Every historic building has a story to tell
For those of you who follow Gardens to Gables on social media, including Facebook and Instagram, today, 13 March, 2019, there was no love. Around noon, Facebook stopped working, and at 8 pm EST as I write this, it still remains unusable for many, including yours truly. I am sending this post out to assure (read more)
Category: Uncategorized
Tags: #facebookdown, Facebook outage, Instagram outage, social media
I visited some old friends yesterday. Some were still standing, prompting a visceral thrill of recognition and delight at their survival – while others eluded me as I scoured in vain small hollows and gravel roads. The sun was out, the air was sweet, and the hunt for historic houses to tell the story of (read more)
Categories: Books, Kentucky architecture
In the spring of 1843, my great-great-great grandfather, Nelson Prewitt, wrote in his farm journal that he had 12 hives on his farm. I don’t know if his hives increased over the years, but in the 1860 agricultural census, he is recorded as producing 5 pounds of beeswax and 100 pounds of honey. Armed with (read more)
Category: Kentucky Gardens
Tags: beekeeping, Beekeeping school, Bees, Honeybees
I adore architecture, but I’m no builder. My forays into construction as an adult consist of assembling wooden trellises from scrap wood, and then painting the entire ramshackle affair bright colors. Fully cognizant of my lack of skill, I love seeing the houses that true builders construct for themselves. Last year, while winding my way (read more)
Category: Webster County
Tags: David W. McMullin, McMullin & Orsburn Planing Mill, Queen Anne, Sebree Kentucky
South of Flemingsburg, at the crossroads of two turnpike roads, lies “one of the prettiest towns in the state.”* I don’t think this 19th century utterance is hyperbolic – even now Poplar Plains, Kentucky, is an extraordinarily picturesque place. I can’t recall exactly how I stumbled upon Poplar Plains – coming or going from some other (read more)
Categories: Fleming County, Kentucky Places
My first – and as yet, only – experience in Burning Springs, Kentucky, had nothing whatsoever to do with ignitable springs of natural gas.* No, I was in Clay County for work, and after completing my tasks, I set out (as is my wont) to wander the area. And off to the side of US (read more)
Categories: Clay County, Schools
Tags: #burningsprings, #historicschools, #worksprogressadministration, Burning Springs, WPA
I’ve invented stories for lonely buildings my entire life. But my imagination could never have conjured up…a pickle station? When a good friend and fellow historian mentioned such a creature, I begged him for more information. I don’t know why a pickle station seems so curious and intriguing – I’ve documented historic tobacco warehouses, slaughterhouses, (read more)
Categories: Butler County, Kentucky agriculture, Logan County
Tags: cucumbers, Heinz Pickles, Richelieu
As a frequent traveler along Interstate 64 eastbound, usually traveling to Virginia and points beyond, I’ve passed through Boyd County, Kentucky at least 100 times. But I’ve spent very little time in Ashland, its largest town, and the downtown streets are definitely worth wandering. Last fall, I played pedestrian for an hour or so in (read more)
Category: Boyd County
Tags: #ashlandky, #kentuckyarchitecture, #nationalregisterofhistoricplaces
I just spent some quality time on the floor with my toddler, drawing pictures of houses with (this is a very important fact) washable crayons. My drafting skills are not the finest, but I executed two renderings of a fairly one-dimensional dwelling, each house with a central door flanked by a window on either side (read more)
Categories: Abandoned houses, Warren County
Sometimes, work gets in the way of life – and definitely intrudes upon my blog writing time. Given my lack of mental acuity at this time, I thought I would share some details about three historic properties I recently nominated to the National Register of Historic Places. These nominations were approved on Monday, December 17, (read more)
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