How in the world could a well-renown architect, the dark history surrounding the Trail of Tears, and a nationally-registered five-bedroom home located in Guthrie become connected?
Ask Mark Humphreys and his wife, Emily, who last year purchased the famous Stagecoach Inn — with hopes of preserving its near 200-year history, while adding to its stark, original beauty.
Built in 1833 as a relay house and stagecoach stop in west Kentucky, the inn through the years has served as a tavern, church, restaurant and Civil War hospital. It is best known for hosting U.S. President Andrew Jackson, as well as the famous outlaw Jesse James and his gang — the night prior to their robbery of the Russellville main bank in 1868.
So when the Humphreys family — originally from Nashville — drove through Guthrie and snagged the beloved property, one piece of its history kept them fixed. At the rear of the inn stood a dead tree, an old plaque and a reconstructed water well.
From roughly 1830 to 1850, Cherokee Indians — driven from their native lands in Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas — were among the many tribes who marched through west Kentucky and eventually settled in reservations all throughout Oklahoma.
While on a forced march, one specific Cherokee and his peoples stopped at the inn for rest. Chief White Path drank from a deep, deep freshwater well and blessed its waters, and when he did, he named the well “Utok Amawah,” or “well of sweet water.” He died a few days later on the march, and is buried beside Chief Fly Smith in Hopkinsville.
Based on its reconstruction, Humphreys knew the current well was a fake for two reasons.
— It was located to a well-rooted, dead tree.
— And it was only 18 inches deep.
Humphreys asked his contractors to uproot the tree to begin the search for the original, which did turn up some old stones that presumably went to the original well.
He nearly settled on his own reconstruction using these old stones, when contractors this week found the original while digging a new well foundation.
Its pristine waters, cool temperatures and well-hewn natural walls still intact, it’s like unearthing a time capsule in the most natural sense. Humphreys said it’s a working well, too, that’s gone untouched all these years later.
Humphreys and his wife are still in the development stages of “The Jesse James Tavern,” and keep the top floor open as an inn. The plan is to have seating for 46 guests with a covered patio, full bar, live music, signature drinks and barbecue cuisine, while rooms and drinks will be named to reflect notable guests through the inn’s history.
At the moment, however, the Humphreys are welling with pride.
For more information, visit stagecoachinnky.com.
About the Humphreys:
- https://humphreys.com/publication/how-mark-humphreys-built-an-architectural-empire/
- https://www.nfocusmagazine.com/people-places/at-home-with-nfocus-emily-and-mark-humphreys/article_c172b91e-d632-5bcb-b023-4f0dd3fb5233.html
