This beautiful and historic Ohio River town was a delight to visit
Last year, I made a big road trip to Ohio with two purposes: to visit the Serpent Mound, and to follow the Ohio River Scenic Byway to see the small towns along the way. Maysville, on the Kentucky side of the river, was an unexpected delight and our last stop on the road trip.
In this video, we will walk around this small, quaint historic river town looking for photo subjects.
This faded wall ad — or ghost sign as they are sometimes called — advertises a men’s clothing and tailoring shop called J. Wesley Lee. The print ad below from 1916 indicates that the store had already been in operation for 36 years, meaning it would have opened in 1880.
Large ads like this one in river towns were positioned high on the walls of tall buildings so they could be seen from riverboats and the river front.
In addition to operating a long-running clothing store, Lee was also mayor of Maysville for a while, beginning in January 1910 (Maysville’s Public Ledger, April 9, 1910).
The Russell Theatre
While in Maysville, of course I photographed the Russell Theater, which is where Maysville native Rosemary Clooney had a movie premiere at the theater in 1953. It was called the Stars are Singing.
In addition to being a famous singer and actress, she was also George Clooney’s aunt, and the mother-in-law of singer Debby Boone.
According to my research, The Russell Theater opened in December 1930, on a site that was previously a grocery warehouse. The theater closed in 1983 and was abandoned for a while, but was later selected for renovation.
The Cox Building
Built in 1886, the Cox Building had room for three storefronts on the first floor, with the second story a shared space between a Masonic lodge and the storage space for the retail shops below.
Links and Sources
Library of Congress. Maysville Public Ledger . January 13, 1916.
Library of Congress. Daily Public Ledger. (Maysville, KY). “J. Wesley Lee Mayor of Maysville“. April 9, 1910.
Wikipedia. The Cox Building (Maysville, Kentucky).