Georgetown: Horses, Gardens and History

When searching for a hotel in Georgetown, you can start planning your trip by organizing it around the themes that matter to you. Options range from guided encounters with retired Thoroughbreds to a Japanese-style garden and the history and culture of Scott County. Each offers a different kind of experience: Old Friends provides a tour with a defined duration, Yuko-en is a landscaped garden, and museums and historic buildings offer different perspectives.

Horses at Old Friends

At Old Friends’ Dream Chase Farm, visitors can get to know retired Thoroughbreds up close on guided tours. The general tours are 90-minute walking tours where visitors meet about 15 retired Old Friends horses. The duration gives you a specific timeframe for planning, while the approximate number of horses gives you an idea of the scope of the encounter. For travelers who want horses to be a central part of their stay in Georgetown, this is a clearly defined experience.

Japanese-Style Garden Landscape

Yuko-en on the Elkhorn is a 5.5-acre garden in a Bluegrass landscape, designed in the style of a Japanese strolling garden. Its size, landscape setting, and garden type give it a distinct character and a different thematic focus from guided horse tours. If you plan to visit Yuko-en, check the latest visitor information in advance.

History and Culture of Scott County

The Georgetown and Scott County Museum collects, preserves, displays, and interprets books, records, and papers, as well as artifacts or specimens of significant historical and educational interest relating to the history and culture of Scott County. Its collection topics therefore range from written records to objects. The museum’s work also combines several functions: materials are collected and preserved, as well as displayed and interpreted. Those interested in the county’s history will find an institutional perspective on its history and culture here.

Ward Hall makes an architectural statement: the residence was built in the Greek Revival style and completed around 1857. It is also one of the best-preserved houses in the country. Its style and approximate completion date offer two different points of reference for understanding the house: one concerns its architecture, the other its construction date. Georgetown College adds a different point of reference to these historical themes; it was founded in 1787.

The historic downtown offers a broader perspective: it includes more than 200 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Art enthusiasts can visit the art galleries housed in the Anne Wright Wilson Fine Arts Building. Georgetown therefore brings together different subjects, from a single residence and the history of an educational institution to a larger collection of historic buildings and a building with art galleries.

The dates for Georgetown College and Ward Hall can be compared directly, but they refer to different events: 1787 is the year the college was founded, while Ward Hall was completed around 1857. If you want to explore Georgetown’s history, this distinction helps separate institutional history from building history.

For an overview of the wider trip: Scott.