Editor’s Note: As Lexington celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding, the Herald-Leader and kentucky.com each day throughout 2025 will share interesting facts about our hometown. Compiled by Liz Carey, all are notable moments in the city’s history — some funny, some sad, others heartbreaking or celebratory, and some just downright strange.
While the new Gatton Park opened this weekend on the banks of Town Branch, the area has been part of the city’s history since the beginning.
As settlers came to Kentucky looking for a place to call home, they set up camp in what is now McConnell Springs Park, according to a history of Town Branch written by former Lexington Herald-Leader Editor Tom Eblen…