A PLACE CALLED WACO

Early 1900s postcard of Waco, Kentucky,

While heading down route 52 in Madison County, Kentucky toward an old pottery I  spotted a town from the past. When I say town I guess I mean -- place -- sort of a four corners. 

Before I could think straight I was pulling into a parking spot behind one of the old buildings in town. I jumped out of my truck and started snapping photos of an old general store type of building. It looked original to when it was built.

The present proprietor, Garnette Davis, soon came out of the store and I had to explain to him what I was doing. He was very hospitable after I told him I liked to record folkways. He  invited me inside to give me a lowdown on all the old buildings that sat at or near the four corners -- all of them original to the postcard he gave me of the town taken in the early 1900s. Even his general store (third building from the left in the postcard) was in the photo sitting on its corner with the same form it has today. 

The back of this former general store, now called Davis Hidden Treasures, had an old addition with a nice set of original double doors. 

Preserved in situ, Waco's commercial buildings offered me about six old original commercial buildings to photograph. It was quite a find!


With the postcard in hand and comparing it to what I could view with my eyes I figured that there were about nine or ten commercial buildings when the postcard was produced --  compared to about six extant ones now.  


No development of note has come to Waco's four corners. It remains in a time warp of the early 1900s. 


This was a day I stepped back in time.

PRIMITIVE STONE/ROCK ART

OLD THREE STORY COMMERCIAL BUILDING

While out playing camera sleuth last evening I came upon a beautiful example of primitive stone/rock art. Almost hidden from the community it offered a great repose from the commercialization of the town. It was both old and new in its presentation.

The stone/rock art is a retaining wall that runs about thirty feet along the side of an alley. Its height is about 15 feet at its highest. Across from the wall is an old three story commercial building leaving a narrow pedestrian alley running between the building and the wall.

Above is the first glimpse I got of the stone wall -- part shadow, part sun. Upon closer inspection I noticed the diversity of the old stone and rocks and the few human touches that looked recently added. One recent addition appeared to be a narrow garden bed at the foot of the wall.

Given the types of stone work within the wall I estimated the age to be from about the time of the early 1900s. Rather primitive yet absolutely beautiful with the color variation of  rocks and stones. One metal window with a cross-hatched screen was inset in the wall, rather a mystery as to why. 

Large boulders are found along the bottom tier of the wall. Their beauty can be viewed above. Notice the bottoms of inset blue bottles behind the plants

This middle wall section with the pottery sun is filled with what I call a cement mix with gravelly type stone. The sun is a newer addition inset with a newer cement mix.

Art work pieces adorn the wall -- a hanging metal pot -- a  small blue container inset in the rock wall, gives one the human art feeling. The wall part behind the blue planter is gravelly but without the colors or beauty of the lower two thirds of the wall. Yet its crudeness lends itself to the human and natural drama of the wall.

The wall is shaped with nature and appreciated by the human mind. Beauty can be just around the corner in the least likely spots.

APPALACHIAN HOME PLACE ROCKCASTLE COUNTY

Common Appalachian family home (now vacant) in central Kentucky built early 1900s. 

VICTORIAN PORCH LATTICE WORK

DOUBLE PORCH  -- LATTICE WORK 

LATTICE:  A lattice or lattice work is a criss-crossed or interlaced arrangement of laths or pattern made by such an arrangement. Wiki Definition.

Today, lattice can be bought at such stores as Lowes or Home Depot. Their lattice is thin pieces of wood that bend easily. It is not stout construction like the historic lattice you see on the porch above


This porch belongs to a home in Richmond, Kentucky that was built in the late eighteen hundreds or early nineteen hundreds. The porch is interesting from the aspect it is a double decker. Both have artistically applied lattice. 
   

DOUBLE PORCH -- CLOSE UP

Below are a couple of lattice resources that have been taken from the Old House Journal. This journal has long been a favorite of mine and I highly recommend it for folks with older homes.

When I say older,  I am saying those fifty years old or older. At one time, and probably still is the rule of thumb by the National Trust of Historic Preservation, is that houses fifty years old or older can be considered for historic designation which opens new avenues. 


A great newsletter to receive on vernacular older structures is the Vernacular Architecture Forum.

Overall,  I think lattice and/or gingerbread can be adopted and applied on either old or new houses if done artistically.  If interested in historic housing check out the resources above and for trim-work see below. 

RESOURCES: 

Restoring Porch Lattice Work, Old House Journal, June 1978

I need advice on my folk Victorian exterior, Old House Journal online

OLD VERNACULAR ONE-CAR GARAGE

Yesterday, I traveled the main road of route 25, enjoying a beautiful cool day in and around Richmond, Kentucky. As I rode along  in my small truck I came upon this unusual structure that sat down the hill from a lovely old bungalow. The structure almost looked like a country root cellar yet it had a few defining details that spelled out garage.

First was the height and width of the former door opening which was similar to the garages of the Ford roadster era. The former door opening would have been the whole of the now brown board closure. Secondly, there was a cement drive apron leading to the structure from the street. It probably had a dirt apron originally.

The garage was probably built about the same time as the house was -- the early 1900s. It might have been built for an early Ford roadster or similar type car.   Over time, garages like these  became unusable as manufacturers built cars longer in length. No longer could the newer cars fit lengthwise. Many garages  of the old short-length types were converted into other uses.

OLD VERNACULAR ONE-CAR GARAGE 

A closer look at this former garage tells us that its function had changed. No longer a garage, its use became one that needed light (two windows) and only a regular standard door. Many uses could have been part of this evolved building. The hinges are 1930s --40s. I imagine its original use as a garage was only used for a couple decades. 


I thought the garage was unique in that it was partially underground and that it sat so close to the street rather than close to the house. 


Perhaps there is another story to this structure? I'm sure there is a personal story to be told with this unusual building.