The word “Cardome” comes from the Latin “Cara Domas,” meaning dear home. The first man to set foot on this property was Colonel John Floyd in June of 1774. For his military service he was granted by the State of Virginia a total of 1000 acres, which included the Cardome property. By the early 1800s the property had come into the possession of one of Kentucky’s most prominent families, the Bradford
s, who built the first structure on the property in 1821. The property then came into the possession of James F. Robinson, who was the Kentucky Federal Governor during the American Civil War. He built an elegant mansion in what would have been the center of the current buildings but, unfortunately, the mansion burned down in 1986. The Robinson heirs sold the property to the Sisters of Visitation, an order of cloistered nuns, in 1896. Here they founded an academy for girls that became one of the most prestigious schools of its type in Kentucky. Due to a variety of circumstances, though, enrollment began to decline and the academy was forced to close in 1969. When the visitation community disbanded in 1987, the property was sold to Community Building Inc., a non-profit organization formed to administer a million dollar gift from Toyota for the purpose of establishing a community center for the people of Georgetown. Until July of 2009, the city ran Cardome and continued their work for the community. However, a new non-profit called Cardome Academy Association, Inc., has now taken over the property and is beginning a unique project that looks to benefit Georgetown in a different way. Plans to open the Museum of the Written Word are already in motion and it is the long-term goal of CAA to create the Center for the Written Word at Cardome, an extensive literary community devoted to the exploration and comprehension of language and text. Such a Center would also include an outdoor theater, an on-site press, and a bed and breakfast. Please view the project’s website and please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or comments. Thank you for your interest in Cardome, and welcome to Georgetown!
