The Story of Sleepy Hollow, Prospect, Kentucky

Establish in the 1920s Sleepy Hollow was once an exclusive hunting & fishing club for the wealthy families of Louisville. Containing roughly over 3,000 acres, the club was located about 15 miles northeast of downtown Louisville. Their membership was limited to 150 people. The families who became members included bankers, lawyers, doctors and prominent business men.
The land was purchased from Mrs. Ophelia Hardin with some additional land leased from local farmers.
A dam was built on the south branch of Harrods Creek for $26,000.00 to create a small lake. A clubhouse was also built on the banks of the newly created lake just yards from the dam for about $15,000.00.
A total of 31 lots were leased to members on the hillside overlooking the lake. 23 of those lots eventually saw the construction of summer cottages.
The lake was stocked with fish plus pheasants and quail were raised for hunting. The club also offered swimming and boating on the private lake for members only.
The 3 story clubhouse with its 2 kitchens and ballroom was the scene for many private parties and events.
In 1929 the Great Depression hit and wiped out the fortunes of some of the Sleepy Hollow land owners. By January 1933 only 24 families were still members of the club. Later that year the club went bankrupt for the $10,500.00 owed to the bank plus money owed to local farmers.
Later The Sleepy Hollow Club was sold at the county courthouse steps to 18 of the former members of the club for $11,132.00. Those members formed Sleepy Hollow, Inc. which still exists today.
As the United States was dragged into WWII the military opened a glider training base at the top of the hill. Word has it that several of the officers rented cottages and soldiers went swimming in the lake each morning.
After the war, housing was scarce and many of the members returned to Sleepy Hollow to use their summer homes as a full-time residence. By the early 1950s housing became more available and the Sleepy Hollow residents began moving out for more contemporary homes.
As they moved out, vandals began moving in. Many of the cottages mysteriously burned during this period as the former resort became a frequent hangout for teenagers and vagrants. The clubhouse was a target for vandals and became so dangerous that Sleep Hollow, Inc. had the structure burned to the ground in the 1970 s to prevent injuries to trespassers and to protect the company from lawsuits.
In 2023 the lake is becoming a victim of natural pollution and has been filling up with silt over the past 60 years. There are valves at the bottom of the dam to allow the silt to pass through but they have been broken since the 1950s. The lake was about 20 feet deep when first built but due to the silt and sediment over the years, it’s probably only about 5 or 6 feet deep near the dam and will continue to shrink in size as the years go by.
In 2023 there are about 6 or 7 homes in Sleepy Hollow which is now down to about 90 acres in size and is all private property.
GPS Location: 38º20'56.6"N 85º33'18.5"W
www.HistoryInYourOwnBackyard.com
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[@jackwalsh1468]

Satolli, another awesome history lesson. Thank you. Cheers, Mate.

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

Thanks!!!

[@joeanderson9852]

❤❤

[@musclecarmitch908]

Beautiful place! Wish it was restored, but glad it's still there! Thanks for sharing!👍

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

You're welcome!

[@johnswigler6512]

Great job Satolli and crew. 🧢🇺🇸

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

Thanks John!

[@hamnchkn]

The dam is really pretty. Thanks for the history.

[@jeffreysmith206]

Very nice find , well done 👍

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

Thanks! Glad you like it.

[@tamsondarland8951]

Thank you so much for sharing some beautiful history of Kentucky. Would enjoy more history of Kentucky in future videos. Enjoying your channel so much. Love from The Bourbon Trail.

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

Absolutely! Do you have any recommendations?

[@broncstomper111]

One issue you didn’t mention with the lake is that the Louisville metro sewer district over flow runs into it. Every time we get a heavy rain the water at the base of the dam gets a frothy foam and the whole valley smells like the waste water plant.

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

I did not know that! Yikes.

[@jeffs5093]

Great video, and a nice g=history lesson. I have friends that live near that area. next time down there I will see how much the locals know about the place. Thank you as always for another nice video

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

You're welcome!

[@elaineschildmeyer3877]

Time is not kind to all things. RIP Sleepy Hollow Resort.

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

You are exactly right.

[@aaronschulte3207]

interesting, thank you

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

You're welcome!

[@robmaloney1394]

Good work. Lake McCoy, east of Greensburg, IN had a similar history that could be an interesting video.

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

I'll check into it. Thanks for the tip!

[@joeschneider1994]

Great job. There is a lot more history all around the hollow area. A historic boy scout camp. More waterfalls than you can count. People have been traversing all along that creek so long many of the paths have hardened into almost road like conditions. I wish the the whole area had been made a natural reserve. Now most of the hollow has been developed into neighborhoods.

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

Where was the boy scout camp located?

[@donaldscobie8455]

Off of Covered Bridge Road, just lass the bridge. It was sold in the early 80's. It strange you have new houses and then you see an old outhouse in the woods. I spent a big chunk of my teenage years at camp Covered Bridge.

[@aaron_brown7324]

Lake Dreamland is similar here in Louisville…. My grandfather spent a lot of time at sleepy hollow as a child

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

Where is "Lake Dreamland" located?

[@aaron_brown7324]

@@historyinyourownbackyard2363 by the chemical plants in the west end off of fairground Road, I believe off of Cane run

[@sandy89107]

Beautiful. I hope it stays empty except for animals ❤

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

Exactly!

[@jasonblankenship8274]

I ride my bike through there it's really nice

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

It's beautiful but dangerous with those cars.

[@bookertee3057]

Popular stop as a teenager in the sixties. Also, the Stump was another stop not too far away. My good friend lost his life on one of the curves near this place. If I remember correctly, there was an unsolved murder took place in the thirties.

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

What was the "Stump"?

[@bookertee3057]

@historyinyourownbackyard2363 It was passed Crab Orchard Farm. Where 1694 crossed over Harrod Creek. At the top of one hill a dead tree had fallen and we used it to sit. We always called it the "The Stump." Also, where Covered Bridge Rd and 1694 met is a long straight stretch of road. We would drag race there on Friday and Saturday night. We called that stretch of road "Gum Street."

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

@@bookertee3057 OK, thanks!

[@cloveetabertram3902]

Sleepy hollow road is as you're going out of Ludlow Ky. That's the only one i ever knew of. It truely is spooky as and after the sun goes down. But mainly people that are wealthy still live there.

[@localcrew]

That snappy music makes me want to trespass on Sleepy Hollow property!

[@stevem5383]

I expected that you would mention Sleepy Hollow Road which is considered by many to be haunted.

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

How so? I'm curious.

[@whoknows7513]

I grew up around there. On quiet nights, you can hear a crying baby.

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

@@whoknows7513 interesting.

[@wayawolf1967]

So no horseless headman in this story ? LOL

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

No, I left that out. LOL!

[@galacticknight55544]

This road is supposedly haunted.