Inspiration Point

Inspiration Point located in the Woodspoint Wilderness

A nature refuge and retreat center used for hikes, retreats, workshops, picnics and parties by Scott family members and groups by appointment.  The adjacent land owned by family members along the Woodspoint totals some 500 acres of woods bounded by Otter Creek Park on one side and by Fort Knox land, thus providing a vast acreage altogether for wildlife habitat.

CordWood Firewood and Masonry building technology Cordwood masonry is an old building technique whereby walls are constructed of short logs laid up widthwise in the wall within a special mortar matrix.  The wall derives excellent insulation and thermal mass characteristics from insulation sandwiched between the inner an outer mortar joints.  Cordwood houses are low in cost, use indigenous materials, and are easy and fun to build. A properly built cordwood structure provides natural, fire-retardant shelter that will last at least one hundred years.  It has been cited that cordwood buildings estimated at 1,000 years old are still standing in Siberia and Greece.  Many new and older cordwood homes can be seen around North America, particularly in Wisconsin, Quebec and Ontario's Ottawa valley.

Wildlife which is protected here, is abundant in the forest; nature groups use certain areas for observation walks, especially fern and wildflower hikes.  Animals include foxes, rabbits, raccoon, squirrels, otter, white-tail deer, bobcat, and coyotes.   Birds here include eagles.

While there are a few modern improvements to the Woodspoint Wilderness, the majority of the forest area remains the same as when one of the last Indian skirmishes in Kentucky took place here downstream from the Rock Haven Landing.    An important event in Indian history occurred in 1809, when the great Shawee Chief, Tecumseh, met in conference near the mouth of Otter Creek  with the tribes of the north and tribes of the south in an attempt to form an Indian confederacy to repel the white settlers in the Ohio valley.    Another chief remembered here is Piomingo, a chief of the Mingoes.    On an early map in the state Historical Museum in Frankfort, a town named Ohiopiomingo is shown on the river downstream from the Rock Haven Landing on the land which is now Woodspoint Wilderness.    Ohiopiomingo, a paper town established in 1795 by an Englishman, was to be considered for the national capital city.  Named for the Indian chief, the town was never built, but was part of a grandiose scheme for settling this part of the country.

High above the mighty Ohio River built on the bluff ... Inspiration Point ... and under the stony cliff, downstream in Froman Hollow is an unusual animal trail leading to an old railroad spring and waterfall.  Springtime is adorned with flower blossoms fed by the misty waterfall and winter is decorated with massive ice formations that glisten in the sun.  Regardless if the season, the trail leads to the old railroad spring and waterfall where man can enjoy the beauty of nature and reflect on life.

Inspiration point is at 28.

The cord wood cottage located at Inspiration Point in Woodspoint Wilderness was built in 2001 by family and friends using cedar logs harvested from the land.

Jack Scott cleans the surface of the structure with muriatic acid to remove excess mortar.
John Scott trims a log to be laid in the wall of the dwelling.
Rachel Scott James tuck-points mortar around freshly laid cedar logs.