The Old Talbott Tavern was built in 1779, a year before the settlement of Salem (later renamed Bardstown) began, making it the "oldest western stagecoach stop" still in operation. According to an old map of Bardstown, the lot was originally purchased by a man named Hynes; the tavern was called the Hynes Hotel. It was strategically located near the end of the
stagecoach road that once led east to
Philadelphia and
Virginia.
George Rogers Clark used it as a resource base during the end of the
American Revolutionary War;
Daniel Boone stayed here, and the
exiled
Louis-Philippe of France, stayed at the tavern on October 17, 1797, with a member of his entourage painting murals that were rediscovered in the 20th century and were on display until the 1998 fire. Visitors in the 19th century included future presidents
Andrew Jackson,
William Henry Harrison, and
Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln's parents stayed at the tavern when a court ruling went against them, leading the family to move to
Indiana when Lincoln was only seven years old. Other prominent figures who visited the tavern were
Henry Clay, the inventor of
steamboats
John Fitch, environmentalist
John James Audubon, songwriter
Stephen Foster, and
Jesse James, who is said to have been the cause of the bullet holes in the murals as he was drunk and shooting at the birds in the tree on the mural. George Talbott purchased the tavern in 1886. Within two years, six of his children died in the tavern.
Queen Marie of
Romania is known to have lunched at the tavern in 1926. The renovations to repair the fire damage were described as "generic". The Old Talbott Tavern reopened on November 8, 1999. The Old Talbott Tavern currently serves as both a restaurant and a five-room
bed and breakfast. A writer for
Travel and Leisure magazine described it as having "slightly spooky charm". It has been featured on
Food Network and
Travel Channel, and was once ranked the 13th most haunted inn in the United States. The inn's most famous ghost is the
outlaw Jesse James. Legend has it that even now he haunts the inn. Another legend is that of a mysterious woman who continues her haunting of the hotel. It is next to the historic
Nelson County Jail. ==Construction==