPS