A HISTORIC KENTUCKY PLANTER'S HOME

The original one story vernacular Federal home that was later 

enlarged with a Greek Revival

 two-story home addition.

When I landed here in Kentucky I felt like I was in another land. I arrived from a long stint in the areas of  New Mexico and Oregon and found that the architecture here was so different. In fact different from any place I had lived such as the Midwest and the far West. Since part of my background includes Historic Preservation, my eyes couldn't get enough of  Kentucky's old building stock.

One of the houses that initially stood out was this early 1800s home. I call it a "planter's home." It is very historic --  it sits alone on a hill overlooking a large parcel of land.  Although I have lived in the area for a few years I  have never seen any signs of occupancy. 

The original one-story home with two-story home attached

I would love to open one of the doors and take my own personal tour of the interior. But this is not to be. It is not a house that folks can walk the grounds or open the doors. It just stands there holding secrets in its own private memories.

Even the few locals I asked about the house didn't really know anything.

Front facade of the two-story house 
with portico entrance porch

Close-up of front portico Greek Revival porch

Obviously this was the home built by wealth. I recently found out that the one-story house was originally owned by Joseph Miller, the son of the founder of Richmond, Kentucky. Another family member owned it by 1850 when the tw0-story house became part of the one-story. 

Named "Hedgeland" from my research online -- could not find out why it was called this.

These photos are five years old. There is probably  more information in other archives but for now it might have to wait awhile before I get back to it again. 

I wrote this post today as I felt that I owed it to the home.

Sometimes a certain place or places can grab you with questions and this was one of those places for me.

VICTORIAN WINDOWS -- ARCHITECTURAL BEAUTIES

Richmond, Kentucky has one of the better collections of commercial second story windows I've seen in Kentucky towns  -- most located in their old main street section. Now let me qualify that statement -- I have not seen all the towns in Kentucky. I'm sure there are many others with special qualities.

Included here are a couple of photos of the streetscapes displaying the contiguous line up of some of the buildings. I then have taken close-ups so you can view the workmanship of the Victorian windows.

Why the second story windows and not the whole building? Well, I wanted to concentrate on these old ladies as they appeared in the late 1800s when most of them were built. Sometimes the first floor can be rather contemporary in feeling.

This is not all of Richmond's historic commercial buildings. There are more around every corner you turn in the commercial section. This town is also filled with beautiful historic housing of all sizes and types. Richmond's population is presently a little over 33,000. I would call it a medium size town. 

Check out second story exteriors in old towns  -- you might discover some fine workmanship as well as beauty.

COMMUNITY THREADS IN RICHMOND

I like to ride up and down side streets which run at right angles to old commercial districts and take photographs. One town where I like to ride the roads is Richmond, Kentucky -- finding a rich diverse stock of vintage residential architecture.

Here the housing stock is eclectic in its originality.  Streets bubble up with old residential homes. All shapes and sizes, some appear to have original exteriors while others have new vinyl siding and windows. No harm, vinyl can easily be removed if a person wants to restore. Overall, the residential landscape along the streets is more vintage in appearance than up-dated.

In the photos above and below are two homes I spotted close to each other on one of the streets. These homes had been up-dated with modern vinyl siding and newer doors but still had the old original archtectural trim decorating their porches. 

The porch's trim illuminates not only the home, but contributes to the historic ambiance of the neighborhood -- architectural pieces are the threads of a fabric that represents community

Fabric threads weave community.

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.