The leaves are changing, there’s a chill in the air, and it’s a great time to get outside and explore! Louisville Water is proud to sponsor “Old Louisville’s Most Haunted Scavenger Hunt,” a family friendly outdoor event hosted by The Conrad-Caldwell House Museum in St. James Court. Featuring nine different stops, the hunt gives participants the opportunity to stroll through one of Louisville’s most historic and beautiful neighborhoods while learning about local history and ghostly lore. Those who make it to all nine stops and solve the final puzzle receive a scavenger hunt t-shirt and Louisville pure tap® reusable water bottle.
Louisville Water has a long history with Old Louisville, dating back to the 1880s when the neighborhood was just beginning as a suburb of the downtown corridor. Early on, the water utility was mostly used for fire protection. Hydrants were installed in Old Louisville in preparation of the Southern Exposition—a 45-acre fair held annually from 1883 to 1887 that attracted nearly one million visitors every year. Even after the exposition was dismantled, water service to the area continued to evolve, eventually delivering to these historic homes the great tasting pure tap that residents and visitors know and love.
But even with water readily available for fire protection, tragedy can still strike. Stop number two on the scavenger hunt is sponsored by Louisville Water and features the “Ice Boy,” a notorious Old Louisville ghost believed to have died in a fire in February of 1912. According to the story, a young errand boy was delivering groceries to an apartment building on Fountain Court and took a break to warm up. When the building caught fire, the residents were all evacuated, but no one knew the boy was inside. His was the only fatality, but it was not reported in the papers due to his being from the “Cabbage Patch,” a poor part of the neighborhood. It is believed his ghost now wanders this area on frosty evenings, looking for the recognition his death never received.
To learn more about the “Ice Boy” and some of the other specters that call Old Louisville home, check out Old Louisville’s Most Haunted Scavenger Hunt. The event will be held on the last two weekends in October from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. — buy your tickets today!