Historic House

Dear Editor, We in Perryville have always (almost always) prided ourselves on our place in history. The buildings and family bonds that still remain here remind us daily of that history. Today, one of those reminders disappeared from this earth. Someone tore down the old Carpenter house, without thought to that history, stripping her of her doorways and her mantels, and her woodwork and flooring. For decades she sat like a beacon on the bluff above our town. Visitors to our community remarked on her faded grandeur, and I think we all hoped that one day someone would just breeze into town and restore her to her rightful glory.

PERRYVILLE - The Hardin-Brinton House that stood on a bluff overlooking the Chaplin River in historic Perryville was razed Thursday. The Greek Revival structure was built about 1850 and was considered one of the most imposing structures in Perryville, according to a state Historic Resources Inventory made in 1976. "For decades, she sat like a beacon on the bluff above our town," wrote Georgeanne Edwards in a letter to the editor. "Visitors to our community remarked on her faded grandeur, and I think we all hoped that one day someone would just breeze into town and restore her to her rightful glory.

HARRODSBURG - After years of work by local preservationists, one of the oldest brick structures in Mercer County has been restored and was opened to the public at a ceremony Thursday. The Thomas Logan House was built in 1795 on land that now holds Anderson-Dean Community Park. Logan held the job similar to today's road supervisor. When industrialist and philanthropist Ralph Anderson bought and donated the land for the park, a large old house on the back of the property was found to have been built around the 18th century structure.

As Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center prepares for construction of a three-story patient tower in the visitors' parking lot, questions have come up about the future of the historic McClure-Barbee House as well as Martin Luther King Boulevard and Figg Alley. The hospital has no plans for the McClure-Barbee House and has never discussed tearing it down, according to Mary Begley, a spokeswoman for McDowell. In fact, she said, the hospital doesn't own the house. McDowell deeded the house to the McClure-Barbee Foundation in 1992 with the understanding that the hospital would get it back in July 2007.

Mayor John W.D. Bowling and Commissioner Chester Kavanaugh changed their votes Monday, allowing the city of Danville to spend $11,000 for a storm sewer on Second Street on behalf of McDowell House. Without the work, the house would have been in danger of losing $325,000 of grant money it received to fix water problems on its property. None of that money could have been spent to fix water problems on the city street. Kavanaugh and Bowling had voted against the project in November, along with Commissioner Ryan Owens, who was not at Monday's meeting.

The historic Philip Yeiser Sr. house, more recently know as the Gwinn House, on Lexington Avenue was built between 1804-1808. An account about the house in Calvin Morgan Fackler's "Early Days in Danville" calls the house "the first ambitious attempt at a mansion" in Danville. Fackler claims the house was built in 1804 although a knocker once attached to the front door was dated 1808. The house also is known as the "Chestnut House" for the family who added the balustrades to enclose the roofs on one-story wings on either side of the two-story main house.

LIBERTY - The Casey County Hospital Ladies Auxiliary is reorganizing and one of the first fundraisers will be a tour of homes, said Nancy Porter, a former auxiliary president who is helping with the project. The tour will be Dec. 16-17 and five houses have been selected and at least 10 or 12 are needed, said Porter. A round house, a historic house and a new house have been slated for the tour. Tickets will be $20 and good for both days. People who have homes they would like to show are asked to contact Porter or Jackie McAnelly.

Kentucky history, juried arts and crafts, music and an abundance of local color are on tap once again for the 30th annual Constitution Square Festival in the heart of historic downtown Danville. The festival, a Kentucky Tourism Council Top 10 designated event, will be Sept. 19-21. The award-winning celebration of Kentucky's origins takes place at Constitution Square State Historic Site on the very grounds of the actual events surrounding the drafting and signing of the state constitution in 1792.

When it rains, water flows off the McDowell House property and into Second Street. There is no storm sewer, so the water goes right back into the basement of the historic house. Preservation architect Joe Opperman has said that the house and its collection of furniture and portraits are threatened by moisture. Water runs from the yard and the roof into the basement. There are mushrooms growing on a basement wall and the house has lost two furnaces in 20 years. The McDowell House board of managers has been awarded $325,000 in grants to fix the water problems, but can't spend a dime of it until the city of Danville agrees to install a storm sewer.

A rain storm did not stop the presentation Wednesday of an original oil painting to McDowell House and Apothecary Shop. The painting by the late local artist Louise Wilson Wilkinson depicts the arrival of Jane Todd Crawford to Dr. Ephraim McDowell's house on South Second Street on a snowy day in December 1809. "Neither rain, hail nor snow prevented us from delivering this painting," Harry Nickens, president of the Ephraim McDowell Health Care Foundation, said as he and Barry Michael, president of the Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center made the presentation.

A new roadside historical marker will be unveiled and dedicated at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 19 near the Willis Russell House, on West Martin Luther King Boulevard. D. Laurence Rogers of Bay City, Mich., author of a new book about the James Birney family, will be speaker for the marker dedication. Also, Rogers will speak at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 19 during the Boyle County Genealogical Association's meeting at Boyle County Public Library. Visitors are welcome. The  roadside marker will be at the site of the first school for African-American children in early Danville.  Boyle Landmark Trust has owned the Willis Russell House since 1984.

An idea that might satisfy most of those involved in the library controversy came to mind while reading Thursday's front page story. Perhaps the library could donate the Stevens building to someone willing to move it across Fourth Street to the vacant lot where the burned house previously stood. It seems this plan would save the house, use the vacant lot that isn't likely to be built upon anytime soon, and save the library the cost of demolishing the house. I would think the owner of the lot should be more than willing to sell it for a fair price and the relocated house could end up with a value that exceeds the cost of obtaining the lot and the cost to move it. Gordon Weddle Danville

The 100-year-old mansion at Crockett Springs Horse Farm, 685  Handy Road in Mercer County is a historic house with a modern interior. Guests are welcome to tour the Crockett house and six others in the county Saturday during Harrodsburg Historical Society's annual house tour. They will learn owner David Crockett wanted his house to be more comfortable than historic when he decided to renovate the two-story-frame structure. They will get a view of 21 sparkling chandeliers including five made of Italian crystal; a fireplace mantel styled like one in the famous Biltmore House in Asheville, N.C.; French wallpaper; beautiful art work; and Chippendale and Marge Carson furniture.

CRAB ORCHARD — For most girls who try to conjure visions of their wedding day years in the future, the thoughts will forever remain figments of their young imagination. But on Saturday, Kristina Kelley — now Kristina Wallace — had her wedding on the lawn of her ancestral home, just as she pictured when she was 8 years old. Her ancestor is famous Kentucky pioneer William Whitley, her great-grandfather six times removed, and the home is now a state historic site in Lincoln County between Stanford and Crab Orchard.

Nicholasville Mayor Russ Meyer walked into the historic house at Connemara, eyes wide at the sight at the renovation of his old home. Dr. Pearse Lyons and his wife, Deirdre, who now own the home, just completed a million-dollar overhaul of the place, which completely replaced the wiring and the HVAC system and built an Irish pub in the rear of the house. "It looks fantastic," Meyer, who lived in the house from 1991 to 2003 with his family, said. "It makes us happy that we were a part of it, and to see the Lyons' keep it a golf course and especially keep it green space, it always will have a special place in our hearts.

HARRODSBURG ? Just before sun sets Friday and Saturday, history will be underfoot ? literally ? in the Spring Hill Cemetery. On those two evenings, six ? or more ? of Harrodsburg's famous or infamous figures will help guests touring the cemetery to relive a little history. The historic characters will be James Harrod Trust members and friends acting as costumed interpreters bringing to life the color and history of some of this community's forefathers. The cemetery tour, hosted by James Harrod Trust and sponsored by The Harrodsburg Herald, offers visitors a unique and fun way to learn about the history of the state's oldest settlement and the people who lived, fought and died in the community.

Kentucky history, juried arts and crafts, music and an abundance of local color are on tap once again for the 30th annual Constitution Square Festival in the heart of historic downtown Danville. The festival, a Kentucky Tourism Council Top 10 designated event, will be Sept. 19-21. The award-winning celebration of Kentucky's origins takes place at Constitution Square State Historic Site on the very grounds of the actual events surrounding the drafting and signing of the state constitution in 1792.

Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett may be some of the more famous American pioneers, but William Whitley was a key figure in early Kentucky history. His house, one of the first brick homes west of the Allegheny Mountains, is now a state park where people can go for recreation and to learn more about the man and his life. Completed in 1794 by William and Esther Whitley, the materials for the house all came from land that the Whitleys owned. The Whitleys had 12 children, 11 of whom survived to adulthood.

Dear Editor, We in Perryville have always (almost always) prided ourselves on our place in history. The buildings and family bonds that still remain here remind us daily of that history. Today, one of those reminders disappeared from this earth. Someone tore down the old Carpenter house, without thought to that history, stripping her of her doorways and her mantels, and her woodwork and flooring. For decades she sat like a beacon on the bluff above our town. Visitors to our community remarked on her faded grandeur, and I think we all hoped that one day someone would just breeze into town and restore her to her rightful glory.

PERRYVILLE - The Hardin-Brinton House that stood on a bluff overlooking the Chaplin River in historic Perryville was razed Thursday. The Greek Revival structure was built about 1850 and was considered one of the most imposing structures in Perryville, according to a state Historic Resources Inventory made in 1976. "For decades, she sat like a beacon on the bluff above our town," wrote Georgeanne Edwards in a letter to the editor. "Visitors to our community remarked on her faded grandeur, and I think we all hoped that one day someone would just breeze into town and restore her to her rightful glory.