HeyJaredKentucky History & Haunts
History, true crime & bizarre happenings in the bluegrass state. Kentucky is a treasure trove of unique people, events, and places dating as far back as the mastodon! You don't have to be from Kentucky to appreciate these stories. Subscribe today and share with a friend.
- Indexed episodes, last 90 days
- 5
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- Sep 1, 2026
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- Jul 10, 2026
Latest episodes
172. Jailer Pflanz & The Louisville Jail- Part 2 (opens the original)
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In Part Two, John Reinhardt Pflanz Jr. finally sees his longtime campaign for a modern Louisville jail become a reality—but the new building brings plenty of new problems. After the jail opens in 1905, Pflanz contends with smuggling, faulty heating, a flooded tunnel, the lack of padded cells and one unfortunate matron who gets locked inside the abandoned jail for five hours. He also establishes a library for prisoners, advocates for Kentucky’s new juvenile court system and helps organize the Cou
171. Jailer Pflanz & The Louisville Jail- Part 1 (opens the original)
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After briefly encountering Jailer John Reinhardt Pflanz Jr. in our episodes about Rainey Bethea, I went looking for a little more information—and wound up with a 10,000-word story. Born to German immigrants in Louisville’s Portland neighborhood, Pflanz rose from city councilman and local inventor to Jefferson County sheriff and, in 1898, county jailer. He quickly gained a reputation for running a tighter ship while advocating for cleaner, safer and more humane conditions inside Louisville’s dang
170. The Public Hanging of Rainey Bethea- Part 2 (opens the original)
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In Part One, we followed Rainey Bethea’s story through the murder of Lischia Rarick Edwards, his arrest, conflicting confessions and remarkably swift trial. After a proceeding lasting only a few hours, a jury deliberated for less than five minutes before sentencing him to be publicly hanged. Part Two begins with Black attorneys, journalists and civil-rights advocates attempting to secure Bethea a new trial. They questioned whether he understood his guilty plea, received adequate representation o
169. The Public Hanging of Rainey Bethea- Part 1 (opens the original)
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Rainey Bethea is remembered as the last person publicly executed in Kentucky—and, depending on the source, the last person publicly executed in the United States. But his story did not begin at the gallows, and the familiar version of what happened in Owensboro leaves out some of its most important and troubling details. In Part One of this two-part series, we trace what is known about Bethea’s early life in Roanoke, Virginia, before following him to Owensboro during the Great Depression. As a y
168. A Brief History of Public Executions in Kentucky (opens the original)
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Public executions once drew crowds by the thousands in Kentucky. Families traveled by wagon, vendors did business, newspapers covered every detail, and many people believed these spectacles served as a warning to would-be criminals. Others saw them for what they were: state-sanctioned violence disguised as public entertainment. In this episode, we trace the history of Kentucky's public hangings long before the infamous execution of Rainey Bethea. Through newspaper accounts, court records, and fi
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