This story begins in 2019 with the discovery of a groundhog who showed us the truth about what our 1920’s warehouse was nesting upon. She, Phyllis, dug up some 19th century trash directly into our basement revealing the truth that our building was literally constructed on a midden used by the area residents from the 1870’s until the 1920’s. This is in the historic Germantown neighborhood of Louisville, KY.

Today, we are nearing the end of our excavations. We are planning and designing our future museum that will celebrate the stories of those immigrant neighbors who discarded their trash at our site. We will explore their everyday life, the history of Louisville brewing and distilling ( think: Bourbon Trail), Prohibition, the Spanish Flu pandemic, cooking and condiments, toys and treasures unknown. There is so far no limit to the secrets of the midden, and we are so excited to share these stories with you and everyone who visits the Mary Street Midden Project.

We need to raise 99,000 dollars to kick off our renovations. Phase one is to show the neighborhood that we are “the real deal” by recreating our facade to be both exciting, accessible and welcoming. As a 501(c)(3), 100% of your donation will go directly to building our accessible ramp, relocating our entry, and providing visual access to what will be happening within our light filled museum.