thekaintuckeean – Page 19 – The Kaintuckeean

‘Madam Belle: Sex, Money, and Influence in a Southern Brothel’ Reviewed

Belle Brezing died in 1940 and her business had closed some twenty-three years earlier. Despite the passing of years, Ms. Brezing remains in the conscience of Lexington and a part of our communal lexicon.

Last year, Maryjean Wall’s Madam Belle: Sex, Money, and Influence in a Southern Brothel was published and the book is filled with colorful and illustrious characters just as were Brezing’s brothels. Wall tells the story of a business-savvy woman who had risen from the most difficult of circumstances.

Belle’s first sexual encounter was with Dionesio Mucci; both lived in the Western Suburb, but they were not contemporaries. Belle was only 12 years old, while Mucci was in his thirties. By the age of 15, Belle was both an orphan and a mother with “few prospects for the future.”

In 1879, at the age of 19, Belle entered the employ of Jennie Hill who operated a brothel in what had been the childhood home of Mary Todd Lincoln. Within two years, Belle opened her own “house of ill repute.” It would be the first of several she would own, each being more lavish than the one before. She also shifted operations from the west end of Lexington to the city’s east end.

<br /> Clients included big names in horse racing, breeding, politics and business. Judge John Riley, a police judge, took interest in one of Belle’s prostitutes before marrying the girl. Her connections to the law aided her in keeping out of trouble and when trouble found Madam Belle, but a pardon from the governor came in handy after an 1883 indictment.

Wall’s ninth chapter – ‘Crackdown on Vice’ – begins with almost a vilification of James Ben Ali Haggin and his manager, Charles Berryman, for “advocating a new moral code for Lexington.” The beginning of the 20th century was a challenging one for Belle Brezing and the other madams of Lexington.

Belle’s final brothel, which remained her home during her twenty-three year retirement, was auctioned off after her death in 1940. In 1973, the house burned closing a tangible reminder of Belle’s influence in Lexington.

But her legacy remains clearly visible and Madam Belle provides a thoroughly researched and enjoyably readable account of this Lexington legend and the community in which she lived.

Published by the University Press of Kentucky, Madam Belle is available at all purveyors of fine books.

Disclaimer: The author was provided a courtesy copy of this book. This review/assessment followed.

A Roundup of News to Start 2014

Local beer runs are easier with 14 breweries opening in Kentucky since 2011. [Courier Journal]

My parents relocation from Kentucky to North Carolina must have helped the Tarheel State jump to become the ninth most populous state. Kentucky is still #26 but there are more than 4.4 million Kentuckians for the first time ever! [WKYT]

A spectacular roundup on Northern Kentucky’s 13 biggest historic preservation stories of 2014. [River City News]

Even sinkholes don’t last forever. They are patching the sinkhole at Bowling Green’s Corvette Museum. [WDRB]

Lexington and Kentucky: 2014 reviewed from the media perspective [Herald Leader]

And then the Governor shouts out the accolades for Kentucky in 2014 [Presser]

In case you haven’t noticed, I ❤ historic preservation! So I just love reading a well-written piece on good historic preservation being sustainable, economical, and flexible. A lot of the focus of this effort is coming to Louisville! [Preservation Leadership Forum]

Across the river in Indiana, a circa 1864 bell that survived a 2009 county courthouse fire was rededicated on the courthouse lawn in Madison. [Herald-Leader]

Anyone interested in a weekly roundup of Kentucky and history and preservation news? Let me know if you’d like me to continue this kind of post!

5 Top Posts on Kaintuckeean in 2014

What a year! As 2014 comes to a close, I looked back to check out what were the top posts on the Kaintuckeean for the year! I find it particularly important that four of the five top posts of 2014 related to properties that could and should have been, or could and should be, preserved (or to my book which tells the stories of several properties that belong on the could have/should have list).

Happy New Year!!!

Briefly, the posts are

More on each of these, plus links to the original posts are after the jump. Read on to see why these were the top posts on the Kaintuckeean in 2014!

The post on Ridgeway was written by Cheri Daniels and was the most popular post on the Kaintuckeean. The rich history of the house and a major call to action helped the post to go viral. But the fight to protect the Tandy House isn’t over and the effort will continue in 2015. Read all about the Ridgeway House here.

In November, my book Lost Lexington was published by The History Press of Charleston, South Carolina. I’m so appreciative that the book has been well received by both media and readers alike. A lot of details about the book including author events, media promotion, etc. is available and kept updated on the Lost Lexington page which was #2 on the Kaintuckeean’s Top of 2014 list!

On a Thursday evening I learned of a big fire in downtown Nicholasville. By Friday morning, I was surveying the damage to a ca. 1804 log cabin. And on Saturday morning, I witnessed that cabin being demolished. One of the posts on the this demolition – Nicholasville House Burns and is Quickly Demolished -was the third most popular on the site in 2014. I wrote several pieces on the subject, as well as on the ca. 1904 dwelling that was demolished on the same block the same week.

The Old Courthouse by Robert Thrashing. A collection
of his work, “Room with a View” was
displayed at the UK Medical Center Gallery.

“Sentimentalists” fought the demolition of the ca. 1898 Fayette Courthouse during the early 1950s. The rich history of the centerpiece of Lexington’s downtown – the Richardsonian Romanesque courthouse – was told in a post written just a short time before the courthouse was shuttered because of environmental concerns. Of course, now brownfield grants and other efforts are being sought to bring this important structure back to public life! The history of the old Fayette Courthouse was the fourth most popular of 2014!

And I’m not entirely sure why #5 is on the list, other than to think that “Murder and Intrigue” made the post an SEO favorite. The post was a throwback Thursday (#TBT) for the Yocum Lodge which was located on Lexington’s Nicholasville Road at the northwest corner of the Waller Road intersection.

Thanks for reading the Kaintuckeean! Do you have a favorite post on the Kaintuckeean? If so, share it in the comments or on twitter @kaintuckeean or the Kaintuckeean Facebook Page.

Happy New Year!!

Hiking Fun for All Ages at Garrard County’s Dupree Nature Preserve

Panoramic View from the Overlook at Dupree Preserve. Author’s collection.

Map of the Dupree Preserve. Preserve.

Twice over as many months I’ve taken my two kids, ages 3 and 6, for a hike in the woods. There are few activities that are more fun with kids. Hiking removes them from “screen time” and, under these circumstances, they are happy for the break! They are exposed to nature and my inquisitive 6 year old loves to learn, so I relish the opportunity to take him to such an “outdoor classroom.”

One of central Kentucky’s newest nature preserves and hiking trail opportunities exists in Garrard County at the Dupree Nature Preserve. The preserve opened in October 2013 with the last of the trails, the Cliff Trail, being completed in August 2014. Its 300 acres features savannah, woodlands, views of the Kentucky River and the Palisades, and interpretive materials along the 5-miles of trails.

A Variety of Trails

The kids, ages 6 and 3, walking the trails at Dupree Preserve. Author’s collection.

None of the trails at Dupree Nature Preserve are truly difficult. The most challenging is the Cliff Trail which involves a number of switchbacks. In the fallen leaves, it is also the most difficult to follow. It was navigated successfully by the Lil Kaintuckeean and I (I carried 3-year old Lil Miss Kaintuckeean). Fortunately, we were descending the trail which covers a quarter mile in distance and a descent of 140 feet!

The trails begin from the gravel parking lot along a wide gravel path, through savannah grasses which once were the norm in central Kentucky. Paths diverge once you enter the woods, but the two main paths off of the main trail are the River Trail and the Overlook Trail.

At Dupree Preserve’s Overlook, a sign warns of “Dangerous Cliffs.” Author’s collection.

We’ve completed the Overlook Trail twice and it is an easy trail to walk. I’ve seen others comment that a day at Dupree is more like a walk in the park than a serious hike; this is really true except that it works when you are outnumbered by children!

The view at the Overlook is far more impressive than the one at Raven Run simply because of its panoramic scale, though the perspective does lack the curve in the river which dominates the view at Raven Run. Signs warn of “Dangerous Cliffs,” but both a bench and picnic table allow for enjoyment of the beauty at a safe distance.

The Lil’ Kaintuckeean and I at the bottom of the River Trail next to the Kentucky River.
Author’s collection.

The long River Trail once served as a River Road from the crossing at river elevation where a ferry once operated at the end of the 1700s. According to the Kentucky River Guidebook, William Smith established a ferry on 200 acres he acquired in Garrard County “across from the mouth of Jessamine Creek.” Much of this land became what is today the Dupree Nature Preserve.

There is also a Meditation Trail, which I haven’t yet had the chance to enjoy but which I understand contains a healthy dose of benches (as do all of the trails).

The Ferry & Her History

This region of Kentucky was originally surveyed by Daniel Boone. James Polly claimed some 400 acres in an area of Garrard County that still bears his name: Polly’s Bend. In 1788, William Smith acquired 200 acres of this land. By 1790, he had acquired the frontage on the north (Jessamine County) side of the river and had begun a ferry operation which was handled by ferryman George William Downs. It became known as Down’s Ferry.

On April 23, 1799, the Jessamine County Court organized a commission to investigate the pros and cons of developing a road from “the seat of Justice” to Downs ferry.

Commissioners Apptd.

Ordered that Jonas Davonport John McKinny Wm. Campbell & James Curd or any three
of them being first duly sworn be appointed to View the ground through which a
Road is proposed to be conducted from Downs ferry on the Kentucky River to the
seat of Justice & make Report of their Pro Conveniences and inconveniences as
that will result as well to individuals as to the public if said Road be opened.

The need for such a road, however, was diminished by 1802 when Downs, along with John Moss, leased Hogan’s ferry and the old ferry at Polly’s Bend shuttered. Hogan’s ferry was at a far better location nearer an offshoot of the old Wilderness Road. Later Hogan’s ferry would close after the Wernwag Bridge opened in 1838.

According to a History of the Dupree Preserve written by Lisa Conley, it was in 1863 at the site of the old Polly’s Bend ferry where Martha Vaughn and Louisa Jackman risked their lives to deliver important information about Confederate activities to Union forces stationed in Jessamine County. Without their report, “the possibility is that the bridge over Kentucky River would have been burned.” (Affidavit of W.N. Owens).

Record of Petition and Papers of Vaughn and Jackman. US House.

For their contributions to the Union, both Vaughn and Jackman sought payment of their private claims by the US government. Their claims were postponed, referred to other committees, and denied on multiple occasions through various Congresses; it is unclear if Mrs. Vaughn or Mrs. Jackman ever received any remuneration for their service. It was that old Wernwag Bridge which was saved by their heroics.

Hiking for All Ages

Spending time outdoors improves both mental and physical health in both children and adults. Research reveals that many cognitive skills are enhanced by giving children the opportunity to experience the outdoors and to exercise. What better place to do this than in a nature preserve?

The kids along the trail among a grove of chinquapin oak. Author’s collection.

Dupree Nature Preserve’s trails are laid out around the various sinkholes and other aspects of the land’s karst topography, but the majority of the trail mileage is easy walking for kids and adults alike. Hiking at this Preserve is suitable for all ages.

Future plans include a dock and a picnic pavilion. The dock could be especially popular as the Preserve is located the 42-mile Kentucky Blue River Trail. But whether you approach the Dupree Nature Preserve by foot or by kayak, it is a terrific place to enjoy a beautiful day in Kentucky.

Last Minute Christmas Gift Idea … Lost Lexington!

Today is Festivus (for the rest of us)!

Of course, that also means that tomorrow is Christmas Eve! It’s too late to get anything delivered from amazon.com, so what is someone to do for a last minute Christmas gift?

May I suggest my book, Lost Lexington, Kentucky?

You can still pick it up locally at either Morris Book Shop or Joseph Beth Booksellers (and maybe other places, too).

Morris Book Shop
882 E. High Street; Lexington

Joseph Beth Booksellers
161 Lexington Green Circle; Lexington

Tomorrow morning, I’ll also have books available for pick-up directly from me (cash, plastic, or check; sorry, no change) which I can sign for you or the lucky person to receive such an awesome gift from you. Email me – peter [at] kaintuckeean [dot] com – for the where.

Already read Lost Lexington?

It would be a big help to me if you would be so kind as to write a review of Lost Lexington! Reviews can be submitted on as many review sites as you can find, but the easiest to use are amazon.com and barnes & noble. If you use GoodReads, you can also submit a review there! Many thanks!

A Merry Christmas Wish with Bourbon Iced Cookies

The Traditional Julbord at My Parents

Each year on Christmas Eve, my folks hosted a smorgasbord with all the Scandinavian delights one might desire. Friends and family gathered at #MyOldKYHome for food and drink that lingered late into the night.

But the homeplace in Lexington’s Western Historic Suburb was sold earlier this year and change is afoot. The Fiddler still works to muster the word, “Tradition,” but things won’t be the same. Year after year, the menu of smorgasbord has remained virtually unchanged. Our family never has taken change (particularly in the food arena) very well.

Tradition. And food. A dangerous combination.

But a few years ago, one small change was made to the Christmas Eve cookie lineup: gingerbread.

Maker’s Mark Gingerbread Cookies.

Not boring gingerbread cookies, mind you. At the 2010 World Equestrian Games, my wife picked up a cookie cutter at the Maker’s Mark store shaped like a bottle of Maker’s. Her immediate thought was making gingerbread cookies.

And are they great. Sure, gingerbread cookies are, well, not the most exciting cookie in the world. (Unless you find a talking one a la Shrek. “Not my gumdrop buttons!”) Find a recipe you like and go with it. But first, go buy the cookie cutter from Maker’s online store or make the pilgrimage to Loretto. For the icing, we used:

2 cups powdered sugar

teaspoon Maker’s 46

2 tablespoons milk

Red food coloring

Mix the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk together. Once dry add small amounts of milk and stir until the icing is runny enough to drizzle lightly from a spoon. Now add the food coloring, remember to do this a drop at a time as a little bit can make a dramatic difference.

Oh, the icing… my was it good!

Whatever your tradition, or whether you’re changing things around some this year,

Merry Christmas!

Wiping Away the Snow … 70 Years Ago

Pvt. Charles Preston of Nicholasville, KY Truman Presidential Library.

By December 21, 1944, U.S. troops had been engaged in the Battle of the Bulge for five days. En route, reinforcements included Pvt. Charles Preston of Nicholasville. Pvt. Preston is photographed clearing snow from his jeep’s mounted 30-caliber machine gun.

The photo was taken 70 years ago today.

Private Preston survived the war and lived until 2003 (he died eleven years ago tomorrow, December 22). He is buried at Camp Nelson in Jessamine County, Kentucky.

6 Sites Recommended for the National Register (part 2)

Yesterday, I profiled 3 of the 6 sites recommended for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places by the Kentucky Historic Preservation Review Board. The sites were:

Marianne Theater in Campbell County;
Charles Young Park and Community Center in Fayette County;
Lynn Acres Apartments in Jefferson County;
Louisville, Gas & Electric Co. Service Station Complex in Jefferson County;
Hellman Lumber and Manufacturing Co. in Kenton County; and
Elkhorn City Elementary and High Schools in Pike County.

Below, I’m briefly going over the last three properties on the list: the Louisville, Gas & Electric Co. Service Station Complex, the Hellman Lumber and Manufacturing Co., and Elkhorn City Elementary and High Schools.

All 6 nominations which will be forwarded to the National Park Service (NPS) for final determination of eligibility. A decision on designation will be rendered within 60 to 90 days.

Louisville, Gas & Electric Co. Service Station Complex

LG&E Service Station Complex. NRHP Application.

Also known as the Edison Building, this gas and electrical service station was constructed ca. 1924. It stands on a 4+ acre lot at Louisville’s 7th and Ormsby, and all of the acreage is included in the nomination. Even before 1924, the site’s utility was related to generating power.

The main structure is cube-shaped and constructed primarily of poured cement. The south façade is the most decorated of the four sides and it is divided into 9 bays. The three-story structure was built with the potential of expansion to 8-stories, but demand was never realized for the additional square footage. A red brick gate house, ca. 1890, also stands on the property.

Hellman Lumber and Manufacturing Co.

Hellman Lumber. NRHP Application.

On Covington’s 12th Street, stands the Hellman Lumber and Manufacturing Co. This warehouse was built from 1886-1894 and the company is one of the community’s oldest businesses dating to 1879. Without a doubt, many of Covington’s structures have been built with wood that has passed through this facility.

The nomination form describes the main warehouse as “an intact two-story two-bay side-gabled brick warehouse-style corner commercial building that is approximately 14,000-16,000 square feet. The original foundation is wet-masonry limestone.” The building and its story represent an intact representation of the era’s booming lumber industry.

Elkhorn City Elementary and High Schools

Elkhorn City High School. NRHP Application.

Near the heart of Elkhorn City are its schools with the complex (6.8 acres) including 6 structures, of which 3 are contributing to the historic character: a 1938 WPA high school, a 1956 elementary school, and a 1956 music instruction building.

Elkhorn City lies in Pike County about 20 miles from the seat of Pikeville. During the academic life of these buildings as academic facilities, 1938 to the 1980s, the manpower required for coal mining increasingly declined even when demand was high due to mechanization of the process. The nomination form provides that “These facilities demonstrate a continual dedication to public education within this rural Kentucky community. Their existence displays a successful development from rural school facilities into a modernized educational system.”

And finally, a little bit more about the National Register of Historic Places:

The National Register

Owners of National Register properties may qualify for state and/or federal tax credits for rehabilitation of these properties to standards set forth by the Secretary of the Interior, as certified by the Kentucky Heritage Council, or by making a charitable contribution of a preservation easement. National Register status does not affect property ownership rights, but does provide a measure of protection against adverse impacts from federally funded projects.

The National Register is the nation’s official list of historic and archaeological resources deemed worthy of preservation. Kentucky has the fourth-highest number of listings among states, at more than 3,300. Listing can be applied to buildings, objects, structures, districts and archaeological sites, and proposed sites must be significant in architecture, engineering, American history or culture.

6 Sites Recommended for the National Register (part 1)

Marianne Theatre (Bellevue), Lynn Acres Apartments (Louisville); and the
Charles Young Center (Lexington). Images from respective NRHP Applications.

Last week, the Kentucky Historic Preservation Review Board approved six sites for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, nominations which will now be forwarded to the National Park Service (NPS) for final determination of eligibility. A decision on designation will be rendered within 60 to 90 days.

The sites were:

Marianne Theater in Campbell County;
Charles Young Park and Community Center in Fayette County;
Lynn Acres Apartments in Jefferson County;
Louisville, Gas & Electric Co. Service Station Complex in Jefferson County;
Hellman Lumber and Manufacturing Co. in Kenton County; and
Elkhorn City Elementary and High Schools in Pike County.

A summary about the first three is included below and the final three will be covered in a post tomorrow. But first a little bit about the National Register and the process for getting a property listed:

The National Register

And now for the properties …

Marianne Theatre

Marianne Theatre Marquee. NRHP Application.

This Bellevue, Kentucky, theatre was designed by Registered Architect Paul B. Kiel in 1941 in the Art Deco and Moderne Style. It was built by owner-manager Peter L. Smith in 1942 in the center of the 600 block of Fairfield Avenue in Bellevue, Kentucky. Already on the National Register as part of the Fairfield Avenue Historic District, the property is being indvididually listed to draw additional attention to it.

There once were over 60 neighborhood theaters in northern Kentucky and the Marianne was one of the finest.

Charles Young Park and Community Center

Charles Young Center. NRHP Application.

Across the street from Lexington’s Isaac Murphy Memorial Garden stands the Charles Young Park and Community Center. This part of Lexington’s East End is undergoing a renaissance and the Charles Young facilities stand to be a landmark in this change.

The park has been owned by the city since 1930 and the one-story brick veneered side-gable community center is an icon of Third Street. During Jim Crow-era Kentucky, segregation dictated separate community facilities for blacks. According to the nomination, the “Charles Young Park provides an important physical and spatial indication of the existence of the East End community, and the importance that a public place holds for any community— for recreation and civic gathering.”

Lynn Acres Garden Apartments

Circa 1950 Aerial of Lynn Acres. NRHP Application.

The 66 two-story apartment buildings in Louisville’s southside were constructed between 1947 and 1950. The complex includes a variety of 12-, 8-, and 4-plex units with greenspace behind each structure intended for children’s play but which is now used by many residents for gardening.

The brick construction and side-gabled roofs had architectural attention in their design – a rarity in today’s residential apartment design. But perhaps the layout of the buildings deserves the most attention as the green space between them and the connected streets are key to good community design.

The other 3 sites nominated by the Heritage Council will be discussed tomorrow on the Kaintuckeean.

The end of the story of Nicholasville’s ‘Lady Sterling House’

The Lady Sterling House. Nicholasville, Ky. Author’s collection.

In 1804, Thomas Jefferson was president of the United States. The Louisiana Purchase was completed. And Christopher Greenup was elected the commonwealth’s third governor.

Only six years earlier, Nicholasville was founded and Jessamine County was formed. These were the earliest of days for our nation, our commonwealth and our community.

Original 1802 Plat Map of Nicholasville. Jessamine Historical Society.

Also in 1804, a log cabin was built on lot 104. Lot 104, as found on Nicholasville’s original plat map dated 1802, was at the northwest corner of West and North Cross streets. Those road names are today known as First and Walnut streets, respectively.

In 1839, the log cabin was owned by rented out to a young Englishman, Ross Hughes, and his wife. Mr. Hughes was a stagecoach driver and was on the road often and for considerable time.

Lady Sterling House. Jessamine PVA.

Even so, a little girl was born in the log cabin to Hughes’ wife in 1841. Mother and daughter tracked the absent father to St. Louis where it was discovered that he was, in fact, quite wealthy. The young girl “became a lady in fashionable society in St. Louis, and later the wife of an English lord, and the mistress of a superb mansion in London society.” As wife of the English lord, she received the honorary title of “lady” and so the moniker for the now defunct log cabin could appropriately be the Lady Sterling House.

The story was told in Bennett Young’s 1898 “History of Jessamine County” and retold by Robin Fain in a 1993 history of the county. The 1898 history of the county said of the log cabin’s condition that “it has been altered and weatherboarded anew, and is still one of the most comfortable residences in the town.”

That weatherboarding disguised history for generations. When Dr. Rice Teater moved from his large home at West Third and Maple streets, many were surprised that the popular physician chose to downsize to the old weathered structure at First and Walnut streets.

But the history-loving Dr. Teater must have known the building’s storied past. Dr. Teater died from injuries sustained during a fire in the structure in the early 1950s.

A second fire, about 25-years ago, resulted in the discovery of the old hewn logs and the revelation that the house had stood since the early days of lot 104. When the Kentucky Historic Resources Survey looked at historic places in Nicholasville in the mid-1980s, it overlooked this covered property which today lies just outside the district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Yet, it was still a piece of our community’s history that had witnessed nearly all of it. That is, until the events which followed the third fire.

On Thursday evening, another fire consumed the log cabin.

A number of individuals took to social media to express their hope that the 210-year-old building would see another day. Wrote Kim Shea, “if the old cabin could be saved and restored, that would be great.” Ann Royalty hoped that, at a minimum, someone could “have a few of the logs to put on display for history or museum purposes.”

It would have taken preservationists only a few days to determine if some form of salvage was possible.

But those few days weren’t to happen. Despite attempting to save at least the old log cabin to be assessed, the entire property was razed early Saturday morning.

How much more of our past must be destroyed before we at least pause to consider it? Remember, demolition is forever.

The post above was originally published in the Jessamine Journal on December 11, 2014.