Meet the oil barons and entrepreneurs who helped put Bowling Green on America’s map way before the state university came to town. On this walking tour through the city’s Downtown area, you’ll encounter classic landmarks and hear the stories behind them. I’ll also share little-known tidbits about the city’s past.

This tour starts outside the Dunn Funeral Home, once the home of Mr. J.R. Hankey, banker, builder, state senator, and founder of Hankey Lumber Co. From there, you’ll head down Wooster Street and past Wooster Green and back. Along the way, I’ll point out the unique architectural features that adorn the buildings you see. You’ll also hear about their former owners and the histories hidden inside.

On this tour, you can look forward to:

• Take in the Milliken Hotel, whose guestlist includes Ernest Hemingway, H.J. Heinz, Warren G. Harding, and Clark Gable
• See Bowling Green’s First Presbyterian Church and its 24 stained-glass windows
• Discover Main Street's connection with Florida
• Hear how bank robber Pretty Boy Floyd escaped after a deadly shoot-out with BG police
• Spot the two heads of cattle on the facade of the whimsical Commercial Bank building
• Find out more about Mr. J.R. Hankey and his progressive attitude toward his employees
• Pass by the Four Corners, which forms part of the Dixie Highway, a U.S. route first planned in 1914 to connect the Midwest with the South

Give yourself at least an hour to complete the tour. You’ll pass a variety of bars and restaurants during the walk, so feel free to take a brief – or lengthy – pause to enjoy them.