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Melodie Phelps News Editor As a young girl, Linda Brittingham remembers the Burton Stagecoach sitting on display at John Burtonıs small museum near downtown Monticello. She and Burtonıs other grandchildren were never allowed to ride on the historic stagecoach, which in its prime made a daily trip from Monticello to Burnside. Saturday, Brittingham took the ³ride of her life² as she was one of the passengers to travel part of the route from Mill Springs to downtown Monticello in the replica of the Burton Stagecoach. Brittingham rode from the West-Metcalfe House on Old KY 90 in the Mill Springs area to Fantasy Yachts, where a new shift of riders got on board. She also rode the final leg of the trip from Lyons Plumbing to the William Crenshaw Kennedy, Jr., Memorial Museum in downtown Monticello, where the stagecoach finally came back home. ³I wish my grandfather could see this,² said Brittingham as she addressed the crowd gathered outside the museum Saturday afternoon to welcome the stagecoach. Brittingham, who now lives in Memphis, Tennessee, recalled days when she would look at the old stagecoach in her grandfatherıs museum and noted that the sign nearby ³Do Not Touch² was for family members too. She remembers times when her grandfather would be called away from a meal to let someone in the museum to see the display. Brittingham and her daughters did have the opportunity to sit on the stagecoach once, in 1978 just a couple of months before it was sold. The Burton Stagecoach was sold to the Wells Fargo Bank in California and is now housed in Los Angeles. ³In planning for this event today, I knew that it would never be all that it could be without a significant representative of the family of Mr. John Burton,² said Harlan Ogle, Executive Director/Curator of the museum. Ogle and Brittingham officially accepted the stagecoach replica, which will permanently be housed at the facility. The ceremony came after a day of historic rides for many people. At 10 a.m. Saturday, the ride began at Dunaganıs Grocery in the Mill Springs area. Quite a few people gathered at the historic store to get a closer look at the stagecoach replica, which had been built by Darrell Shannon of Bluegrass Carriage Works in Danville. Shannon drove the coach along the route throughout the day, as passengers got on and off at eight designated stops. Each leg of the route was about a mile long and it gave passengers a chance to experience what travel was like in the early 1900ıs. State Representative Ken Upchurch, who was among several officials who enjoyed a ride on the coach Saturday, noted that it ³made you think about how the ride was for those who made the trip from Monticello to Burnside.² The special guest on Saturday was U.S. Congressman Harold Rogers, who along with his wife, Cynthia, rode the last part of the trip from Lyons Plumbing to the museum. Rogers told the crowd Saturday that he was pleased to be back home in his native Wayne County. He also praised the local Historical Society for its efforts at preserving the countyıs history with the museum. Ogle also made a special presentation for Rogers, noting that the Congressmanıs staff was putting together a display, chronicling Rogersı Wayne County roots and his rise to national prominence. Ogle said that the display will be placed in the local museum when it is completed. Others who spoke at Saturdayıs ceremony included Judge-Executive Bruce Ramsey, Mayor Thurston Frye, as well as Jess Correll and Ward Correll. Add a comment |
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