Setting Foot on the Site of Graham Springs

The spring at Graham Springs

A few weeks ago, I was in Harrodsburg, Kentucky where Graham Springs, the setting for my recent book, The Pursuit of Elena Bradford, was located in the 1800’s.

I knew a historical marker would be there along with the grave of the dancing lady who died at Graham Springs in the early 1840’s and has never been identified. The story of that woman and the mystery surrounding her identity and death were what led me to do more research to find out about Graham Springs.

That research put me happily on the story writing trail as I created fictional characters to live their story in an actual place and was able to slip into the characters’ stories a fictional imagining of the dancing lady’s one day at Graham Springs and what might have happened around her on that day.

I had seen pictures of her grave but had never actually seen it for myself. So, I decided to hunt out Youngs Park that is now on the location of Graham Springs. I got directions and had no trouble finding the park. In a picnic shelter there, a family appeared to be having a birthday party if the balloons were any indication. Kids playing in a splash park on the other side of the picnic shelter filled the air with laughs and happy shrieks. Good sounds of fun but different from my imagined Graham Springs sounds of the band’s constant music and the laughter of guests playing lawn games or strolling together on the beautiful grounds. I also liked imagining the clunk of  lawn bowling balls as the guests played on the bowling green.

The spring at Graham Springs that had once brought in many hoping to be healed from this or that ailment was still right there with a gazebo atop it. A spigot was beside it, but alas, it no longer worked. I was going to taste that spring water if it still flowed up and out.

The historical marker gives details of Graham Springs and what happened to it after Dr. Graham decided to close his Springs Hotel. It doesn’t mention the dancing lady, but her grave is still tended with a white picket fence around it, a sign explaining about the lady in the grave, and another sign asking all to step softly and bow their heads.

The Dancing Lady’s Grave

A small service building near the grave has murals on all the concrete walls. One shows the guests dancing. The dances were popular at Graham Springs and figured prominently in my story.

Where Graham Springs once covered many acres with gardens and promenade paths and an elaborate, at the time,  four-story hotel with ball rooms, now you see houses and a hospital and this park that preserves the memory of Graham Springs and the dancing lady.

If you’ve read The Pursuit of Elena Bradford, were you able to visualize the setting and imagine whirling around the dance floor in one of those beautiful ball gowns?

Apologies

I apologize to any who tried to see my post last night. My website was down for a while but seems okay today. I had promised my newsletter readers that I would announce the winners of my newsletter giveaway on the post yesterday but better late than never.

And the winners are:

First place winner was Megan L of Iowa. She gets the Baker Book House gift card along with her choice of one of my books. She picked my nonfiction story, Angels at the Crossroads. The second place winner was Kate F of Vermont. She won a choice of one of my books and picked Murder at the Courthouse because although her mother had many of my books, she hadn’t read any of my Hidden Springs mysteries.

Thanks to all of you who welcome my newsletter in your email boxes and who take the time to join in with my book fun. I’ll do a giveaway here on One Writer’s Journal in a few weeks. Maybe another photo caption game. Hmm, I’ll have to think about that. Once I did a “finish the poem” game. That was fun too. Or maybe I’ll get inspired and think up something new to have fun with a giveaway. As always, thanks for reading.