​I generally try to find the best aspects of every Concord I visit, but sometimes I just can’t dig up a feel-good story about a place, or should I say, I don’t have the time to let that story emerge.
After confirming the existence of the Concord neighborhood in Paducah, Kentucky, I belatedly hurried to New Concord, Kentucky.

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I​n 2018, my son Tom and I had a most memorable visit to the town of Concord, in northeastern Kentucky. Sipping moonshine with good ol’ boys and being invited in for dinner with a 93-year-old were the highlights, and I was hoping New Concord in northwestern Kentucky would be equally welcoming and entertaining.
It was over 100 degrees when I stopped in the center of town. There were two buildings remaining in what had once been a vibrant village. The Post Office had closed in 2022 and the corner store some time earlier.
Framed by rogue crepe myrtle on one side and vines overhead, the abandoned Post Office was beautiful in its rapid decay. The Corner Store had so many tales to tell. I could almost see the greybeards sitting in the shade swapping stories over Coca-Colas. I was frustrated by the harsh midday light. I just couldn’t capture the elegance of these images. The side door of the Post Office formed a pleasing composition, but my favorite image was of the gently billowing window shade next to a vibrant green truck. I’m not sure why it struck me; perhaps I had been walking around in the heat too long.
I had a 4-½ hour drive north to Concord, Illinois. When I go “Concording,” I usually plan to loop around to various Concords and return having gone full circle, but for this trip I arced down from South Dakota through Nebraska and Kansas and meandered to St. Louis before heading south to Kentucky. Now I had to retrace my route to St Louis. Anyone who has been hiking with me knows I hate to backtrack, but backtrack I must. I consoled myself with the idea of looking anew at the same places from the opposite direction.