Goose Creek Salt Works And Pioneer Village-Manchester, Kentucky

 

        

Jesse Cotton Cabin at Goose Creek, Photo by Kentucky Tourism

Today, July 6, 2023, my wife and I traveled to Manchester, Kentucky, primarily for two reasons: 1) to take a sizeable but short road trip and to buy Chow Chow from a Mennonite owned produce store in downtown Manchester.  I walk or do some other form of exercise every day of the year and when we are out of the house and the weather is decent I usually find a place to walk, a park, a sports venue, or some other setting.  Today, we wandered into the Goose Creek Salt Works and Pioneer Village just outside the heart of downtown Manchester.  We used to have a friend who lived in Burning Springs just north of Manchester but he has been dead for several years and we hadn't been back in Clay County for quite some time.  The site has a lot of historical value in the local area and in the history of the settlement of Kentucky.  There are about 4 log buildings on the site: two houses including the cabin in the photo above, another cabin, and two barns.  There is also a recently constructed stage with a couple of dressing or storage rooms which I assume is used for a variety of community events.  One of the cabins, the one above, can only be seen from the outside. The other cabin and the two barns are all accessible but have nothing in them.  One of the barns has a large livestock feed trough made from a hollow tree which is placed with the ends between the cracks in the logs.  But it is nearly six feet off the top of the ground and would have been inaccessible to any livestock except poultry or goats.  Perhaps it is placed that high to discourage possible thievery.  It is impossible to determine if it is of recent construction or authentic.  Sadly, a lot of cinder blocks have been used in setting the buildings up and they don't appear to be fully authentic for that reason.  There is a good two piece history of the salt works and setlement of the area with water proof text and photographic reproductions under a sheltering roof.  There are also two bronze plaques on the cabin above.  That is the entire Pioneer Village but it is worth seeing.

There is also a nice paved walking trail which runs along Goose Creek downstream beginning at the cabins with a sizeable grassy area which I assume is used for seating and perhaps picnicking during events.  The walking path becomes gravel a mile or more downstream from the cabins but it is nice and most of it can be accessed by a wheelchair.  But motorized vehicles are not allowed on the trail.  There is also a boat ramp and large picnic shelter downstream from the Pioneer Village which is accessible from the street.  But most of the trail is shaded by trees at least on the creek side and the lower portion is actually covered on both sides with birds and small game to be seen at times.  I encountered about a half dozen people while I was walking and my wife, who is in a wheelchair, stayed at the Pioneer Village reading while I walked and felt quite safe since the area is visible from nearby houses.  Happily, those houses don't literally adjoin the Pioneer Village.  If you are in Manchester and just want to eat lunch in a quiet spot or want to walk or see some history, it is worth the time.  You an also access Goose Creek in a couple of spots for fishing and I actually encountered one man who had ridden a bicycle to fish the creek.  I will probably walk there again if I am ever in Manchester which is as good a recommendation as I can give most places I visit for exercise.