MINERAL MOUND STATE PARK
This peaceful setting on the shores of Lake Barkley is historically linked to the author F. Scott Fitzgerald. The property was once the farm of Willis B. Machen, grandfather of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald. Its not hard to imagine the serene, Gatsby-style era from this park, with idyllic days of playing golf and cruising the lake.
Located on the shores of Lake Barkley, Mineral Mound State Park is one of western Kentuckys most idyllic parks. Peaceful and inviting, the 541-acre park has a fishing pier, a boat ramp to access Lake Barkley, a lakeside picnic area, and an 18-hole championship golf course. Mineral Mound State Park was established in 1991, and has an interesting literary connection.
The park property once belonged to the farm of Willis B. Machen 1818-1893, grandfather of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, wife of the famous 1920s author of The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald. Machen had an impressive career as a farmer, lawyer, manufacturer, state senator, and United States Congressman.
F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald epitomized the Roaring 20s with their uninhibited lifestyle. Fitzgerald is considered one of the great itinerary figures of the twentieth century. Although written over eighty years ago, his works remains popular.