Department of Tourism
Civil War Drama Comes to Life at Historic Springhill Winery

A Kentucky Civil War tale with mystery, intrigue, and a love story that pulls at your heartstrings is being retold as a dinner drama called “Restless Spirits: the Murder Mystery of 1864.”  Witness the shots of a Confederate skirmish at Springhill Plantation that took the life of citizen J.R. Jones, a Union sympathizer. Was it John Hunt Morgan’s new recruits encamped near Bardstown or Colonel Jesse’s rowdy troops that were rustling horses in the area?

The setting for the theatrical performances from July to October is Springhill Winery and Plantation Bed & Breakfast, located on a pre Civil War plantation estate that is widely known for its Federal and Victorian architecture of the manor (circa 1857) as well as the Confederate guerrilla skirmish that became known as the “Darkest Day” in Bloomfield’s history. 
 
On the old plantation estate once named Anoatop, visitors may relax in the shade of the mighty brick manor, fill their dinner plates with southern meats, garden vegetables, and desserts under a huge elm tree, and sip a cool glass of Kentucky’s finest wines as they experience a story seldom told and barely remembered of spurned love, mystery, and murder – that happened right here, where they sit. Will they know the truth by dark? Perhaps. Could the murderer’s spirit still be here on the grounds, trapped by guilt till eternity?

This performance is based on a historical event at this site in 1864. “The drama remembers and pays tribute to the men and women who suffered and sacrificed their lives for the freedom and privileges we enjoy.  We remember and abhor the savagery and evil of war lest we become complacent of God’s blessings of peace,” said Springhill proprietor Carolyn O’Daniel.
 
This production is brought to you by Springhill Winery and Plantation Bed & Breakfast and the Bardstown Theater Group directed and written by Toni Wiley. Dinner is served at 6:30 p.m. and performances start at 8:00 p.m. 
 
Dates :  July 15, July 22, August 12, August 19, September 9, and October 14.
 
Advance Tickets:   $45 per person, includes dinner, wine, & performance.
 
Limited seating. In case of bad weather performance is held inside the manor.
Overnight reservations at the Springhill Plantation Bed & Breakfast can be made online at www.springhillwinery.com or by calling 502-252-9463.

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