Efforts to improve the conditions at a historic African American cemetery in Frankfort got a significant financial boost this week, courtesy of Buffalo Trace Distillery. The cause is near and dear to the heart of long-time tour guide and Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame member, Freddie Johnson.
Established in 1865, Green Hill Cemetery is the final resting place of 141 African American soldiers who fought for the Union in the Civil War but the cemetery is need of some major restoration and upkeep.
On Tuesday Green Hill board members accepted a check from Buffalo Trace for more than $11,000; which represents a portion of sale proceeds from the distillery’s exclusive brand of Freddie’s soda, which he developed several years ago.
Johnson says the money will help maintain the site and help uncover other headstones through the use of drones to graph and grid the historic burial grounds.
The cemetery is just a five-minute drive from Buffalo Trace – a place that thousands of people come to visit every year. Many of those tours are led by Freddie. In fact, we did a profile of him a few years ago and that story is archived here.
