Prior to the Civil War, it is likely that 80 percent of all buildings constructed in Kentucky were log buildings – a number that seems staggering when you consider the survival rate of a log structure.* Urban log buildings are like unicorns: most long ago disappeared, as technology advanced, and towns grew and expanded. The very presence then of a circa 1818 log house in downtown Lancaster, Kentucky, should be a reason to celebrate – instead, the fate of the house teeters in the balance. After 201 years, the owner of the house wants it gone.
The facade of the circa 1818 Arabia J. Brown House.
The square, single pen log house stands at the corner of Pauling and Danville Roads, two blocks from the Courthouse square in Lancaster.
The Brown House and its 20th century neighbor.
The Brown House sits on the west half of outlot #45, and on August 12, 1816, William Owsley (the 16th governor of Kentucky) sold the lot to Reuben H. Elkin. Two years later, the lot was sold to Arabia J. Brown, a native of Virginia.
I love the name Arabia – but as fascinating as I find the supposed builder and owner of this house, I can’t tell you much about him. Much to my consternation, there were two Arabia J. Browns, father and son, living in Lancaster at the time this dwelling was built. Curses on naming subsequent generations the same name as the previous!
A section of the 1879 Beers and Lanagan atlas showing the Brown House.
The two-story, two bay wide house is clad in weatherboards, but several rows of that siding has been stripped away, revealing the logs on one corner (along with the holes in the roof, an open invitation to moisture to speed deterioration). On the inside, there may have been a partition wall, with a narrow room containing the stair, and the larger portion open to the fireplace at the east gable end of the house.
The Brown House in happier times, circa 1983. Photograph by Helen Powell as part of the National Register of Historic Places documentation.
At one time, there were four log buildings left in downtown Lancaster.** I’m not sure if any of the other three are still standing – but the owner of this log house wants to tear it down.
Apparently – and my sources are secondhand – the owner would like to have the house moved, and wants to redevelop the lot. Deconstruction is a much better option than the landfill for this historic log house.
The entry door and exposed logs of the house.
If you might be the person who could rescue history and rebuild the Arabia J. Brown House in a different location, contact Craig Potts, the State Historic Preservation Officer at 502-564-7005 or via e-mail at craig.potts@ky.gov.
*William Macintire. A Survey of Historic Sites in Marion and Washington Counties, Kentucky. (Frankfort: Kentucky Heritage Council, 2009), 24.
**According to the 1983 Lancaster Historic Commercial District NRHP nomination.
What I wonder is why these buildings have been allowed to deteriorate? It is so sad.
Lancaster City Fathers: Find a comparable piece of land- comparable in value to what this would be with the building removed- and trade with the property owner. THEN sell (with protective easements) to a buyer with a goal to restore. WIN-WIN-WIN.
Well aware that this is not easy, nothing worth saving is an easy project.
How much does he want to sell the logs for, if I’m willing to take them down in order, and rebuild it elsewhere, with the history following it?
Please contact the Kentucky Heritage Council at 502-564-7005 and speak with Craig Potts. I do not have contact information for the owner of the property.
Check out Barnwood Builders on the DIY network. https://www.diynetwork.com/shows/barnwood-builders
Amazing fellows from West Virginia (and one from KY) that save and repurpose old cabins and barns. An amazing preservation effort with great honor to all the pioneer builders
So very sad, but I was struck by a solution. There is a company called Barnwood Builders in West VA that travel around taking down old log structures and repurposing the logs. I stumbled across this amazing documentary show 3 winters ago on the DIY network. One of the fellows is from KY and they have done projects here. Google them for lots of info. They are all about preserving and honoring pioneer builders. I think you would really like this show. Wish they would take down this house. I want to be there to watch.