Historic Houses for Sale: The Waller Sharp House, Sharpsburg, Bath County, Kentucky

On Saturday, May 8, 2021, the Waller Sharp House in Sharpsburg, Kentucky, will go on the auction block. The once-elegant 2.5 story brick house, built 1903-1905 for the Honorable Waller Sharp Sr., has suffered the indignities of neglect over the past few decades. Pigeons, water, and decay may have waged an insidious campaign against the house, but its solid masonry walls and stone foundation were built at a time when longevity mattered. The Sharp House is ready for a rebirth, if the right person can see the beauty and possibilities in this amazing house!

A branch of my family hails from Bath County, and I remember several trips to Sharpsburg during my childhood. But it was during a survey of historic sites during the summer of 2007 that I first stood on the sidewalk outside the Sharp House and gawked. I didn’t conduct the survey firsthand – all of that hard work is thanks to Maria Gissendanner Burkett, who got to learn a lot about Sharpsburg during the sultry months of July and August.

Sharpsburg, Kentucky is located on Kentucky Route 11, about 15 minutes (or 11 miles) from Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, and Interstate 64. It’s a small community, with a population of around 323 residents (in the 2010 census), but a town blessed with a rich architectural heritage, and surrounded by fertile farmland.

It is that farmland that helped propel Waller Sharp, born in 1850 and grandson of Moses Sharp, who gave his name to the community, from a “poor youth” to “one of the leading citizens and most prominent men of his day.”*

At the age of 53, Sharp, a a former representative from Bath and Rowan Counties in the Kentucky legislature, and an influential tobacco warehouseman, began construction of a large and stylish house on Main Street in Sharpsburg. The house was obviously intended to be a showplace – perhaps the perfect backdrop for Sharp’s possible new role as a Kentucky Congressman in Washington, DC? (Sadly, he did not win the election.)

The house embodied many of the emerging architectural trends of the day – and I can only imagine how imposing it looked as the bricks were laid and the large square house began to take shape among a streetscape of frame dwellings.

The three bay wide house has a double door entry flanked by large single light windows, each topped by a large stained glass transom. Heavy stone lintels top every window on the house. There are five interior brick chimneys, and in addition to the large stone porch that spans that spans the facade, there are entry doors on the east and west elevations, each protected by a small portico.

The hipped roof (with what I imagine is a large and spacious attic) has hipped roof dormers on the east and west elevations, and on the façade, the most delightful Flemish-influenced dormer with a false parapet and stone details.

Waller Sharp Sr. didn’t enjoy his new house for very long – he died in the fall of 1909. The next generation of the family would make the handsome house their home – Waller’s son, Waller “Boss” Sharp, Jr.

Waller Sharp, Jr. was born in 1880, and attended school in Lexington in the 1890s along with his younger sister Anna. He followed his father into farming and also served as Bath County Deputy Sheriff. In the 1930 census, he and his wife, Lena, lived in the Main Street house with their daughter Mary, and two servants.

His daughter was the next generation to occupy the house – which has over 14 rooms and is probably around 2,500 to 3,000 square feet. There have been only two additional owners since Mary Sharp Tuttle sold the family home, which was likely after her father died in 1964. The current owners purchased the house in 1972.

I don’t know how long the Sharp House has been occupied  – in 2007, it appeared to still be inhabited. The dwelling will need extensive work – starting with a new roof to keep the rain out.** And while the house is not listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), it is certainly eligible – and I will donate my time to the new owner who pursues a restoration, and write the nomination for free.***

Listing in the National Register does not convey any restrictions on private property owners – but it DOES make the property eligible for historic tax credits, which can go a long way to help stabilize and restore the building.

The Waller Sharp House is a magnificent building, and I fervently hope that it is purchased by someone willing to undertake a sensitive restoration of one of the town’s most significant dwellings. If you are interested, please contact Lisa Rogers with Lisa Rogers Realty at 606-674-2599. 

 

 

 

*A History of Bath County, Kentucky, by J.A. Richards. Published 1961, page 534.

**This is what I do for my day job – an individual NRHP listing can range between $4,000 to $10,000, so it’s a worthwhile offer! Sharpsburg is also eligible for listing as a historic district – the town was bypassed by the new Route 11 because of its historic significance (a Section 106 undertaking from the late 1990s, I believe), so while it is not listed in the NRHP, it was determined eligible during consultation between the Kentucky Heritage Council/State Historic Preservation Office and KYTC/FHWA.

***Sadly, I do not have access to interior photos. When the house was documented in 2007 for the Kentucky Historic Resources Inventory, all of the photographs were taken from the public right-of-way. The listing agent does not have photographs of the interior either, but has been inside of the house. If I am able to obtain a link to the auction, I will post it here.