Generated by All in One SEO v4.9.10, this is an llms.txt file, used by LLMs to index the site. # Gary O'Dell TALES FROM OLD KENTUCKY ## Sitemaps - [XML Sitemap](https://gary-odell.com/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website. ## Posts - [Blog](https://gary-odell.com/blog/) - Blog Welcome to a world of limitless possibilities, where the journey is as exhilarating as the destination, and where every moment is an opportunity to make your mark on the canvas of existence. The only limit is the extent of your imagination. Subscribe Enter your email below to receive updates. - [Confessions of a Teen-Aged Caver](https://gary-odell.com/2025/06/05/elementor-1574/) - Confessions of a Teen-Aged Caver My very first cave trip was made when I was an adolescent growing up in West Virginia. I was a Boy Scout and went to Scout camp in the summer; one year, we made a field trip to Organ Cave in Greenbrier County. Sad to say, I don’t remember a - [BUFORD SPRINGHOUSE (Scott County)](https://gary-odell.com/2025/06/05/elementor-1581/) - The Abraham Buford springhouse is among the finest springhouses of all the hundreds of springhouses that I have seen in Kentucky. Buford settled on large grant in Scott County in 1792 and built the large brick house known as Richland, seen in the background of the photograph. This house is listed on the National Register - [The Land of Springs](https://gary-odell.com/2024/12/02/the-land-of-springs/) - Here I am recording information about the spring that is the source for Drake’s Creek in Hardin County, Kentucky. This is a spring of the artesian type, boiling up to form a “blue hole” spring Kentucky is a land of springs. There are thousands of springs dotted across the state, from seeps and trickles to - [Why I Go Caving](https://gary-odell.com/2024/10/29/the-art-of-connection/) - Everyone needs a little adventure in their lives, something to serve as a relief from the monotony of chasing a paycheck. For most people, this can be experienced only vicariously, for example watching action movies on television or rooting for your team at a football game. ## Pages - [Home](https://gary-odell.com/) - Kentucky Author Gary A. O’Dell Tales of Old Kentucky I have been writing about the landscape and history of Kentucky for many years. I am a lifelong caver who has been exploring, mapping and studying caves for more than fifty years. I am also interested in water resources, springs and springhouses, environmental issues, horses and - [Privacy Policy](https://gary-odell.com/privacy/) - Privacy Policy This privacy policy describes how we collect, use, and protect your personal information when you use our website and services. 1. Information We Collect We collect information that you provide directly to us, such as when you create an account, make a purchase, or contact us for support. This may include your name, - [Terms and Conditions](https://gary-odell.com/terms/) - Terms and Conditions Please read these terms and conditions carefully before using our website and services. 1. Acceptance of Terms By accessing and using this website, you accept and agree to be bound by the terms and provision of this agreement. 2. Use License Permission is granted to temporarily download one copy of the materials - [What’s New](https://gary-odell.com/whats-new/) - WHAT'S NEW Coming soon - Equine History Equine History - Now published Now Published... Lexington Gunpowder History “Richard Ten Broeck and the American Invasion of England.” Cheiron: The International Journal of Equine and Equestrian HistoryRichard Ten Broeck was a leading figure on the American Racing Scene during the antebellum period. He made a fortune as a - [Saltpeter and Gunpowder](https://gary-odell.com/saltpeter-and-gunpowder/) - Saltpeter and Gunpowder “The First and Last Powdermen of Kentucky: Richard Foley and Alexander McCoy.” Register of the Kentucky Historical Society 123 (Spring 2025), 255-289. This article explores the importance of gunpowder to the early Kentucky economy by tracing the stories of the Foley and McCoy families. Kentucky’s vast reserves of saltpeter, found in dry - [Equine History](https://gary-odell.com/equine-history/) - Equine History Review of Natalie A. Zacek’s Thoroughbred Nation: Making America at the Racetrack, 1791-1900 Louisiana History 66 (Summer 2025), 349-351. “Artist in the Holy Land: The Pilgrimage of Edward Troye.” Cheiron: The International Journal of Equine and Equestrian History 5 (February 2025), 87-123. Edward Troye was America’s most celebrated painter of animal portraits during the - [About](https://gary-odell.com/about/) - About Gary I have been writing about Kentucky’s landscape, people, and history for more than fifty years, and now that I am retired, the process seems to be accelerating. My first publication was the book, Caves of Rockcastle County, Kentucky, privately published in 1972 when I was twenty years old. In 2023, my book Bluegrass - [Books](https://gary-odell.com/books/) - MY BOOKS Books I have published Caves of Rockcastle County, Kentucky (with James R. Rebmann) 1972, privately printed. This book was the product of three years of cave exploration and surveys made independently by teams led by Gary O’Dell and Jim Rebmann, who decided to collaborate and combine their efforts to provide an examination of - [Compare](https://gary-odell.com/yith-compare/) - [yith_woocompare_table] - [Caves and Karst](https://gary-odell.com/caves-and-karst/) - Caves and Karst Blue Grass Grotto: The First Ten YearsClick to download “Blue Grass Grotto: The First Ten Years.” The Kentucky Caver 58 (Summer 2023), 1-63. Founded in 1862 by biologists of the University of Kentucky and their graduate students, the Blue Grass Grotto (chapter) of the National Speleological Society was for many years oriented - [Contact](https://gary-odell.com/contact/) - Contact Gary - [My Blog](https://gary-odell.com/my-blog/) - My Blog This page will feature blogs on a variety of subjects related to Kentucky’s history and natural environment. Many will concern the caves of the state and the many years I have spent exploring, mapping, and studying them. Confessions of a Teen-Aged Caver June 5, 2025 Confessions of a Teen-Aged Caver My very - [Springhouses](https://gary-odell.com/springhouses/) - Springs and Springhouses of Kentucky This page will feature a variety of springs and springhouses that I have visited. I have documented and photographed more than 700 springs all over the state. Springs have been used as water supply sources, both domestic and agricultural, ever since the pioneer era, and I am fascinated by the - [Water Resources](https://gary-odell.com/water-resources/) - Water Resources “Springs and the Pioneer Settlement of Kentucky.” In Shaped by Water: Kentucky’s Watersheds, Landscapes, and People, Brian D. Lee, Alice Jones, Dan Carey, and Stephanie McSpirit, eds. (Lexington: Univ. Press of Kentucky, 2017): 27-39. The pioneers who came to Kentucky beginning about 1773 to claim land and start a new life had two - [Miscellaneous](https://gary-odell.com/miscellaneous/) - Miscellaneous “The Grier’s Creek Mill Cluster in Woodford County, Kentucky, with Some Observations on the Nature of So-Called ‘Flint’ Millstones.” The Millstone 16 (Spring, 2017), 3-22. Kentucky Old Mill Association. Although a rural area, the corridor of Grier’s Creek in Woodford County, Kentucky, became an industrial cluster beginning early in the nineteenth century as numerous - [Military History](https://gary-odell.com/military-history/) - Military History “Slaves into Soldiers: Forging of the African Brigade in Northeast Louisiana.” Louisiana History 65 (Summer, 2024), pp. [to be added]. Prior to the Civil War, Black Americans were prohibited by law from serving in the U.S. military, although many Black patriots had fought for America during the Revolutionary War and defended New Orleans - [Landscape and Environment](https://gary-odell.com/landscape-and-environment/) - Landscape and Environment “Wildlife, Past and Present.” In Clark’s Kentucky Almanac 2007 (Lexington, KY: Clark Group, 2007): 326-328. An brief essay discussing the wildlife of Kentucky from Ice Age megafauna to the common mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians of the present day, including a discussion of the reintroduction of certain species that were eliminated from - [Articles](https://gary-odell.com/articles/) - Articles Will Be here Place holder for intro to the Articles page. BUFORD SPRINGHOUSE (Scott County) Confessions of a Teen-Aged Caver The Land of Springs Why I Go Caving - [Wishlist](https://gary-odell.com/wishlist/) - [Shop](https://gary-odell.com/shop/) ## Forms - [Contact Gary](https://gary-odell.com/metform-form/contact-gary/) ## Categories - [Springhouses](https://gary-odell.com/category/springs/) - [Blog](https://gary-odell.com/category/blog/)