Bullet Holes and Bourbon: The Haunted Old Talbott Tavern

Reviewed by Josh N · Updated August 16, 2026 · How we verify

Five guest rooms sit above a stone dining room in Bardstown, and every one of them carries the name of a dead person said to still be using it. That is the pitch of the haunted Old Talbott Tavern, a Kentucky landmark built in 1779 that, by tradition, has never once closed its doors since. Whether the naming scheme reflects genuine reports or good marketing is a question the building leaves open, but the history underneath it is unusually solid for a place with this much folklore attached.

Quick Facts on the Old Stone Tavern

Also known as the Old Stone Tavern, the building stands in the Bardstown Historic District, directly across from the historic Nelson County Courthouse, and next door to the historic Nelson County Jail. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on 30 October 1973. It is likely the oldest surviving building in the state. Today it operates as a restaurant and a five-room bed and breakfast.

Older Than the Town Around It

The tavern went up in 1779, a year before settlement began at Salem, the community later renamed Bardstown, which makes it the oldest western stagecoach stop still in operation. An old map of Bardstown records the lot as originally purchased by a man named Hynes, and the place was first called the Hynes Hotel. Its position near the end of the stagecoach road running east toward Philadelphia and Virginia made it a natural stop, and George Rogers Clark used it as a resource base at the end of the American Revolutionary War.

The guest list that follows is the reason the building is on the register and not merely on ghost tours. Daniel Boone stayed here. The exiled Louis-Philippe of France stayed on 17 October 1797, and a member of his entourage painted murals that were rediscovered in the 20th century. Nineteenth century visitors included the future presidents Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison and Abraham Lincoln; Lincoln’s parents stayed at the tavern when a court ruling went against them, the decision that pushed the family to Indiana when Lincoln was seven. Henry Clay, steamboat inventor John Fitch, John James Audubon, songwriter Stephen Foster and the outlaw Jesse James all passed through. Queen Marie of Romania lunched here in 1926, and General George Patton visited during the World War II era.

The Murals Jesse James Is Blamed For

The Louis-Philippe murals were on display until the fire of 1998, and they carried bullet holes. The story attached to them is that Jesse James, drunk, shot at the birds painted in the mural’s tree. It is a legend rather than a documented incident, but it is the tavern’s signature anecdote and it lines up with the fact that James was genuinely among the visitors.

Six Talbott Children

George Talbott purchased the tavern in 1886. Within two years, six of his children died in the building. The record states the deaths plainly and offers no cause, and the family name stuck: the Talbott Tavern was the official name from 1885 to 1968, one entry in a long list that also includes Hynes House, the Bardstown Hotel, Chapman’s House, the Shady Bower Hotel, the Newman House, the Talbott Hotel and the Old Stone Tavern.

What the Rooms Are Named For

Tradition holds that the tavern has guests who never checked out, and each room is named after a historical person said to haunt it. The best known of those alleged residents is Jesse James, who legend says still walks the inn. A second story concerns a mysterious woman whose haunting of the hotel is said to continue. None of this is verified, and the tavern’s reputation has been shaped as much by television as by testimony: it has appeared on the Food Network and the Travel Channel, and was once ranked the 13th most haunted inn in the United States. A writer for Travel and Leisure settled on the phrase “slightly spooky charm”.

The 1998 Fire and What Was Lost

On 7 March 1998, fire severely damaged the roof and second floor. It also damaged the Louis-Philippe murals, which have still not been restored. The repair work that followed has been described as generic, and the tavern reopened on 8 November 1999. Visitors hoping to see the painted birds and their bullet holes should know they are no longer on display.

Sleeping in a Two-Foot Stone Wall

The original tavern is the present eastern section: stone walls two feet thick, heavy ceiling timbers, and two separate fireplaces for cooking. It began with just two guest rooms on the second floor, one for men and one for women, since private rooms for individual travellers did not become common in the United States until the early 19th century. The brick western section was added a century after the original build. Rooms can be booked, and the restaurant is open to anyone who wants the history without the overnight stay.

Address: Bardstown Historic District, Bardstown, Kentucky

See Old Talbott Tavern for Yourself

Sources

• NPGallery NRHP Archive Search (National Park Service)
• travelandleisure.com
• Wikipedia: Old Talbott Tavern

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