Frat Boys Destroy Georgetown College Building In Search Of Whiskey

By Richard Thomas

A fraternity prank turned tragic early this morning when members of Georgetown College’s Kappa Alpha organization inadvertently demolished the front of the college’s historic Giddings Hall while in pursuit of aged bourbon whiskey.

Scott County, Kentucky is home to not just Georgetown College, a Baptist liberal arts school, but is also the legendary birthplace of bourbon whiskey, and the pair have an intertwined history. Frontier era Baptist Minister and local magnate Elijah Craig is generally thought of as the “Father of Bourbon,” but was involved in many other enterprises beyond whiskey-making. One of them, the Rittenhouse Academy, later evolved into Georgetown College.

Local legend had it that when Giddings Hall was erected in 1839, several casks of the Reverend Craig’s whiskey were entombed within the portico’s neo-classical columns. Georgetown College’s students have been salivating over this mythical store of antique bourbon ever since, especially during Scott County’s lengthy stint as a dry, liquor-free county. Last night, a small band of students from the Kappa Alpha fraternity finally decided to do something about it.

Giddings Hall after the Kappa Alpha whiskey raid
(Credit: Whiskey Reviewer)

Setting out at 12:01 am, April 1st, the vandals attacked the columns with portable jackhammers, cracking open each of the four pillars in turn in search of the whiskey. After drilling deep into the fourth column, they so undermined the portico’s structural integrity that the front of the building developed severe cracks, and falling masonry soon put a stop to their efforts. The front of Giddings Hall reportedly collapsed just before dawn, before it could be braced with supports.

The Scott County’ sheriff’s office described the Kappa Alpha whiskey raid as “the stupidest April Fool’s prank in recorded history,” and reported all suspects were in custody.