NoDestination – Page 4 – The Kaintuckeean

NoD: A Maysville Mansion, Phillips Folly

Phillips Folly – Maysville, Ky.

William B. Phillips began construction in 1825 of what was considered to be the largest home in Maysville. With twelve rooms, including six bedrooms, the home was built on a mortarless foundation – the condition of which continues to be examined for its quality. Without a doubt, Phillips was excited about his mansion; it is altogether likely that when the Marquis de Lafayette visited Maysville in 1825 that Phillips, who was in the receiving party, took the opportunity to show the Frenchman his plans. Yet, excitement is insufficient to bring about completion.

In 1828, the house was not completed and Phillips had insufficient funds to finish. Townspeople referred to the property as “Phillips’ Folly” for he had built beyond his means a home too grand. Without a word, Phillips left Maysville only to return two years later having won sufficient monies while gambling in New Orleans to finish his home. The house was finally completed in 1831 and is an amalgam of several architectural styles: a Federal façade, a Georgian two-story portico, stepped parapets in the “Dutch” or German tradition, windows attributed to the Greek Revivalist style and other qualities introduced after Phillips’ years in New Orleans.

When the cholera epidemic of 1833 swept through the region, it took with it the first mayor of the Maysville; Phillips was chosen to become the second mayor of Maysville. In 1838, Phillips’ sold his “folly” to John Armstrong who died in the home in 1851. It is said that his ghost, and that of his laborador, still haunt the Sutton Street mansion.

Armstrong’s son, Francis Armstrong, acquired the property after his father died. Francis was believed to have been an operative on the underground railroad. In a house where basement wooden cell likely originally held captive slaves, the mansion became a symbol of freedom as the last stop for the weary before crossing the Ohio River into freedom. A tunnel from the home to the river would have brought the slaves to a small dinghy in which to cross the river.

During occupancy by the Finch family from 1890 to 1894, a man named Pearce visited the house and is said to have committed suicide there. Others, however, have suggested that suicide was simply a cover for Pearce’s death: he had been killed in a duel at a time when dueling had been made illegal in the Commonwealth. Those who have seen his apparition have also heard the formalities of dueling in the back stairs.

After the Fitch family left, Dr. John Reed moved his family from the small Mason County hamlet of Minerva to Phillips Folly in 1894. Dr. Reed established a medical practice in the basement. His son, Stanley, was ten years old when the family moved in; young Stanley would leave for school eight years later and would eventually be appointed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to serve as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court.

With all its history, Phillips Folly is open for tours particularly because of its role as a station on the Underground Railroad.

Sources:
Maysville Online; NRHP; Precious Times; Wikipedia

NoD: Santa Claus arrives in small-town Kentucky

Santa Claus has made it to town – Nicholasville, Ky.

Last week, I wrote of Lexington’s annual Christmas tree lighting which occurred the day after Thanksgiving. A week later, exurb Nicholasville had its own Christmas kick-off with its much smaller, small-town atmosphere. It is moments like this that make living in a smaller town so special.

A simple tree lighting ceremony was overseen by local officials before a crowd one-hundred strong. After the tree was lit, those gathered on the courthouse lawn peered down the recently redone Main Street. Although reindeer may have been more efficient, Santa Claus patiently took a more terrestrial approach to the courthouse by sitting in traffic aboard the recently restored Nicholasville Fire Dept. Engine No. 2.

Engine No. 2, a 1950 model year American LaFrance fire truck, was carefully restored over the past year by local firefighters. In service from 1951 until 1988, the fire truck has since been mothballed until efforts were made to restore beginning in 2010.

After arriving, Saint Nicholas walked up the stairs into the Jessamine County Courthouse wherein he took the children’s Christmas wishes while the county judge executive helped pass out hot chocolate.

The lil’ Kaintuckeean, age 3, preferred the Nicholasville celebration to its Lexington counterpart simply because the crowd was lighter. This allowed him to play in the courthouse lawn, an option not available in a at-occupancy Triangle Park. Yes, Lexington and her traditions are wonderful. But Kentucky’s small towns offer a quaint simplicity that often goes under-appreciated.

NoD: Jessamine’s Olde Hall Church

Hall Church – Hall (Jessamine Co.), Ky.

After the Civil War, many of the African American refugees who had been housed at Camp Nelson set roots in a small community nearby. Known originally as Ariel, this small community has remained through the years. Soon after the war, it was renamed Hall after Captain Theron Hall who had served as Chief Quartermaster for Camp Nelson and as superintendent of the refugee camp.

John Fee, who after the war purchased many acres of the Camp Nelson site, came to Camp Nelson in 1864. A minister and founder of Berea College, Fee worked with Captain Hall to establish this community for the refugees. While Hall favored the construction of barracks, Rev. Fee believed that cottages for the families would provide a more comfortable living. An agreement was devised that incorporated both structures types as well as a larger “home”. The community was built and many of its residents remained after the War — Fee sold his land at a dramatically reduced price to the former slaves in acre and half-acre lots.

Interior of Hall Church

Here, Rev. Fee also founded Ariel Academy, which was supported by the American Missionary Association, and the small church. The coed school was integrated until 1898 when whites stopped attending. By the 1920s, only girls attended. Hall began to decline shortly after World War II, though there are some remains of its historic past.

This quaint church, built in the late 1800s, no longer has a congregation but is often used for community events. In lieu of religious scenes, a mural depicting the old double-barreled covered Camp Nelson bridge hangs in the front of the meeting house. The church was restored by the Jessamine County Fiscal Court in 2005.

Recently, country singer Shooter Jennings (Waylon’s son) shot part of the music video for “Real Me” at the Olde Hall Church, with additional scenes shot in both Greensburg and Campbellsville. “Real Me” will be on the to-be-released album, “Family Man” which is expected to be released in January.

Also, on the first Sunday in December, the Olde Hall Church is used for an annual community Christmas concert that features traditionally African-American church choirs. It is a great holiday tradition in a beautiful, historic setting.

Sources: Camp Nelson; Jessamine Co; LHL; UIUC

NoD: Vanceburg Visitor’s Center located in historic home, hotel

George Morgan Thomas Home / Vanceburg Visitors Center – Vanceburg, Ky.

This home built in 1883 has had many lives, but its ornate rail, turreted corner and peaked roof speak to its Victorian-era origin. Built originally as the home of George Morgan Thomas, the house would later be utilized as a hotel before its present service as the Vanceburg Visitor’s Center.

George Morgan Thomas

A Lewis County native, George Morgan Thomas was born in 1828. He was educated in the “common school” before becoming the local school’s commissioner at age 28. GMT began the practice of law in 1851 after studying law – an era when law school was not a prerequisite to esquiredom. After becoming the prosecuting attorney in Lewis County, GMT went on a roll of political offices utilizing his Masonic and Republican connections: state house, county judge, circuit judge. In the election of 1880, GMT sought a seat in Congress and though he received more votes in Kentucky’s Ninth Congressional District then did presidential candidate James A. Garfield, GMT lost the race. Garfield, however, appointed GMT as the United States District Attorney for Kentucky – an office he held until the end of the Chester Arthur administration. In 1886, GMT claimed his seat in Congress which he held for only one term in favor of an appointment President McKinley as Internal Revenue solicitor. All sources here confuse me as it appears GMT served simultaneously for two years in both the legislative and executive branches of government. GMT retired in 1901 and passed in 1914.

Though rail traffic had been found since the house was only five years old, the installation of a second rail in 1913 required the removal of homes across the street. Fortunately, this house was saved though the view from the front porch would never be the same. Nearly ten years later, GMT’s heirs sold the family home in 1925 to Maurice Burriss who renovated the home to repurpose it as the Commercial Hotel – a useful occupation given the location of the rail depot now facing the home-turned-hotel.

Burriss died in 1963 and, with him, the hotel closed in 1965. The history of the building vanishes until 2001 when the bank-owned property was given to the City of Vanceburg. Using Kentucky Renaissance on Main project funds, the City restored the fifteen-room home. On July 3, 2006, the newly restored George Morgan Thomas home was dedicated to the citizens of Vanceburg as the new visitor’s center.

Sources: Bio. sketch; Congressional biography; Johnson’s History

NoD: Orlando Brown House built to make inheritance equal

Orlando Brown House – Frankfort, Ky.

John Brown wanted his two eldest sons to inherit equally, which was anything but a standard bequest in his day. Brown, who served as Kentucky’s first United States Senator and was instrumental in bringing Kentucky into the Union, had constructed Liberty Hall on Wilkinson Street in old Frankfort. Though Senator Brown purchased eight acres in 1796, Liberty Hall would not be completed 1804.

Mason, the elder Brown son, would inherit Liberty Hall. But what of the younger boy, Orlando? For him, the statesman contacted famed architect Gideon Shryock to design an adjacent residence in 1835. Construction of this beautiful Greek Revival two-story cost only $5,000. Both the Orlando Brown House and Liberty Hall operate as museum today.

Orlando Brown, born 1801, was educated at Princeton and Transylvania before beginning the practice of law in 1823. In love, he had expressed interest in his cousin, Mary Watts Brown, who was seven years younger than he. Upon her rejection in 1824, Brown took his law books to Alabama but returned to his hometown in 1829. The two were married the following year.

By 1833, Orlando Brown realized his passion was not in law but in writing. He took the position of editor of The Frankfort Commonwealth that year and Brown became a voice for the Whigs. In 1848, Orlando Brown served as Secretary of State in Governor John J. Crittenden’s administration. Also that year, Brown wrote furiously in favor of the Whig’s presidential candidate: General Zachary Taylor. When Taylor won the presidency, Brown was summoned to Washington and asked to serve his country as the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

The man and the job were not a good match; Brown resigned in 1850 and returned to Frankfort. There, he and his brother would jointly enter into many civic endeavors, including the organization of the Frankfort Cemetery. Too, Brown and his father were among those who in 1836 created the Kentucky Historical Society. And for all of his efforts, Orlando Brown has the distinction of being named the first honorary Kentucky Colonel.

Sources: Ky Encylopedia; LibertyHall.org; Orlando Brown Papers

NoD:: Honest Abe stands under Capitol dome for 100 years

Lincoln Statue in the Rotunda –
Kentucky State Capitol, Frankfort

The likeness of our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, stands at attention under the rotunda of Kentucky’s state capitol. Last week, the statue celebrated its a centennial only one year after the building itself turned 100 years old.

Almost as soon as the new capitol opened, Gov. Augustus E. Wilson urged his wealthy friend James Breckenridge Speed to fund the erection of the statue commemorating the only President born in Kentucky. With the gift from Speed of $40,000 (equal to approximately $900,000 today), a statue of Lincoln’s likeness was installed directly under the dome of our new state capitol. Speed’s uncle, Joshua Speed, was a confidant of Lincoln. President William Howard Taft was present at the statue’s unveiling.

The bronze statue weighs in at approximately 17,000 pounds when the marble base is included It was designed and cast by Adolf A. Weinman, a German-American sculptor whose work can be seen across the country. Other Lincoln likenesses by Weinman include the seated Lincoln in Hodgenville, Kentucky for which there is a replica on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Of the statue in Frankfort, Lincoln’s left toe extends beyond the edge of the marble base. For years, it has been tradition to rub the President’s shoe for good luck.

The former President is surrounded by statues of four other great Kentuckians: Henry Clay, Epheaim McDowell, Alben Barkley, and Jefferson Davis. Due to weight limits, no other Kentuckians can join their ranks.

Sources: LHL; LRC

NoD: Celebrate Veterans Day by Thanking a Doughboy


Doughboy – Grayson, Ky.		Doughboy – Jamestown, Ky.

I’m sure that around the country, hospitals will see an uptick in deliveries and scheduled caesareans. And many couples will share their nuptials on this memorable date: 11-11-11. Grooms won’t have to worry about forgetting that anniversary!

Morehead, Ky.

But November 11 also has a symbolic meaning in our country and around the globe for on “the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” in the year 1918, hostilities with Germany ended thus concluding “The Great War” (n/k/a World War I). In America, this date was celebrated for years as Armistice Day until after the conclusion of another great war – World War II – that the date became known simply as Veteran’s Day. In other countries, November 11 is referred to as Remembrance Day.

I am particularly fond of the original term Armistice Day because of its historic context. The young Americans in the early part of the twentieth century crossed the ocean to fight the Germans in an era when crossing the ocean wasn’t something you did for reasons other than immigration. Earlier this year, Frank Buckles of Missouri passed away – he was the last of the American doughboys from World War I.

Pikeville, Ky.

Statues of World War I doughboys stand in memorium around America in front of courthouses, in cemeteries and in town squares. In fact, the doughboy statue is the most reproduced life-size statue in America with 140 known copies. First designed and sculpted by E.M. Viquesney in 1920, “The Spirit of the American Doughboy” went through a few design changes over the years. Though most don’t realize it, Viquesney’s doughboy is likely the most witnessed sculpture in the United States other than the Statue of Liberty herself.

In Kentucky, eight Viquesney statues are known to exist in the following towns: Grayson, Harlan, Jamestown, Liberty, Monticello, Morehead, Pikeville and Winchester. The first of these to be installed was the Monticello doughboy in January 1923; the last was in Jamestown 75 years ago today on Armistice Day, 1936.

Whatever its name, it is a day to thank the men and women in uniform who have served our country. And though many people only recognize today as being a day when schools, banks and government offices are closed, it is because our soldiers fought that we can enjoy our freedoms today.

Source: Viquesney Database

NoD: Where will Newtown Pike take you? Newtown, of course!

Newtown Christian Church – Georgetown, Ky.

When visitors (or my wife) get lost in Lexington, I am also befuddled. Lexington is designed as a wheel with spokes. Each of these spokes points to the downtown core passing New Circle Road along its way.

To make matters simpler, each of these roads is named after the next city along the way. Nicholasville Road. Harrodsburg Road. Paris Pike. Winchester Road. Richmond Road. Though some of the towns for which they spoke roads are named are not so obvious unless you are a local cartographer or history buff.

In fact, it was not until recently that I learned the origin of Newtown Pike. Yes, a drive down Kentucky 922 will take you through a beautiful, historic part of Fayette County before crossing into Scott County and depositing you at a junction with US 460. There the little hamlet of Newtown awaits with the same baited breath that it held over one hundred years ago. Which is another way of saying that Newtown has not changed much since it was first settled, which is believed to be in the 1780s. That’s right. There isn’t much “new” about Newtown.

The most impressive structure, the Newtown Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is pictured above. The congregation dates to 1856 and was organized by Elder John Gano; the brick sanctuary was completed in 1857. Newtown also was the home to both Methodist and Presbyterian congregations according to town’s best authority: a history completed in 1882.

Today, the church is in fair condition. Several houses are nearby and an abandoned store is across the Paris Pike (US 460). A short distance toward Georgetown is a well-kept general store to which I hope to return.

But this is the end of the spoke that is Newtown Pike – a completed tale in the wheel of Lexington.

But, to disclose, I do have great sympathy for those visiting Lexington, as well as my wife. No town should have a St. Ann Street that becomes Fontaine that becomes Euclid that becomes Avenue of Champions before becoming Winslow. Yes, Lexington is a confusing mess of roads. But the wheel and spoke design is easy to understand if you just try.

NoD: President Garfield became a General in Pikeville

Pikeville City Park – Pikeville, Ky.

Last week on Jeopardy!, a question in the category 19th century Presidents concerned a man who simultaneously served as a congressman from Ohio, a senator-elect, and as President-elect. But before Ohioan James A. Garfield achieved these three titles, he served in the Civil War and was appointed brigadier general while encamped in Piketon n/k/a Pikeville.

President James A. Garfield

In early January 1862, Colonel James A. Garfield led Union troops to victory at the Battle of Middle Creek in Floyd County which forced Confederates out of southeast Kentucky and secured the Big Sandy Valley for the Union. During the battle, a company of Kentucky Unionists were almost the targets of a volley from their Ohioan compatriots but Col. Garfield – realizing the impending threat – caused the Kentuckians to let out a “Hurrah for the Union” – a cheer that saved their lives.

It was the victory that prompted Garfield to receive the commission of brigadier general in January 1862. Already headquartered in Pikeville when his commission arrived, there was no senior military brass to swear-in Garfield so the task was left to a justice of the peace, squire John Charles. Garfield was sworn in at the Ratliff Tavern (pictured below, at left) where he was also headquartered. The Ratliff Tavern was torn down in the 1930s to make room for the Pikeville City Park pictured above.

The following month, Gen. Garfield and his troops experienced what Pikeville residents were all to familiar with: flooding. In a letter to his wife, Garfield wrote:

Ratliff Tavern; source info.

The house where I am staying, which is sixty feet above the usual level of the river, is now surrounded. A wild river roars around it on all sides. Two large steamboats are up in the principal street of the village. Houses, stacks of wheat and hay, gigantic trees, saw-logs, fences, and all things that float are careening by with fearful velocity.

The flood left Union troops without supplies and they were forced to re-encamp on higher ground. The flood was so mighty that it even left two steamboats in the streets of Pikeville.

Garfield would leave the military for service in Congress where he would serve several terms before supporting his friend, John Sherman (the Treasury Secretary and brother of Civil War General William T. Sherman). President Grant was pursuing a return to the White House for an unprecedented third term as President, an outcome which many opposed. On the 36th ballot, Republicans picked the ‘dark horse’ James A. Garfield as their nominee for President. Garfield would go on to defeat General Winfield Scott Hancock in November. As history would have it, the Garfield administration was short-lived as he was assassinated only months after being sworn in.

Sources: Eastern Kentucky Battles; Johnson County History

NoD: National Horse Show, Kentucky edition

2011 Alltech National Horse Show - Lexington, Ky.

Juniors’ event at the Nationals – Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, Ky.

You want proof that the 2010 World Equestrian Games was a boost for Kentucky’s economy, bringing in tourists and their pocketbooks? Look no further than the National Horse Show. The pedigree of the NHS is long and mighty.

The first NHS was held in 1883 at the original Madison Square Gardens in New York City, where it remained (through various versions of MSG) until about eight years ago. It was too cost prohibitive to hold the event in Manhattan, so it was moved to Syracuse. That was a losing proposition.

In January of this year, it was announced that the Kentucky Horse Park’s $40 million indoor arena, Alltech Arena, would host the 2011 Alltech National Horse Show. For the past few days, Nov. 2-6, competitors from around the country have gathered in Lexington show their jumping skills aboard their noble steeds.

By all accounts, the show is a success. It is anticipated that additional breeds will be added next year and that discussions are underway with the world equestrian sports body, FEI, to bring a Nations Cup back to the NHS. In a Nations Cup, national teams bid for top bidding.

Inside the Alltech Arena, a trade show circled the concourse with trade vendors and a small-scale experience of the Alltech Experience and the Kentucky Experience – both tremendous educational opportunities that premiered at WEG. Early on Saturday afternoon, the lil’ Kaintuckeean and I witnessed juniors Maclay and jumping competitions. Though attendance was small, these were not the featured events. It was still a great opportunity for the lil’ Kaintuck to see some horses, though!

More photographs from the National Horse Show are available on flickr.