Offutt-Cole Tavern
Woodford County, Woodford County, Kentucky
Marker Inscription
Offutt-Cole Tavern. Site first owned by Hancock Taylor, early surveyor. Features of log section date it to 1780s-1790s. Major John Lee lived here, then leased to Horatio Offutt, who built brick section, 1802, for use as tavern. He rented building to John Kennedy and William Dailey, who opened famous stagecoach inn, 1804. Tavern operated by Richard Cole, Jr., 1812-1839. See over. (Reverse) Offutt-Cole Tavern - Richard Cole, Jr.'s son, James, was father of Zerelda (Cole) James, mother of notorious Jesse and Frank James. Tavern later known as "Black Horse Tavern." It was operated as a tollgate house, 1848-80. Owned by Lexington, Versailles and Midway Road Co.; acquired by McCabe family in 1916 which deeded property to Woodford Co. Historical Society, 1979, for restoration. Over.
Erected by Kentucky Historical Society
The Story
Standing on land first owned by early surveyor Hancock Taylor, this tavern grew from a log section dating to the 1780s-90s to a brick addition built by Horatio Offutt in 1802, which became a famous stagecoach inn under John Kennedy and William Dailey in 1804. Richard Cole, Jr. ran it from 1812 to 1839, and his line carried a notorious footnote: his granddaughter Zerelda Cole James was the mother of outlaws Jesse and Frank James. Later known as the "Black Horse Tavern," it served as a tollgate house before being restored by the Woodford County Historical Society.
Why it matters
A frontier stagecoach inn on an early Kentucky road, the tavern illustrates how taverns and tollgates knit the young republic together — and it carries a surprising thread to one of America's most infamous outlaw families.
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Related people
- · Hancock Taylor
- · Horatio Offutt
- · Richard Cole, Jr.
- · Zerelda Cole James
- · Jesse James
- · Frank James
Themes & tags
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