Author: thekaintuckeean

Fighting to Save a Kentucky Landmark: Ridgeway

On Veterans Day, the Harrison County Fiscal Court chose to ‘honor’ the memory of one of Kentucky’s most prominent Veterans by voting to demolish his residence, Ridgeway (aka The Handy House), just 3 years shy of its 200th birthday. This former home of U.S. Congressman and War of 1812 Veteran, Colonel William Brown, sits at the top of a hill in the ‘new’ Flat Run Veterans Park off Oddville Pike, heading out of Cynthiana. The park has existed for nearly ten years, but it remains unfinished, and the local population has been divided on what to do with this structurally sound, but cosmetically challenged historic treasure.

The history of the house is quite remarkable. As mentioned above, the original owner was U.S. Congressman and War of 1812 Veteran, Colonel William Brown. He was an attorney and close friend of Henry Clay. Both served in the 16th Congress, which established the Missouri Compromise. Colonel Brown’s wife, Harriet Warfield, was the sister of Lexington’s Dr. Elisha Warfield. He is well known as the owner of the famed racehorse Lexington and as the physician who delivered Mary Todd Lincoln.

 
 

Thus began the Brown family’s connection to the Todd/Lincoln families. As Kentuckians migrated west, many families moved into the Illinois territory. The Brown family began this move as did some of the Todds. At this time, Colonel Brown was also leaning toward an anti-slavery stance, despite owning 30 slaves at Ridgeway. As he relocated his family, he freed his slaves and brought a few of them along to work as employed free men. The sons and nephew of the Colonel got caught up in the Black Hawk War and fought alongside another new Kentucky emigrant, Abraham Lincoln. The comrades in arms formed long lasting friendships, and Lincoln accompanied the Brown family men back to their new property to help clear it after the war, alongside Ridgeway’s former slaves.

As the years went by, evidence of Lincoln’s friendship with this family can be found in many ways.

When Lincoln was running for office for the first time in 1858, he wrote to the Colonel’s son (Capt. James N. Brown), assuring him of his stance on slavery:

I believe the declara[tion] that ‘all men are created equal’ is the great fundamental principle upon which our free institutions rest.

After Lincoln’s assassination, James was personally selected by Mary Todd Lincoln to serve as one of Abraham’s pall bearers on the final leg of the body’s journey in Springfield. James’ children are buried at Ridgeway, and the stones have been broken off and carried into the foyer of the house.

The Colonel’s nephew, Orville Hickman Browning, another Cynthiana native and resident of Ridgeway, studied the law at the house with his Uncle. Browning became one of Lincoln’s closest friends, and was later appointed U.S. Secretary of the Interior by President Johnson. When Abraham and Mary lost their son Willie, the Brownings were called to the White House to handle the funeral arrangements and to comfort Mary. It was to Browning in 1861 that Lincoln penned the famous line:

I think to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose the whole game.

 

After the Brown family finally sold the farm to Dr. Frazer, Ridgeway had many chapters of historical importance. Here is a timeline of known events:

  • Since farm purchase in 1794, agriculture has been a constant force in the prosperity of Ridgeway 
  • House built in 1817/1818 based on tax records 
  • Plantation home to over 30 slaves leading up to the Civil War 
  • Several of those slaves emancipated by the Brown family as they migrated to Illinois in 1832 
  • Dr. Frazer continued the enslavement of individuals while supporting the Union 
  • Civil War: farm part of Union Camp Frazer from 1861 through 1862. Camp was destroyed by Gen. Morgan during Battles of Cynthiana 
  • William T. Handy turns a portion of the farm into a training area for his famous trotting horses 
  • Mr. Handy names the house Chestnut Hall 
  • After Mr. Handy’s death in the early 20th century, the house becomes known as the Handy House, and is transformed into a farmer’s co-op, with many families calling it home 
  • 2002: Purchased by the City of Cynthiana and Harrison County to form the Flat Run Veterans Park 
  • 2005: Included on the National Register of Historic Places

As faithful friends of the house worked tirelessly to save this landmark, others have pushed to replace it with a swimming pool even though the plans for Flat Runs Veterans Park accommodate both the historical property and the swimming facility.

When the original lease holders – the Harrison County Historical Society – unexpectedly relinquished the lease before it’s allotted time, a different non-profit was formed to ask for the lease to be transferred to them. Since 2012, that group – the Harrison County Heritage Council – has been actively making plans in the event it was awarded the lease. But each year there has been delay after delay, and new criteria set before us to fulfill prior to the lease being awarded, which we have always met. In July of 2014, a 23-page business plan was submitted to the city and county officials by Massachusetts real estate developer, and 4th great grandson of Colonel William Brown, Chris Starr. After the presentation, both groups responded very favorably and asked for our non profit paperwork prior to taking a vote. This had already been submitted and was awaiting rush processing, but the Mayor warned everyone that this could take up to 9 months due to a back-up in the system. We didn’t need to wait that long, as it was processed in August, and mailed back to us on November 7th. Unfortunately, without any notification, and with only a partial number of magistrates present, the Fiscal Court took it upon themselves to call for a vote 4 days later on Veterans Day. The Fiscal Court cited security concerns and lack of communication from our organization. Again, we were all on the same page – waiting on our paperwork prior to a vote. Plus, we had moved to secure the back door as requested.

We have been preparing to take quick action as soon as we received the lease – grant money allowed us to order the roof, landscaper has plans and men ready to break ground, money has continued to be raised, porches are ready to be fixed by local carpenters….all we needed was the final vote to allow us the permission to take action and turn this landmark into a much needed community center and event space that would provide revenue for decades to come.

We have one last stop: the City Commissioners meeting on November 25th at 5:30pm at Cynthiana’s City Hall. They have yet to cast their vote. If they agree to demolish, the fight looks just about over. Our organization feels the history of this house is larger than Cynthiana, and is a wonderful part of Kentucky’s heritage.

We welcome supporters from around the state or country – please call or e-mail the City/County officials of Harrison County/Cynthiana. Contact information is available on the City of Cynthiana’s website. Please urge them to vote in favor of restoration!

 This guest post was authored by Cheri Daniels (@historiana); all photographs in this post have also been provided by her. Cheri is a Director of the Harrison County Heritage Council which is the organization spearheading local efforts to preserve Ridgeway. By day, Cheri is an MSLS-Senior Librarian/Reference Specialist in charge of programming at the Kentucky Historical Society. She is also a Co-Editor of KentuckyAncestors.org, President/Co-Founder of Pastology, LLC, and maintains her own blog at Journeys Past. 

A Lost Lexington Interview

On Sunday, November 9, 2014, the iHeartRadio networks in Kentucky aired this radio interview about Lost Lexington. Interviewing Peter Brackney was Suzanne Duval. I wanted to share the audio with you all, so I created a video to make it a little more interested. This is my first stab at any sort of video editing, but it was fun so it may be worth utilizing more on the Kaintuckeean. 

As for the book, the next event is on Saturday at Costco. Check out more details over on Lost Lexington’s Facebook page. You can read about other coverage of Lost Lexington by clicking here.

In Memorium: Holmes Hall

Holmes Hall – University of Kentucky, ca. 1914. Author’s collection.

IMHO, the loss of Holmes Hall may be the most devastating of all the demolitions which occurred on campus this summer. Yes, others may have more historic or even architectural significance, but the realtor’s mantra of “location, location, location” weighs heavily (for me) with this demolition.

Holmes Hall stood at such a prominent location: the northeast corner of South Limestone and the Avenue of Champions. From its seat, Holmes Hall welcomed to the downtown area those traveling into Lexington along Nicholasville Road.

It was smartly set back from the curb with a good amount of green space. Behind, the structure consisted largely of three parts: a four-story brick dormitory not dissimilar to many other dormitories on campus, an interesting one-story brown stone appendage that wrapped the building’s frontage along Avenue of Champions as well as part of its eastern façade (the same stone was smartly used around each of the entrances), and the final part of the of Holmes Hall was what truly set it apart.

Holmes Hall – University of Kentucky. Author’s collection.

The stepped canopy that rose from the Avenue of Champions on the eastern side of Holmes Hall was always one of my favorite architectural features on campus. Stone columns held up each step of the multi-level canopy, with each level constructed of seamless concrete.

From beneath the canopy, the covered walkway appeared as a portal to another world. And from above, the canopy gave the impression of a multi-step waterfall. Its beauty was such that it could have easily been part of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water.

Demolition of Holmes Hall. Author’s collection.

It was a visible portal into the heart of Lexington. But the building and its canopy are gone.  It would have been nice if at least the canopied walk could have been incorporated into the new design, but this was not to be.

But it wasn’t the only structure on the campus of the University of Kentucky to be demolished in 2014. Gone, too, are Wenner-Gren, Hamilton House, and others. As the campus has grown or changed needs, a number of historic structures have fallen through the years like the old Carnegie Library and White Hall.

What was your favorite campus building at UK that has been removed? Mention it, or share your memories about Holmes Hall, in the comments.

This post is based on an excerpt about the Lost Campus from LOST LEXINGTON, KY.

Lexington has dozens of well-restored landmarks, but so many more are lost forever. The famous Phoenix Hotel, long a stop for weary travelers and politicians alike, has risen from its own ashes numerous times over the past centuries. The works of renowned architect John McMurtry were once numerous around town, but some of the finest examples are gone. The Centrepointe block has been made and unmade so many times that its original tenants are unknown to natives now.
Where to purchase LOST LEXINGTON?

3 Kentucky Memorials Honor Our Veterans

Armistice Day. It was on the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month in the year 1918 that World War I ceremonially ended.

In time, and in recognition of the many more conflicts in which American servicemen and women fought, the holiday was renamed to Veterans Day. To all those who have served our country, thank you.

Below are images of 3 selected memorials around Kentucky which honor the servicemen of World War I:

Springfield, Kentucky. Author’s collection.
Paintsville, Kentucky. Author’s collection
Morehead, Kentucky. Author’s collection.

Good Giving Challenge Is On!

Thumbing through the Good Giving Guide on Sunday evening, I was reminded of how many incredible nonprofit organizations serve our community and our region. The guide is designed to do exactly that. It describes what a nonprofit does and why the organization is great.

During the holiday season, we will be inundated by requests for support by worthy causes. Often, it is difficult to sift through all of those organizations. Although the guide omits many critical central Kentucky charitable organizations (there’s no way to list them all!), it does describe over 150 charitable groups.

The Good Giving Guide is produced in partnership between the Blue Grass Community Foundation (BGCF) and Smiley Pete Publishing. The 45-year old BGCF partners with individuals, families, businesses and nonprofits to raise funds for groups that enhance the quality of life in eastern and central Kentucky.

Last year’s Good Giving Challenge raised over $1.6 million for 107 different local nonprofit organizations. Too often, we think that just a few dollars of giving will accomplish little, but through matching partnerships even small gifts are magnified.

The Good Giving Guide details what a $50 contribution to different organizations will buy. For God’s Pantry, that will provide 431 pounds of fresh produce for Kentucky families. At the Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation, $50 of giving will provide 25 warm blankets for babies suffering from drug withdrawal in the NICU. The Growing Together Preschool organization can outfit a pre-K classroom with its science materials, and Lexington Philharmonic can introduce 25 low-income elementary school students to the arts. Any of these things is possible with such a small gift.

The guide is broken down into the principal kind of outreach done by the nonprofit: animal welfare, arts and culture, community outreach, education, environment, health, human services, and youth.

Among the pages are a host of humane societies throughout the region. So, too, are art and historic house museums, libraries, schools, food banks, and homeless coalitions. The list goes on and on. Many of the nonprofits are located in Lexington, but several of these have a reach beyond that city’s limits. There were also several nonprofits each from Clark and Boyle counties, as well as other counties in the region.

But only one charity from Jessamine County was in the pages of the Good Giving Guide: the Camp Nelson Honor Guard. This all-volunteer resident guard provides full, enhanced military funeral rites at Camp Nelson National Cemetery, supports the rifle details there, and works events annually. The honor guard is great because it brings honor, dignity and tradition to one of the last pristine Civil War sites in the nation.

There are a number of other worthy Jessamine County charitable groups, and I’d hope that they could join the Challenge in 2015. Doing so provides a big boost to the region’s awareness of a nonprofit and its mission.
During the Good Giving Challenge, each of the 150-plus organizations have matching gifts from a number of businesses and individuals, mostly local.

This holiday season, I’d encourage everyone to make a contribution to a worthy charity this holiday season. The 2014 Good Giving Challenge began this week and runs through December 12. If you are looking for a good charity to plug in with, pick up a copy of the Good Giving Guide or visit www.bggives.org.

A version of this column originally appeared in the Jessamine Journal on November 6, 2014. It should not be republished without permission.

Lost Lexington Events This Weekend

Panel Discussion During Lost Lexington Launch Event at the Blue Grass Trust
(L-R) Yvonne Giles, Mark Naylor, Tom Eblen, Peter Brackney, Bill Johnston, and Jason Sloan.
Not pictures: Holly Wiedemann, moderator.

If you missed the book signing and discussion at the Thomas Hunt Morgan House hosted by the Blue Grass Trust, you can check out one of the two book signings scheduled for this weekend:

Signing copies of Lost Lexington.

At Morris Book Shop, 882 E. High St. in Lexington, there will be a Lost Lexington reading and signing from 2-4 on Sunday, November 9. Mark your attendance at the Facebook event by clicking here.

There will also be a reading and signing on Sunday evening from 6-8 at the Barnes & Noble, 1932 Pavilion Way, in Hamburg (Lexington) during the store’s Awesome Author weekend. Information about all author’s featured during the weekend is available by clicking here.

There are other events scheduled in the coming weeks as well. Details about these can be found by clicking here.

Now a few more details and pictures from the BGT event …

The BGT event on Monday was great fun. After a book signing and mingling, a gathering assembled in the auditorium at the Thomas Hunt Morgan House for a reading from Lost Lexington. Though the picture didn’t turn out quite as I had hoped, I snapped a picture (above) of the audience before reading excerpts from Lost Lexington. It was a great crowd!

After my reading, a panel discussion considered Lexington’s past and its future with lots of great questions from the audience. A big thanks to all who participated on or moderated the panel, to the BGT for hosting the event, and to all who came!

Be sure to listen this weekend to your favorite Clear Channel station. There should be a short clip of my interview for the Kentucky News Network. Stay tuned!

And one more note: If you have read Lost Lexington, please take a moment and submit a review online either on amazon, barnes & noble, or goodreads. Thanks!

225 Years of Ministry: Lexington’s First United Methodist Church

Reflection of the First United Methodist Church. Author’s collection. 

The First United Methodist Church on High Street was built in 1907, though the church’s ministry in central Kentucky extends much further into history. In fact, this year marks the congregation’s 225th year of ministry.

Originally known as the Lexington Society of Methodists when it was begun by Francis Poythress, an elder and circuit rider who had evangelized in the area since 1788. According to Collins’ 1847 History of Kentucky,

As a preacher, few in those days excelled him. His voice was clear and musical; his knowledge of the scriptures vast and accurate; his sermons bedewed with his tears in his closet, fell as the dews of life upon the hearts of his congregation; sinners trembled before the Lord, and the keen flash of the Spirit’s sword was felt passing all through the soul, discerning by its brightness, the “thoughts and intents of the heart.”

In 1790, Poythress invited Francis Asbury to Kentucky and Asbury then preached at the first Methodist conference in Kentucky which was hosted on the property of Richard Masterson about five miles from Lexington. A remaining parcel of this land remains undeveloped as Masterson Park.

The 1789 Lexington church first began on the east end of town and is considered the first Methodist church west of the Allegheny Mountains. It is also one of the first 100 Methodist Churches in America.

But during the early 1800s, the church outgrew its location. A lot was purchased on Hill Street (now known as High Street) and a new church was constructed in 1840. Expansion again occurred twice, but by 1900 the Lexington Methodist Church had again outgrown itself.

So in 1907, the old church building was razed in favor of the present structure which sits on the same site. The cornerstone of the present church was laid on January 13, 1908 and the church was dedicated a year later on January 10, 1909.

The cost to build the 700-seat Methodist Church was $65,000 and the Columbus, Ohio architecture firm of Richards, McCarty and Buford were hired for the project.

The building on High Street has had several additions over the past century and the congregation has begun a number of missions which have become churches in their own right. The church history, posted on the church’s website, concludes that even into “its third century, First United Methodist Church continues its mission to invite, equip and deploy faithful followers of Jesus Christ across the street and around the world.”

TONIGHT: deTour at Longwood Antique Woods

Photos from Longwood. Courtesy of Mary Sloan and Whitney Rhorer.

If you are on Pinterest, you have no doubt seen images of old, worn items being transformed into neat decorative pieces or functional pieces of furniture. When a house near our home was demolished, I salvaged a few doors and used one for the front of a bar when remodeling our basement.

Some of the flooding, doors, furniture and other items that can be salvaged are of incredibly high quality made of very fine materials. So when structures cannot be saved, efforts can and should be taken to extract the salvageable pieces so that they can be preserved and repurposed. 
For over two decades, George Gatewood has been doing exactly that. He has been at the forefront of this kind of historic preservation for over two decades is George Gatewood. Tonight, join BGT deTours for an exclusive tour of George’s Longwood Antique Woods. Longwood is located at located at 325 Midland Place and we will tour the showroom, offices, and woodworking facility. We will also walk-through their re-purposing methods.  Here is a little more about Longwood’s process from its website:

Longwood Antique Woods has been in the business of reclaiming and recycling old wood for twenty-two years and has supplied countless material solutions for floors, doors, bars, beams, furniture art, and much more. The antique wood in our collections is salvaged from historic barns, warehouses, and cabins slated for destruction throughout the Bluegrass region of Kentucky. Our mission is to supply a green product with a unique history; whether it is from the barn of highly recognized War Admiral or rural farmer Papa Shepard. These products add to the architect’s “green” ratings and the end user’s sense of environmental responsibility, all within an historical context without harvesting a single tree. The wood is meticulously saved by our team of craftsmen, restored and reused rather than being lost forever.

Parking (free!) can be found on site and the group will begin gathering at 5:30 p.m. with the tour starting at 5:45. For more details about the BGT deTours program, and to stay informed about future deTours, you can LIKE BGT deTours on Facebook at facebook.com/BGTdeTours. BGT deTours are free and open to the public.

Go Vote Where Politics is the Damnedest

One of the most popular posts on this site has been the text from James Hillary Mulligan’s poem, In Kentucky, which I posted on election day, 2010. Today I make the same plea I made four years ago: get out and VOTE!

Today, I’ll give a little more background on the man who delivered the poem as it is recalled in my new book, Lost Lexington which is available on shelves today.

Judge James Hillary Mulligan * 

One of the great moments in the Phoenix Hotel’s storybook involves a speech delivered to a group of legislators by Judge James Mulligan. James Hillary Mulligan was the son of Dennis Mulligan, an Irish Catholic political boss whose machine swiftly controlled much of Kentucky. Dennis Mulligan gave his son a home on Rose Street as a wedding gift. The residence, known as Maxwell Place, has served as the home for the president of the University of Kentucky since it was purchased from the Mulligan estate by the college in 1917.

During his own career, James Mulligan reached high levels of political power, including a stint as speaker of the house in Kentucky’s general assembly. He preferred, however, the title of “judge” in deference to the position he attained in his legal career.

Mulligan also served as the consul general in the American Samoa and held positions in the United States Treasury Department. The Lexington Leader wrote that he was “a shrewd looking man, even through his spectacles, and has an air of always being alert. The Judge loves to debate, has a penchant for thoroughbreds, does not care for society, and can make a better humorous or satirical speech than any man in the state of Kentucky.”

It was that humorous and satirical spirit which provided Mulligan his greatest legacy. In the ballroom of the Phoenix Hotel in February 1902, Mulligan spoke before a number of state legislators. To conclude his toast, “he drew from his pocket, as if drawing a deadly weapon, dangerous-looking type written manuscript, and peering over his glasses with a smile of satisfaction that amounted almost to a leer, read” his poem, In Kentucky:

The moonlight falls the softest
  In Kentucky;
The summer’s days come oft’est
  In Kentucky;
Friendship is the strongest,
Love’s fires glow the longest;
Yet, a wrong is always wrongest
  In Kentucky.

Song birds are the sweetest
  In Kentucky;
The thoroughbreds the quickest
  In Kentucky;
Mountains tower proudest,
Thunder peals the loudest,
The landscape is the grandest—and
Politics—the damnedest
  In Kentucky.

The poem has seven verses and you can read them all here.

This post is based on an excerpt about the Phoenix Hotel from LOST LEXINGTON, KY.

Lexington has dozens of well-restored landmarks, but so many more are lost forever. The famous Phoenix Hotel, long a stop for weary travelers and politicians alike, has risen from its own ashes numerous times over the past centuries. The works of renowned architect John McMurtry were once numerous around town, but some of the finest examples are gone. The Centrepointe block has been made and unmade so many times that its original tenants are unknown to natives now.
Where to purchase LOST LEXINGTON?

Lost Lexington Hits Shelves & Tonight’s Event

Lost Lexington is front and center at the
Morris Book Shop

Today’s Monday morning update includes a few notes about Lost Lexington, which will officially be available tomorrow (November 4).

But you don’t need to wait: you can pick up the book at tonight’s book signing and discussion on historic preservation hosted by the Blue Grass Trust (details below) on shelves at local bookstores like Morris Book Shop.

For information about all the upcoming author events and for information about where you can purchase the book, visit Lost Lexington’s page. You can (and should) also “LIKE” Lost Lexington on Facebook!

And in case you missed it, check out Tom Eblen’s awesome write up about Lost Lexington in yesterday’s Lexington Herald-Leader.

Now a few details about tonight’s event at the Blue Grass Trust:

The Blue Grass Trust presents Peter Brackney and his book “Lost Lexington” Monday, November 3 @ 5:30 pm: Book Signing, Panel Discussion, and Sip & Nosh, at the Thomas Hunt Morgan House, 210 N. Broadway.

The evening will begin at 5:30 pm at the BGT’s newly-acquired Thomas Hunt Morgan House at 210 N. Broadway with Sips & Nosh and a Book Signing. 

Thomas Hunt Morgan House, site of tonight’s event. Photo: BGT 

At 6:00 pm, Mr. Brackney will speak about his book “Lost Lexington”, followed by a panel discussion about preservation in Lexington and the Bluegrass. The book signing, and sips & nosh will conclude at 7:30 pm. Event guests may take advantage of free parking in the lots at both the Thomas Hunt Morgan and the Hunt-Morgan Houses. A portion of the proceeds will go to benefit the programs of the BGT. 

You can RSVP for this event by calling the BGT at 859/253.0362 or on Facebook.

About Lost Lexington: Lexington has dozens of well-restored landmarks, but many more are lost forever. The famous Phoenix Hotel, long a stop for weary travelers and politicians alike, has risen from its own ashes numerous times over the past centuries. The works of renowned architect John McMurtry were once numerous around town, but some of the finest examples are gone. The Centrepointe block has been made and unmade so many times that its original tenants ae unknown to natives now. Join local blogger, attorney and preservationist Peter Brackney as he explores the intriguing back stories of these hidden Bluegrass treasures. The foreword of “Lost Lexington” was penned by Mayor Jim Gray.