Every historic building has a story to tell
Between 1902 and 1926, the Radford Architectural Company of Chicago touted itself as the “Largest Architectural Establishment in the World.” For as little as five dollars, prospective homeowners could purchase house blueprints, specifications, and a material list, and then work with a local builder and lumber yard to construct their dream home. On a shady (read more)
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 (read more)
Category: Shelby County
Tags: Kentucky architects, Watts & Hume
The African Methodist Episcopal Church (also known as the Colored Methodist Church, or CME) has deep roots in Winchester, Kentucky. Prior to the emancipation of enslaved African Americans, worship was celebrated in the basement of the local Methodist Church, but by 1866, the congregation purchased their first parcel for building. Allen Chapel CME Church was (read more)
Categories: Churches, Clark County, Kentucky churches
Institutions, in my experience, are not the best stewards of historic buildings. So it comes as no surprise to learn that Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) in Richmond, Kentucky, is preparing to demolish a house once lauded as one of “Richmond’s best examples of Italianate-style architecture.”* And the late 19th century brick house, with its (read more)
Categories: Demolition, Madison County
Tags: demolition by neglect, Eastern Kentucky University, J. Stone Walker House
Gardening might be the closest I will ever come to magic in this world. The delight and wonder of growing plants transcends the sometimes ugly or thorny blemishes of reality – and I felt this way even before the Pandemic. If gardening is magic, then the tobacco hornworm is a troll, gnome, or orc (read more)
Categories: Gardens, Kentucky Gardens
Tags: caterpillars, garden pests, Gardening, hummingbird moth, Tobacco hornworms
I suppose the first time I ever heard of a gazing ball was when I was around eight or nine years old. One of my favorite activities at that age was to rifle through my older sisters’ possessions, especially their books (everyone needs a hobby, right?). Jane-Emily, by Patricia Clapp, boasted a lurid cover perfect (read more)
Category: Gardens
Tags: Gardens, gazing ball, Gothic novel, Jane-Emily, Kentucky gardens, Patricia Clapp, yard art
South of Princeton, Kentucky, almost to Trigg County, sits the small rural crossroads town of Hopson. It’s situated in a tiny triangular configuration of roads, and I executed a quick U-turn (a necessity in my line of work) to investigate the collection of buildings I glimpsed from my window. It was early in the morning, (read more)
Categories: Caldwell County, Kentucky Places
In February 2019, I set off for beekeeping school with great zeal. Life intervened, in the form of a job loss and the addition of another baby, and we are still hive-less…well, not entirely. Last night, my toddler informed me that there was a bug in her room. After some investigation and the hum (read more)
Category: 1901 Farmhouse
Tags: bee hive, Bees, honey bees
Onion domes are not an architectural feature I glimpse very often in this country, let alone in small town Kentucky. When I first saw the circa 1896 Ross-Ratliff House on a chilly winter day in 2015, I was entranced by the shingled corner turret with ogee-curved dome on top. Today I got a message that (read more)
Categories: Demolition, Nicholas County
There will be a Juneteenth celebration tonight, June 19, 2020, in Lexington, Kentucky, at African Cemetery No. 2. Juneteenth traces its origins back to Galveston, Texas where on June 19, 1865, Union soldiers arrived in the city with news that the Civil War had ended and enslaved persons were now free. The Emancipation Proclamation had (read more)
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