John Ingram Logan House, Shelbyville, Kentucky

Reading historic newspapers is a tiny peek into the intimate details of lives long past. Local newspapers reported the travel plans of residents, new babies, weddings, livestock stolen/wandering/struck by lightning, and new construction – among other matters worth recording. It is, of course, building notices that I find so enticing and valuable. These snippets provide solidity to the veneer of a house’s facade  – a foundation to the decorative shingles and whimsy of the late 19th century architectural styles.

The John Ingram Logan House is one such historic house made that much more interesting by a notice that appeared in The Shelby Sentinel on June 28, 1892. The paper noted that Logan, a local miller, had hired architects Watts & Hume to build a “handsome residence at the corner of 7th and Clay Streets.”*

The 2.5 story frame house, with a lively (though a bit mossy and careworn) facade worthy of a George F. Barber design, still stands in Shelbyville. The lot was carved from the side yard of the earlier brick house next door (the home of John Ingram Logan’s parents).

And although the elaborate facade, with a litany of window shapes and sizes, is what first caught my eye, I became more interested in the Queen Anne style house with the mention of Watts & Hume.*

Architects in the late 19th century were vastly different creatures than the architects among us today. Well – the profession of architecture in America was strikingly different 100 years ago. Architects often lacked the formal education or license that 21^st century purveyors of the trade must possess.

Most men (and it was largely men at that time) claiming to be architects in 19th century Kentucky were not classically trained, but rather learned the trade from the ground up – as carpenters and woodworkers, and perhaps even as engineers. It wasn’t unusual for builders or carpenters to also act as architect designers; the architect-builder has a long presence in Kentucky. In 1880, only 55 residents of Kentucky were recorded as architects in the Federal Census.

Charlie Watts was listed as a carpenter and a bookkeeper in the 1870 Census. According to an entry in Perrin’s History of Kentucky, Watts trained as a carpenter at an early age. W. P. Hume (or Hame, as it is listed in the census records), was recorded in the 1880 Census (he was 54 years old at the time) as a carpenter, along with his two sons, Charlie and Ben.

Prior to 1930, the state of Kentucky did not have a licensing statute for architects, although R.L. Polk’s Kentucky State Gazetteer and Business Directory had an entry for “builders and architects.” Watts & Hume were listed as architects in the Gazetteer for the first time in 1883.

Sadly, other than Census information and listings in business directories, there is paltry little information available about Mr. Watts and Mr. Hume. The two men lived next door to one another on Main Street in Shelbyville, and Charlie Watts was quite involved in the community. He was elected as a police judge in 1880, and was a member of the Masons and the Odd Fellows.

Did Watts & Hume draw up the plans for their designs themselves? Did they subscribe to national journals and trade publications where they might have found inspiration? How many houses did they design and build locally? Was John Logan, a prominent local businessman, joining the ranks of other Shelbyville residents who hired Watts & Hume to translate their social status and economic power into a stylish and impressive residence?**

Short of locating personal or business papers of the two men, or combing through microfilm editions of old newspapers, I don’t know if any of these questions can ever be answered.

I imagine many people would be transfixed by the sheer amount of ornamentation lavished upon the Logan House. Counting the number of spindles would likely serve as a tonic for an insomniac, and the dentils, blocks, shingles, sunbursts…well, Watts & Hume threw every decorative aspect of the Victorian period at the dwelling. It’s not the architectural details that keep my interest though –  it is the story of the builders/architects behind the house – a story likely just as compelling as the intricate facade of the house they built.

 

 

*Historic Architecture of Shelby County, Kentucky 1792-1915 by John David Myles, page 237.

**The house sold out of the Logan family in 1909 – around the same the same time that the family roller mills (producers of “Kentucky Winter Wheat Patent Flour”) were also sold (due to financial problems, it seems). For most of the 20th century, the house was the home of the Kaltenbacher family.