by Thomas Freese | day trips Columnist
A great pleasure in nearly any season is to walk rural trails by field, forest and stream in our lovely Commonwealth of Kentucky. Creasey-Mahan Nature Preserve is a 165-acre preserve in Goshen, not far from Louisville. It has historic buildings, hiking trails, soccer fields, a public library and more than a few quiet nooks for communing with nature.
Creasey-Mahan was a pioneer farm with a log cabin that dates to 1807. It is less than one mile from the Ohio River. The cabin was occupied by several owners before it was given to Howard Mahan by his parents as a wedding gift. He and wife, Virginia, set up a working farm for livestock and saddlebred horses. When, later in life, they began making plans for their estate, the Mahans, who had no children, decided to arrange for a foundation in which the property could be kept. It was intended as a game and nature preserve. Originally called the Oldham Civic Center and Game Preserve, Inc., it provided funds for maintenance and staff. Creasey-Mahan does not use state or government funds.
Visitors find the beautiful main house as it was, updated and left by the founding couple, and an 1805 stone springhouse. There are thousands of bushes, shrubs, trees and flowers. Over 45,000 trees and shrubs were planted by 1978.
I toured with Executive Director Glenn Yost, who is wrapping up his many years in that post. "Virginia vacationed in Europe," said Yost, who motioned to a belonging of Virginia's-a stand-up music box which plays performed "records" made of tin. "Her freighter trunk is in here as well. She studied animal husbandry at Georgetown College in Kentucky. Her winning horse that she would not sell is named Bob Boy. He is buried in the small family cemetery not far from the house, along with their own ashes."
I admired the native ash wood floorboard (poplar wood floors upstairs) and remodeled "dog trot" between the two sections. There is a wonderful photo album on a small table on top of the stairs. From the upstairs I looked through wavy antique glass as the resident hawk screeched and dangled a captured snake.
There are many more raptors in the nearby nature center building, although now stuffed and not moving as fast as the red-tailed hawk. There are exhibits with American Indian crafts, a nature diorama, another exhibit on geology and stones and a lovely one-way glass observation window, which looks out on a small fountain and landscaped flowers and plants.
I think the best part of the nature preserve is getting out and enjoying the pretty little streams, frog pond, small hills, fields and valleys. There are a dozen short trails which can keep you walking for five miles total and most of them won't make you lose your breath for too long a spell. Most trails are wide and mowed. Trail names include Cross Country Run, Overlook, Bluestem, Sinkhole Rim and Little Huckleberry. Huckleberry was the name of a pioneer family who passed through and lost their daughter in an attack by a local tribe. I hiked down Mahan Lane and, to my left, it looked like someone was clearing the underbrush of invasive non-native species. I enjoyed hiking down at Huckleberry Creek where I was pleased to find native cane peeking up.
The wisdom of this nature preserve is self-evident, not only in the obvious construction of homes around it, but also in its pleasant offering of open space. My great aunts left behind several hundred acres outside St. Louis County in Missouri. But due to the number of inheritors and the desire for fair division, that property was cut up and now much of it is made up of subdivision homes.
Creasey-Mahan sees students come to study, do scouting work projects, maintain observation plantings, play sports, hike, picnic, read at the library, watch birds, and learn about the pioneers and American Indians; not bad for one couple's generous vision.
Virginia and Howard called their rural haven "Hill O' Content." I hope you find content at home or on a peaceful day trip. Drive safely!
to get there
To get to Creasey-Mahan from Lexington, take Interstate 64 West for 58 miles to the Gene Snyder Freeway. Go north on the Snyder for about 12 miles to where it ends at U.S. 42. Turn right on U.S. 42 and travel to State Road 1793. Turn left at the traffic light and head northwest on 1793 for a few miles. As you drive down the hill look for the quick sharp turn right onto Harmony Landing Road. A short drive takes you to either the lower parking lot on the right for the library or the upper parking lot at the nature center. From there you can hike the grounds or walk past the field house on your right to the historic home. The preserve is located at 12501 Harmony Landing Road, Goshen, KY, 40206. The drive is over 80 miles and takes about 1 and 1/2 hours. For more, call (502) 228-4362 or visit www.cityofgoshen.com/creaseymahan/index.html.