Fernweh, An Ache for Distant Places

Glasgow is a small town of about 15 square miles in Kentucky’s Barren County, also known as the Caves & Lakes Tourism region. Depending on who you ask, they call it the Caves, Lakes, & Corvettes region.

The town is located about 15-20 minutes southeast of Mammoth Cave National Park and is a quick drive to many other cute towns like Cave City and Horse Cave.

Glasgow was first settled by the predecessors of the Sioux, Cherokee, and Iroquois people. As a town, it was founded in 1799 by veterans of the Revolutionary War. Scottish soldiers were given land grants, and there has been a heavy population of Scots ever since, hence the name.

Many of Glasgow’s first and original homes can be found along historic South Green Street.

Glasgow’s history is heavily linked with the American Revolutionary and American Civil Wars, aiding enslaved people along the Underground Railroad by tunnels and underground rooms below the Old Glasgow Seminary Home and other sites.

Former President George Washington once owned an estate in Glasgow that he gifted to his niece called the Spotswood Home, which is now a private residence. This home also allegedly played a role in the Underground Railroad as well as Big Bottom fishing spring.

There was a dark period in Glasgow in the mid-1850s where, of all things, a traveling circus is said to have brought in Asiatic cholera.

Many of the townspeople died of this disease, and others fled the town. Within a couple years, the Christmas Raid of 1862 and the Fall of Fort Williams in 1863 left the historic fort in the hands of Confederates.

Glasgow eventually recovered and became an incorporated city in 1878.

Today, Glasgow is known worldwide for the annual Scottish Highland Games event, which had a good 30+ year run before going on an indefinite hiatus due to COVID restrictions and loss of funding. The event made its home at the Barren River Lake State Resort Park that is even more enjoyable without the crowds.

The South Central Kentucky Cultural Center aka Museum of the Barrens is in the defunct Kentucky Pants factory in and showcases a log cabin and gristmill, military memorabilia, an old school house, a model of the town circa 1800s, and other artifacts that date as far back as 12,000 B.C.

Modern Glasgow, KY has a lively downtown square with the most activity lining the traffic circle that loops around the courthouse.

The 1947 Smith-Stearns building is packed with windows, each filled with ghostlike paintings of prominent people of the area. It is a super cool way to keep history alive, though a bit spooky at night.

Yancey’s Gastropub & Brewery bills itself as Glasgow’s Finest, and it is the hub of nightlife in Glasgow.

Yancey’s is a microbrewery with a menu focused on themed burgers and standard fried bar foods.

Sweet Basil Bake Shop is the place to get your sugar fix, and be sure to check out Vintique and other interesting shops in the town squares.

In the area for a while? Follow me to Mammoth Cave National Park, Cave City, Horse Cave, and Munfordville! (in progress)

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