One of the things I love most about the study of vernacular architecture is how the same form or plan of a house can be built over long spans of time, so that a house built in 1831 in Nelson County, Kentucky, can look quite similar to a house built in 1805 in Fayette County, Kentucky – the chief difference being variations in exterior ornamentation. The E. B. Miles House in Bloomfield, Kentucky, a small town in northeastern Nelson County, is one example of this common trend and a lovely transitional Federal-Greek Revival dwelling.
The facade of the E.B. Miles House. Photograph 2017.
This 1.5-story brick house dates to around 1831, and has a central passage, double pile plan (two rooms on either side of a central hallway) on the interior. The central pediment with a Palladian window and the parapetted gable end walls were the first elements to catch my eye.
The parapetted gable end walls is a common feature on historic 19th century buildings in Maysville, Kentucky (there are also some in Flemingsburg and Bath County) but is seen less often in the rest of Kentucky.
The pediment is accented with dentils, and the central three bays of the facade project slightly.
Detail of the pediment, circa 1989. Photograph by Christine Amos from the KHC Survey files.
The five bay wide house has a central, recessed entryway, framed with pilasters and with double doors flanked by sidelights and topped with a transom. (A fanlight would be a more Federal style element than a transom.) The facade is laid in Flemish bond, a brick bond usually associated with the Federal style of architecture in Kentucky.
Floor plan of the E.B. Miles House, from the KHC Survey files.
Federal style houses in Kentucky usually have jackarches, so the lintels with bulls-eye corner blocks show the influence of the emerging Greek Revival style.
Detail of the lintels, and the slight projection of facade under the pediment.
I haven’t been inside the Miles house, but if it’s anything like other transitional Federal/Greek Revival houses I’ve seen in Kentucky, the woodwork is unabashedly Greek Revival. Tall and heavy baseboards, four panel doors, and high ceiling height would be all be characteristic of the style as interpreted in Kentucky.
Circa 1979 facade of the Williamson Price House, built 1805-1810 in Fayette County, Kentucky. Image from the NRHP files.
The scale, plan, and pediment of the Miles House are very much like the Williamson Price House (above) in Fayette County, which dates to the early 19th century. The blending of the Federal and Greek Revival styles can be seen in countless similarly-scaled extant historic houses across the Bluegrass, many with a central pediment including the William McCreary Kenny House (BB-479) in Bourbon County (I don’t know if it is extant); the Clark-Quisenberry House (CK-25) in Clark County; Cedar Grove in Jessmine County (three bays wide instead of five) – and doubtless many others known to those of you reading this piece (please share!).
