Day 5: June 6, 2005
Ending at Lexington

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On the west edge of Huntington, WV, I thought this sign was fairly interesting and stopped for just a couple of photos. I found out later (isn't the web just wonderful?) that Camden Park celebrated its one century birthday in 2003 and that it is the only amusement park in the state of West Virginia. Had I known that, I might have put more effort into photographing it.
This half hidden Meramac Caverns ad is on US-60 about eight miles east of Grayson, KY (N38 21.138, W82 48.737). I'm guessing that the tree was not even there when the sign was painted.
I thought the all white courthouse in Owingsville, KY, was a little different and worth a picture.
If the modern cars and trucks were not there, that row of buildings would make Winchester, KY, look much the same as it did a century or so ago.
Fayette County court house, Lexington, KY Zero Milestone, Lexington, KY Zero Milestone, Lexington, KY Zero Milestone, Lexington, KY In Lexington, KY, the Fayette County court house is a bit fancier than the one in Owingsville. The marker in the other pictures used to be located on the courthouse grounds but is now a block away in Phoenix park. Pictures from twenty or so years ago show it in that location and with a different base. The current base simply has "Phoenix Park" on the north and south sides. The east side has a north pointing arrow and an arrow on the west side points south.

A zero milestone that has been moved at least once is of questionable practical value but the inscriptions do, at least, make sense. What doesn't make sense is the camel and rider on top. When I had trouble finding the marker, I asked a couple of men exiting the courthouse. One just shook his head but the other thought he remembered it. "Something about a beginning? With a camel on top?" I told him yes, that was what I was looking for. Did he know why the camel was there? "Something biblical", he said. I tried to look curious without looking skeptical. "Maybe it was the three wise men", he offered. "Maybe they all started out for here but only one made it." I've yet to hear a better explanation.

Zero Milestone, Lexington, KY The well traveled BabyBoomerBob has supplied these two views of the marker that he took in 1987. That was before the relocation and the courthouse can be seen backing one of the views. Arrows to all four directions can be seen along with US-25 & US-60 shields and the proud phrase "STARTING POINT FROM LEXINGTON ON ALL HIGHWAYS". See more from Bob's roving here.

ADDENDUM: Jun 17, 2007 - I recently posted a question about the Lexington camel to the Yahoo Roadgeek group. Perhaps I didn't use the original "STARTING POINT..." inscription in my searches two years ago or maybe the information has been newly posted since then. In either case, searching for the old inscription is exactly what group member Craig Thom did to find a description on the Smithsonian Institution site. The Smithsonian entry tells the history of the statue and says that the camel and rider were chosen by the artist "to represent one of the oldest methods of transportation". Thanks Craig.

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