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The site was first owned by Hancock Taylor, an early surveyor, and features of its log section date it to the 1780s and 1790s. Major John Lee lived here, then leased it to Horatio Offutt, who built the brick section in 1802 for use as a tavern. Offutt rented the building to John Kennedy and William Dailey, who opened a famous stagecoach inn in 1804. The tavern was operated by Richard Cole, Jr., from 1812 to 1839. Richard Cole, Jr.'s son, James, was the father of Zerelda Cole James, mother of Jesse and Frank James. Later known as Black Horse Tavern, it was operated as a tollgate house from 1848 to 1880. It was owned by the Lexington, Versailles and Midway Road Co., then acquired by the McCabe family in 1916, which deeded the property to the Woodford Co. Historical Society in 1979 for restoration.
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Kentucky · United States
