1965 Woodford County Courthouse fire film premiers at library

by Bill Caine and Scott White October 22, 2026October 22, 2026

“THEY WERE THERE” Dr. Bill Foley, Glenda Creech, Rosemary Johnson and Winfrey Adkins spoke at the premiere of a home movie taken by Tommy McNeil of the 1965 Woodford County Courthouse fire, which took place at the Woodford County Library on Oct. 11. Foley and Adkins were college students and members of the Versailles Volunteer Fire Department who helped fight the fire, Creech’s family owned a business next door to the courthouse and witnessed the fire from the roof of the Woodford Hospital, and Johnson was a 20-year-old deputy clerk in the County Clerk’s office whose then-husband Tommy McNeil took the footage of the fire with their personal hand-held movie camera. An image from the film is paused on the screen behind them. (Photo by Scott White)

AN AERIAL PHOTO of the Woodford County Courthouse fire ran on the front page of the Lexington Leader on Oct. 12, 1965. The newspaper hired a pilot with Bohmer Flying Service located at Bluegrass Field to fly over and get the photo. (Photo is courtesy of the Woodford County Library History Room)

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1965 Woodford County Courthouse fire film premiers at library

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