A tale of two houses

Posted December 3, 200915 yr

A tale of two houses.

When I lived in Lexington, Kentucky for five years, and was free from the restraints of an eight-to-five job, I frequently traveled the back roads of the state, finding new places to photograph and explore on an almost daily basis. There were times when I would pass by a location and say to myself, "I'll check it out on my next trip."

Too tired to exit the vehicle and investigate. Getting too dark outside. Classes in the morning. Always some excuse.

One house that I fortunately returned to after a several-year hiatus was the William Tarr House, located in Bourbon County, Kentucky. Constructed for A.J. Hitt in the mid-1860s, who owned a flour and grist mill in Millersburg, the house was sold to William Tarr at some time before 1877. Tarr was a farmer and distiller who operated the Old Tarr Distillery in Lexington, which is now the home of the city's up-and-coming Distllery District.

Tarr updated the original Federal-style residence with Italianate detailing. The main entry way featired fine Flemish-bond brickwork on the front wall, which was an expensive and laborious process to complete. The interior featured several surviving doors and other elements from the Federal-era, however, most were swallowed up in the Italianate improvements shortly after the Civil War.

A two-level ell was constructed in the rear, along with an expansion of the residence. The residence was surmised to have been last used in 1985.

Between my first visit and this trip, much has changed. The rear addition has had a major roof collapse, and the second floor has quietly slipped down onto the first.

2009

Kitchen

2007 foyer

2009 foyer

Great plaster molding, one of the few remaining.

Player piano of an unknown date

Another residence was Duncan Hill south of Bloomfield, Kentucky. Constructed in the mid-1850s, it was owned by Major Green Duncan who served in the state legislature and was later a sheriff and depot agent. The residence featured brick walls four-deep that were manufactured on-site, massive timber beams, eight rooms with 13-foot ceilings, and a kitchen in an ell. Slave quarters were located across the roadway.

Duncan Hall was abandoned in the early 1990s.

When I first set my eyes upon this house, I abruptly stopped and pulled by car into a rutted dirt driveway. "No Trespassing" signs were abundant, but it was clear that no one really cared about this stately residence. Courier-Journal newspapers from the 1960s littered the front porch, and vintage products from the 1980s stocked the shelves in the kitchen. And it appeared that more vintage furniture and items remained inside, although I only got but a few glimpses from the exterior.

There was seemingly no way to enter the main residence, though. The flooring had rotted through to the basement from the ell to the house via a hallway connecting the two. The basement stair steps had collapsed. And the front porch was all but non-existent in front of the swinging front door.

I thought I would return soon, but its location was fairly isolated. I decided a few nights ago to do some research on what I called just the "Classic-Revival Mansion," with nay any information sans some photographs from my first trip. Unfortunately, one of my first queries for an abandoned residence near Bloomfield was a newspaper article that stated a "historic" 1850s residence was destroyed in a fire along Springfield Road.

My heart abruptly sank. Was this the same house I briefly encountered years past? I called the local fire department the next day, and it was confirmed that the house that I longed to enter was engulfed in a raging inferno on August 2. Not arson, but a lightening strike.

So as I dig through more articles and prepare for a trip down to Bloomfield to meet a descendent of Major Green Duncan for an interview, here are some photographs from that first trip.