Louisvillians: Act Now to Preserve History

Disclaimer: Ordinarily, we avoid politics on this blog. This is an exception. 

The Louisville Metro Council has scheduled a vote for this evening to overturn Mayor Greg Fischer’s veto of the council’s landmarks ordinance. If you are a Louisville resident, you should take the opportunity to urge your councilmember to vote against overturning the Mayor’s veto. Click here for the councilmembers’ contact information.

The new ordinance would politicize the process for designating (and removing designation) of historic landmarks in Jefferson County by taking the process from an independent committee and turning the process over to the Council itself. As stated by Mayor Fisher on August 2, 2012:

For nearly 40 years, the process to designate an historic building a local landmark has served Louisville and its citizens well. Our landmarks process preserves buildings that help tell a unique story that belongs only to Louisville.

Here is a letter from Mayor Fischer setting forth the reasons for his veto at length.

What and where is Lexington’s New Street?

Map of Downtown Lexington, Ky. (LexingtonKY.gov)

On my lunch walk yesterday, I found myself at one end of my favorite streets in downtown Lexington: New Street. Or what I thought was its end.

This little one block road reminds me of a narrow way in Boston which in itself conjures up imagery of our nation’s colonial history. I’ve also been fond of this little road and I’ve mentioned it once before following a BGT deTour of Clyde Carpenter’s carriage house:

Every time I pass down Lexington’s New Street, a one block path between North Mill and North Broadway, I am taken away to the narrow, history-filled streets of Boston, Mass. The narrow street, nestled between a busy road and beautiful Gratz Park, has a variety of architectural styles — all relatively traditional — that are perfectly scaled to the street’s width. Adaptive reuse and infill are the common themes on this one-block stretch.

So you can only imagine my surprise when my eyes gazed across North Broadway and I found this:

Opposite New Street on the west side of North Broadway is a street sign which appears to suggest that New Street crosses North Broadway. Why else would a street sign for New Street otherwise exist on the west side of North Broadway to mark New Street? A turn from Broadway onto New is illegal; do not enter signs flank both sides of New Street.

Adjacent to the street signage, a narrow alley empties into a parking lot. And behind the parking lot, a very large grassy area. A chain link fence on the parking lot’s northern boundary is all that separates the lot and this “extension of New Street” from Morrow Alley. Could I have found the vestiges of another of Lexington’s alleyway connections?

If I did, I am now doubtful. The evidence is against me. Lexington’s official maps and GIS recognize New Street as being only one block from Mill to Broadway. It has been this way since at least 1886 as a review of five sets of Sanborn insurance maps confirms.

Perhaps this is just the case of a driveway and very poor street signage? Probably so, but it’s always worth investigating. And I’m glad my suspitions were incorrect as New Street – in only one block – remains one of my favorite in Lexington.

I still have one unanswered question, though. Why is it called New Street?

Keene Springs Hotel A Refuge During Lexington’s 1849 Cholera Epidemic

Keene Springs Hotel – Keene, Ky.

During the cholera epidemics of 1833 and 1849, Lexingtonians feared the deadly disease. Five hundred souls perished out of a population of just 7,000. Many of the dead were buried by the now infamous King Solomon. While King Solomon can thank his alcohol-filled veins for keeping him alive during the epidemic, many of the survivors did so by leaving Lexington. But where did they go?

Wrote Bennett H. Young in his 1898 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky: “during the prevalence of cholera, in Lexington, about this time, a large number of people came to Keene and lived during the panic, occasioned by this disease in Lexington and surrounding towns.” They stayed in “a very nice hotel.”

Keene Springs, ca. 1868 (Source: KDL)

The Jessamine County community of Keene prospered during each of Lexington’s two epidemics, but it was during the second epidemic that the Keene Springs Hotel truly succeeded due in part to the 1848 discovery of the area’s “white sulphur water.” Declared by the dean of Transylvania’s Medical College, Dr. Robert Peter, as “incomparably the best medical water on this continent … eminently adapted to the cure of every species of Indigestion, Liver Complaint, Dropsy, Scrofula, Cutaneous Affections, Mercurial Diseases, a variety of Nervous Diseases and nearly all diseases that are usually denominated chronic.” Yes, the ails plaguing Lexingtonians could be cured by the medicinal springs in nearby Jessamine County. And while Kentucky boasts other natural mineral springs, none was quite as close to Lexington as Keene.

William Cleveland sold the resort hotel in 1841 to Mason Singleton, the grandson of the pioneer who first settled the community of Keene. Singleton retain Capt. G. L. Postlethwait to manage the facility which he greatly expanded with a ballroom and banquet hall. By 1857, however, Singleton was forced to sell the hotel. Alfred McTyre purchased the Keene Springs Hotel and operated it for a decade before he sold the hotel to Fielding S. Wilson. By this time, the resort’s popularity had waned. Though Wilson had a few occupants from time to time, operation was largely confined to a general store and, until liquor prohibited by local vote, a saloon. A general store continued to operate until the 1960s and the Wilson continues to own the building. Today, slow restorations are underway by a tenant operating a restaurant three days a week in this history locale.

More photos of the Keene Springs Hotel are available on flickr.

Sources: Bennett Young’s History; Jessamine Journal; National Register Application; RootsWeb

“A re-distribution of happiness”

Postcard of the Fayette County Court House – Lexington, Ky.

On Tuesday, I arrived at the office to find a letter and postcard from Mr. Lowell Joerg of Tucson, Arizona. It was generically addressed to my office, but both found their way to my desk. The postcard, above, is of the Old Fayette County Courthouse. His letter follows:

June 14, 2012

Good Morning:

I sure hope this letter brightens your day.

I was at an antique store here and found this old circa 1939 picture of your beautiful courthouse. How the card got to Arizona we’ll never know.

It’s an old time classic, for sure. I thought to myself, by golly, I’d send it home where it can be appreciated. Our heritage is valuable to all of us. Lots of changes over the years, I’m sure. Enlarged it will make quite a display.

Well, I gave 6.00 for it so if you want it for 7.00 or 8.00 or so why that’s sure o.k. Throw in a little postage if you want, too.

And my wife says if I hear from you I’ll have to take her to lunch. I am eighty-four years old and still going strong.

I like to call my littly hobby, “A re-distribution of happiness.” Our world sure needs it.

Thank you, and Godspeed in your work. Have a wonderful and progressive year.

[signature]
Lowell Joerg

PS: Send along a little about your place today if you want. I enjoy souvenirs, too, if it’s o.k. with you. I chose you at random off the net.

It was a delight to receive and read Mr. Joerg’s letter. A Google search reveals that he is a retired insurance salesman and that he sends out two or three of these postcards a month to recipients across the country.

I wrote Mr. Joerg back yesterday telling him of the great history of our courthouse. I also shared with him the twist of irony: that the day prior to his letter, the city of Lexington indefinitely closed the old courthouse. I also included with my letter printouts from this website on the two pictured buildings:

  1. Old Courthouse & Lexington History Museum (Oct. 2009)
  2. Fayette County’s old courthouse is all history (March 2012)
  3. Lexington’s Old Courthouse Indefinitely Closed (July 2012)
  4. Fayette National Bank Building (Lexington’s First Skyscraper) (June 2011)
  5. “The Worst Kept Secret in Lexington” – 21C is Coming To Town (April 2012)
I hope that Mr. Joerg enjoys learning a bit more about these two terrific buildings. His concept for the “re-distribution of happiness” is fabulous and we should all attempt to share joy in our own way! Thanks, Lowell Joerg!

Cynthiana’s Church of the Advent

The native limestone façade of the Church of the Advent features a tower with pyramidal roof, steep gable-fronted nave with verge boards inspired by tracery, buttresses, triple lancet windows enclosed by stone pointed arch hood mold. This romantic Gothic Revival church, one of my favorites inspired me to look into a whole group of mid-nineteenth century churches associated with Kentucky’s first Episcopalian Bishop Benjamin Bosworth Smith.

The Church of the Advent was the first Gothic Revival Episcopal church built of stone in Kentucky. It was built beginning in 1855 when the cornerstone was laid and the tower was completed in spring 1860. The plan was said to be taken from a model made by Bishop Smith of St. Giles Parish Church at Stoke-Poges in England. St. Giles was famous as the setting for the poem, Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard by Thomas Gray. A comparison of the Church of the Advent with the actual St. Giles shows, however,t only faint similarities.

The Church of the Advent was one of a number of Gothic Revival Episcopal Churches built through the influence Kentucky’s first Episcopal Bishop, the Right Reverend Benjamin Bosworth Smith. The Gothic style was felt to be the only proper style for a church by Anglicans who were part of the Ecclesiological Movement or the Oxford Movement. This influenced Episcopalians in America to favor the Gothic Revival style for church-building. The style of churches built after Bishop Smith’s model was patterned after the Early English Gothic style of the 12th and 13th centuries which was simpler than the later phases of Gothic, the Perpendicular Gothic and Decorated Gothic styles. This made it adaptable to the small churches designed for Kentucky towns. These churches are reminiscent of English country parish churches, particularly those built of native limestone.

The tower features a Tudor arch doorway with a shouldered hood mold. A Tudor arch is a flattened pointed arch. The stonework for the lower part of the tower is uncoursed stone while the upper part of the tower completed later has the stone laid in courses. Buttresses support outer corners, tall slender single lancet windows are on each face of the upper tower and the cornice has stone corbels under a pyramidal roof.

The Episcopal congregation in Cynthiana was formed in 1835 by N. N. Cowgill, a layman who later was ordained by Bishop Smith in 1838. For several years the congregation did not have its own church meeting and held services in the Methodist, Presbyterian and Christian churches as well as in the courthouse. Two more priests would serve the congregation before Reverend Carter Page in 1850 who would be pastor during the construction of the church. The church cost $6,500 dollars to construct. The lot was purchased by Dr. George H. Perrin who paid for $5,500 of the cost with the remaining$1000 donated by William Thompson. Once the tower was completed the church was consecrated on May 19, 1860 by the Right Reverend (Bishop) Benjamin Bosworth Smith.

During the Civil War, the church would be used for a hospital for the wounded soldiers from the Battle of Cynthiana fought on June 11th and 12th, 1864.

The side porch of the Church of the Advent with trefoil motifs in the brackets and verge boards. Note how acute the angle of the gable is. In medieval Gothic churches the porch was usually enclosed or partly enclosed.


Interior of the Church of the Advent
The first thing you notice when you enter the church is the open beam ceiling featuring cross beams supported by arched beams springing from the side walls. Centered on the front and back walls are the triple lancet windows. On each side of the windows on the back wall are the Decalogue (Ten Commandments) and Apostle’s Creed, a common practice in 18th century Anglican churches of Virginia. The Apostle’s Creed uses an early version of the creed from the 1661 Book of Common Prayer rather than that from the 1789 Book of Common Prayer that was commonly used at the time.

An historic pump organ made in 1881 by H. Pilcher and Sons of Louisville is in the transept recess on the right. The organ was electrified in the 1950s.

The church had some minor redecoration in 1899 which included raising the chancel to a platform and adding a wood and cast iron railing separating the chancel from the nave. Lucy “Lutie” Tebbs and several other ladies carved the wood altarpiece and presented it to the church. It is said that she exhibited a large carved wooden pedestal at the Chicago World’s Fair.

 

 

 

The interior window openings are splayed and have original clear diamond-shaped panes. Lancet windows in the Early English Gothic style were usually in pairs or groups of threes. The wainscoting added in 1899 probably was unpainted in natural wood. The original pews have a jigsaw trefoil motif as finials on the top of each end.

I had a wonderful visit to Church of the Advent thanks to B. T. Darnell, Senior Warden. Besides the church stories she shared, she had fascinating stories to tell of her own property which was the site of Ruddle’s Station and the 1780 siege and massacre of settlers there by Captain Henry Byrd and his British and Indian troops during the American Revolution.

I hope to visit the other churches built during Bishop Smith’s tenure and report on them because they are each wonderful romantic churches. These include Holy Trinity Church, Georgetown (stone); St. Philip’s Church, Harrodsburg; Church of the Ascension, Frankfort; St. Paul’s Church, Shelbyville; St Paul’s Church, Pewee Valley (stone); St. Paul’s, Newport (stone). My next visit is to Holy Trinity Church in Georgetown.

Another Contributor Joins the Fray! ¡Hola, Chris Ertel!

Portrait of Chris Ertel by
Madelaine Enochs-Epley

I’m pleased to announce that Christopher Ertel will be adding his voice to The Kaintuckeean beginning tomorrow. I’ve known Chris from his tireless efforts on behalf of The Blue Grass Trust and his avid following of our deTours. He is a tremendous resource on the history of the Bluegrass and I’m so excited that he is willing to share with us!

Chris attended Georgetown College before graduating from Middle Tennessee State University with a degree in Historic Preservation. He has restored two homes for himself and consulted on others. He is retired from the Kentucky Court of Justice and volunteers for The Blue Grass Trust’s Hunt-Morgan House and its Antiques and Garden Show. For his work at this year’s AGS, Chris received the Betty Hoopes Award.


Although his broad and diverse knowledge covers much of the region’s history and architecture, his current passion includes the beautiful stone Episcopal churches constructed during the service of the first Episcopalian bishop of Kentucky, Bishop Bosworth Smith. Welcome, Chris Ertel!

In a place called Munfordville…

Hart County Courthouse – Munfordville, Ky.

Hart County has long been a place that I heard much about, but had never visited. A truly good friend from college was a Munfordvillian, and he used to regale me with stories of its importance in the Civil War. We used to laugh as my friend would amp up his southern drawl, and begin to speak of the battles that took place in this tiny little community – including tales of the local boy who went on to be a general in the Confederate Army, General Simon Bolivar Buckner.

Turns out he was right. Hart County was first settled in the late 18th century around the Horse Cave area, with Munfordville being settled in 1816. Munfordville was named for Richard T. Munford, the man who originally owned the land upon which the town sits. Its strategic position along the railroad that ran between Louisville and Nashville made it an important location during the Civil War. Throughout the war, bridges were burned both figuratively and literally in Hart County.

John Hunt Morgan burned the bridge over Bacon Creek in 1861.  During the Battle of Munfordville in 1862, Confederate General Braxton Bragg, at the urging of General Buckner, captured approximately 4,000 Union troops under the command of John T. Wilder. Bragg’s men also burned the bridge which crossed the Green River.

This is the third courthouse in Hart County, constructed in 1928. Except for a small circa 1918 bandstand, it is the only building within the court square itself. Listed on the National Register in 1980, this two-story Colonial Revival has an aura of classical Beaux-Arts design. It kind of reminded me of an old high school. When I visited, there appeared to be some renovation going on near the front entrance – a positive sign as judicial activities moved in 2008 to the new judicial center one block east of the old court square.

Lexington’s Old Courthouse Indefinitely Closed

Old Fayette County Courthouse – Lexington, Ky.

Last Friday, the doors of the Lexington Museum Center were indefinitely closed due to “dangerous levels of damaged and deteriorating lead-based paint in the building.” Also cited by the city were asbestos, mold, and structural problems. The Lexington Public Safety Museum, the Kentucky Renaissance Pharmacy Museum, and the Lexington History Museum all call the Museum Center, Lexington’s old courthouse, home. And while these museums each tell a great history, the greatest history at the Museum Center is that of the old courthouse itself. Anyone who has explored the upper floors of the old courthouse knows that the building requires a tremendous amount of work in order to be fully restored and it is disappointing that impediments so great stand in the way of that vision.

The 1898 Richardson Romanesque courthouse is at the heart of downtown Lexington; it is decidedly Lexington’s most recognizable structure. It served as the county courthouse for over a century until the Robert F. Stephens Courthouse Plaza opened in 2002. And although the façade is incredible, the building’s interior is more spectacular.

Imagine in circa 1900 Lexington, a 100-plus foot atrium featuring the architecture of a 14th century Tibetan palace above a split steamboat stairway. After remodeling in the 1960s, the dome only reached fifty-two feet above the newly added fifth floor.

Though this fifth floor has not been accessible to the public for many years due to the now-familiar lead-based paint, I’ve twice had the opportunity to explore the upper reaches of the old courthouse. I first saw the detailed beauty, colors, and lights that evidenced Lexington’s world-class architecture in October 2009 while the Lexington History Museum celebrated its sixth birthday. This February, the Blue Grass Trust deTour of the Old Courthouse gave many the same opportunity.

Some estimates for complete restoration of the old courthouse have reached $25 million. This amount, however, was suggested a few years ago for a full restoration. Ongoing deferred maintenance may raise the overall price tag, though the full amount would not be necessary to once again open the doors of the old courthouse to the public.

But a full restoration of the old courthouse to its 1898 grandeur is not and should not be out of reach. The city committed to cultural improvements, namely the rehabilitation of the old courthouse, as part of a settlement with the state following the demolition of the Ben Snyder block (location of the current courthouses on North Limestone). To accomplish this commitment, the city created in 2009 a TIF district to accompany the proposed Centrepointe project which would have committed the inherent increase in tax revenues from the project to public infrastructure improvements including the old courthouse’s rehabilitation.

I discussed this funding mechanism at lunch yesterday with the Streetsweeper and he observed a number of issues with that TIF district. As progress on Centrepointe may be on the near horizon, perhaps revisiting our TIF application is necessary. As observed by the Streetsweeper, most of the public infrastructure goals sans courthouse rehabilitation are either completed or scrapped from the final project. Restoration of the old courthouse has also been discussed as part of the Arena, Arts & Entertainment District.

You can also help to save the old courthouse! Donations may be made at www.goodgiving.net or mailed to the Museum at 215 W. Main St., Lexington, Ky. 40507. However we act, we must act to save this key part of our community’s history. As former Governor Martha Layne Collins said, “the focal point [of our] community is the courthouse – the place where so much of Kentucky’s rich and fascinating history has been written…” We can not afford to lose that.

The dome of the old courthouse – Lexington, Ky.

Covington’s Treasured Licking Riverside Historic District

J.J. Audubon Statue near the Point – Covington, Ky.








The first Europeans to set foot in Covington likely did so at what came to be known to pioneers as “The Point.” There, the Ohio and Licking Rivers — as well as Covington, Newport, and Cincinnati — all meet.

Nearly two hundred years since Covington was founded, a great deal of this part of the city would still be familiar to many of its first residents. In fact, Covington’s founders built their homes in what is now known as the Licking Riverside Historic District, where the streets are lined with sprawling antebellum estates and townhomes in the Greek Revival, Federal, Queen Anne, High Victorian, Gothic, Italianate, and French Second Empire styles. While much of Covington’s early history can be traced to the streets of this neighborhood, it remains one of the most popular tourist attractions in Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati with its appealing walkability, architectural intrigue, and the most perfect views of the rivers and the Cincinnati skyline.

Licking Riverside stretches eight blocks from north to south and boasts important points of history every step of the way. The streets from east to west are named for Kentucky’s first five governors, Shelby, Garrard, Greenup, Scott, and Madison (though Shelby served a second term between Scott and Madison, he did not score himself a second spot in Covington’s street grid). Daniel Carter Beard, founder of the Sons of Boone which he later integrated into the Boy Scouts, first discovered his love for the outdoors in this neighborhood in the mid-nineteenth century. The parents of President Ulysses S. Grant lived in Covington where Jesse Grant served as Postmaster; their house still stands. United States Senator Richard P. Ernst resided in a corner mansion near the Licking River where a bridge connects Kenton and Campbell Counties.

From the time George Rogers Clark organized his troops here during fights with the Indians, to the time Covington founding father Thomas Carneal built his stunning mansion (which is believed to be the oldest home in Covington today, and is currently for sale), to the Civil War where north truly met south right at this spot, to now where the residences are filled with some of the region’s most prominent professionals, Licking Riverside is a living historic treasure and a must-see during any visit to Covington.

Michael Monks is the publisher of The River City News, an online newspaper based in Covington, Kentucky. Check out more of Michael’s Licking Riverside photos after the jump:


The County Fair and Deep Fried Snickers

My Deep Fried Snickers at the County Fair – Nicholasville, Ky.

On Monday evening, I went to the Jessamine County Fair. After setting up the Democratic party’s booth and registering a few voters, I strolled around the grounds a bit to see what was going on.

Jessamine County Fair
Haley Goen was crowned Miss Jessamine County. Tonight, Wednesday, we’ll find out who wins Jr. Miss and Little Miss Jessamine County. Apart from the glamour, livestock competitions, carnival rides, corn hole, truck and tractor pulls, and a greased pig competition will highlight some of the events taking place at the City County Park in Nicholasville.
But it isn’t only in Nicholasville. All summer long, across the state and the country, county fairs will occur with much the same offering. For many communities, these are the biggest social events of the year and are an exciting event. I’d highly recommend you check out your local county fair this year, or even venture to the grandaddy of them all: the state fair. 

A first for me at the county fair was the deep fried Snickers bar. In appearance, it looks like a powdered-sugar covered corn dog, but the filling is a gooey mix of a Snickers bar wrapped inside funnel cake batter. Though the description isn’t much, it was quite tasty as all the components from the once frozen Snickers had come together into a hot (but not so hot as to scald my mouth) batter. And I’ve scheduled an appointment with my cardiologist for next week.