Some of the Other Interesting Places We Saw in Lexington 5/3/2009

Bodley-Bullock House-The Bodley-Bullock House is one of the most prominent and stately mansions in the Bluegrass region. The home was built circa 1814 for Lexington Mayor Thomas Pindell. Shortly after its construction it was sold to General Thomas Bodley, a veteran of the War of 1812, for whom the house was named. The home has many unusual architectural features and is very similar in design to the Hunt-Morgan House. Originally constructed as a Federal style residence, numerous additions and alterations during the 19th century resulted in a house that is more characteristic of the Greek Revival period. A small, one-story columned portico was added to the front entrance, at which time a Palladian window above the door was removed. A large, two-story columned portico was also added to the side of the house that faces the garden.
During the Civil War the house served as headquarters for both Union and Confederate forces during the occupation of the city by both factions. After the war, the house was owned by a series of owners including the Bullock family who purchased it in 1912. Dr. Waller Bullock was an accomplished sculptor as well as the founder of the Lexington Clinic. His wife, Minnie Bullock, was the founder of the Garden Club of Lexington and an avid gardener. Following Mrs. Bullock's death in 1970 the Junior League of Lexington leased the home from the Bullock estate for the sum of $1 a year.


Carnegie Library-Lexington's library has a long, distinguished history. Established in 1795, it is now the oldest institution of its kind in Kentucky and possibly the oldest in the west. The library was started with 400 books, which were added to the collection that already existed at the Transylvania Seminary. The library was based on subscription wherein people paid for the use of the library holdings. In 1898, Lexington was deemed a second-class city by the Kentucky Legislature and this classification enabled the city to acquire and conduct a free library.
The Carnegie Library, also known as the Lexington Public Library, was built in 1906 as a gift to the city of Lexington from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation. Steel magnate Andrew Carnegie donated $60,000 of his approximate $550 million fortune to the city for the construction of the library building. To receive its donation, the Carnegie Foundation required the city to provide a site for the library and to appropriate funds for the library's upkeep. The new building was constructed of Bedford limestone and was built for a sum of $75,000. Thereafter, the contents of the library were moved to their new home, a beautiful Neo-Classical building at the southern end of Gratz Park.


Hunt-Morgan House-The Hunt-Morgan House, historically known as Hopemont, was built by John Wesley Hunt in 1814. Hunt was known as the first millionaire west of the Alleghenies and earned his fortune from the mercantile business shortly after Lexington was established. Other notable personalities have also resided at Hopemont. Hunt's grandson, General John Hunt Morgan, was a dashing general in the Confederate Army who gained the nickname "The Thunderbolt of the Confederacy" through his many raids and daring military feats. John Wesley Hunt's great grandson, Dr. Thomas Hunt Morgan, was born in the house in 1866. Dr. Morgan became famous for his work in genetics and is one of a very few Kentuckians to have won the Nobel Prize. The Hunt-Morgan House is a Federal style residence with specific emphasis on the geometric phase of the period. The building has many fine architectural features including a Palladian window with fan and sidelights that grace the front façade, as well as a large spiral staircase in the front entranceway.
In 1955, the Foundation for the Preservation of Historic Lexington and Fayette County was formed to save the Hunt-Morgan House and the neighboring Col. Thomas Hart House, which was demolished for a parking lot that year. The Hunt-Morgan House was saved and the name of the Foundation was changed to the Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation. The organization restored the home to its 1814 appearance and the house is now an interpretive museum illustrating the lifestyle and culture of early 19th-century Kentucky affluence. The home is also the site of the Alexander T. Hunt Civil War Museum, which contains many Civil War artifacts and is a great resource for Civil War researchers and enthusiasts.


The Old Episcopal Burying Ground-The land upon which the Episcopal Burying Ground lies was purchased in 1832 by Christ Church Episcopal as a burial ground for its parishioners. The cemetery became extremely important during the 1833 cholera epidemic during which Christ Church lost approximately one thrid of its members. It was in this cemetery that William "King" Solomon laid to rest dozens of bodies when no one else would, thus elevating him to the status of a hero. The burial ground also contains a small chapel that was built around 1867 and is thought to have been designed by Lexington architect John McMurtry. The small Carpenter's Gothic style chapel later became a sexton's cottage.
Many prominent individuals were buried in this cemetery including Mathias Shyrock, father of Kentucky architecture; Colonel George Nicholas, the father of Kentucky's constitution and the first attorney general for the state of Kentucky; and the family of Col. Thomas Hart who was the father-in-law of statesman Henry Clay. Hart was also a member of Richard Henderson's Transylvania Company that aided in opening Kentucky to settlement in the 1770s. Following the establishment of the Lexington Cemetery in 1848 many of the bodies in the Old Episcopal Burying Ground were re-interred in the new cemetery while many of the old headstones were left behind. The last bodies were interred in the Episcopal Burying Ground in the 1870s. The historic cemetery remains a peaceful, tranquil plot of land that is reminiscent of a time when religion played a prominent role in people's lives and when the death of a loved one came not just from old age but from a wide variety of illnesses and epidemics to which the cholera pandemic of 1833 is a testament. The Episcopal Burying Ground has been known by various names since its beginning; these include Old Episcopal Cemetery, Old Christ Church Cemetery, and the Old Episcopal Burying Ground.


Henry Clay Law Office-Henry Clay, "the Star of the West" and important 19th-century political figure, began his law practice in this small brick building. The one-story office was built by Clay in 1803 and measures a mere 20 by 22 feet. Born in Hanover County, Virginia, in 1777, Henry Clay grew up hearing orators such as Patrick Henry. Clay studied with Chancellor George Wyth--professor of law and classics at the College of William and Mary and teacher of Thomas Jefferson and John Marshall. Completing his law training in the office of the state Attorney General, Robert Brooke, in 1797, Clay decided to follow his mother to Kentucky, and eventually settled in Lexington.
Clay occupied this law office from 1803 to 1810 during which time he was elected to two successive terms in the Kentucky Legislature and also to fill unexpired terms in the United States Senate. Later in his career, Clay served as a United States Congressman, Senator, Secretary of State, and ran for the presidency three times--losing only by a slim margin in the election of 1844.
The law office is not only historically significant because of its early occupant, but also as one of the few early, professional buildings remaining in Lexington. In 1830, the law office was incorporated into a larger building, and the originial roof was removed. The State of Kentucky purchased the building in 1969 and the 1830 additions were carefully demolished, revealing the building's original 1803 configuration. A careful restoration was undertaken and completed in 1971. The law office is presently owned by the First Presbyterian Church.


Adam Rankin House-The South Hill Historic District is a neighborhood of early residential homes adjacent to downtown Lexington. In 1781, Lexington's five-man Board of Trustees successfully petitioned the Virginia Assembly for 710 acres of land that was divided into half-acre and five-acre lots, according to a town plat. "The south hill" was made up of larger lots located outside of the town of Lexington that were soon subdivided. South Hill is so named because in pioneer days the area overlooked the Town Branch of Elkhorn Creek that once flowed through the center of the city. The homes in this district were built over a period of time spanning more than 100 years. The earliest homes were built during the early 19th century and are mainly Federal and Greek Revival styles. Most of the older homes are in the northern half of the district. The district also includes homes built after the Civil War into the early 20th century. Buildings designed by two of Lexington's greatest architects, John McMurtry and Cincinnatus Shyrock, can also be found in this district. The mixture of styles on each street is aesthetically compatible, of similar scale and placed on lots of similar size. However, the scale and lot size on each street differs, with the bordering streets of the district such as South Limestone and South Broadway containing larger houses or larger lots set further back from the street.
This district consists of many homes that were once owned by free African Americans at a time when slavery was still an institution in Kentucky. Prosperous whites lived alongside prosperous African Americans with many middle class citizens also living in the district. The oldest home in Lexington, the Adam Rankin House is located in this district on South Mill Street. Despite the rapid growth of Lexington and the neighboring University of Kentucky, the South Hill Historic District has remained virtually untouched with some commercial infringement on the outer edges of the community. At one time located on the outskirts of Lexington, the neighborhood is now in the heart of the city.


Lexington Opera House-The Lexington Opera House was built in 1886 following the destruction by fire of the earlier opera house. Designed by the noted theatrical architect Oscar Cobb of Chicago, the opera house was opened on August 19, 1887 with a production of "Our Angel" by the Lizzie Evans Stock Company. The three-story building originally seated 1,250 people and had two balconies and two boxes on either side of the stage. The interior of the opera house was lavishly decorated in Turkish morocco and each box was equipped with its own hat rack, cane and umbrella holder, and springs to help people enter their seats. An 1893 article in The Kentucky Leader describes the house as one of the "costliest, handsomest and most convenient Thespian temples in the South, an object of cherished pride in the city." Following the advent of motion pictures the opera house fell into decline. The building was restored during the early 1980s and is now used again for theatrical and musical performances.
Over the years the opera house hosted many large and elaborate performances. A production of the "Henley Regatta" in 1890 required a flooding of the stage. In 1893, approximately 100 animals and a mile-long parade were used for the performance of "A Country Circus." In 1904 a production of "Ben Hur" involved an on-stage chariot race. These plays alone should attest to the popularity of opera and the lavish performances that took place in the building. Many notables have performed in the opera house including: John Phillip Sousa, Mrs. Tom Thumb, Will Rogers, Mae West, and the Marx Brothers.


Patterson Cabin-Built by Robert Patterson prior to his marriage in April 1780 to Elizabeth Lindsay, this small cabin has been a home, servant's quarters and tool shed. It has had many sites, including original on Cane Run; farm of Patterson's grandson, Dayton, Ohio, 1901-1939; and several on Transylvania campus. Returned to Lexington by request of Kentucky, this city and D.A.R.
Col. Robert Patterson (1753-1827) - A large landholder, Patterson took part in founding Lexington, Cincinnati and Dayton. Chose site of Lexington, helped erect fort, April 1779, and laid off town; on Board of Trustees for many years. He helped charter Transylvania Univ. Urged separation from Va., 1784; elected representative from Fayette County, 1792, and served eight years. Moved to Dayton, 1803.


Transylvania University-Since its founding in 1780 as the first college west of the Allegheny Mountains, Transylvania has been pioneering new frontiers in higher education. In its early years, Transylvania included a medical school, a law school, a seminary, and a college of arts and sciences that educated thousands of the young nation’s leaders in government, business, medicine, law, and education. Today, the college is similarly successful in fulfilling its contemporary mission of offering a high quality liberal arts education marked by personal attention to students and a faculty dedicated to excellence in teaching. Today, it is a nationally ranked liberal arts college.
The name Transylvania comes from Latin and means "across the woods"—a good description of the vast, heavily forested region settled by a pioneering land company whose chief scout was Daniel Boone. This area, which would remain a part of Virginia until Kentucky achieved statehood in 1792, still marked the nation's western frontier in 1780 when Transylvania became the sixteenth college in the U.S.
Transylvania is linked with many famous names in American history. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Aaron Burr were early supporters. Henry Clay was a law professor and a member of Transylvania's board of trustees. Among other distinguished alumni are founder and hero of Texas Stephen Austin, famed abolitionist Cassius M. Clay, U.S. vice presidents John C. Breckinridge and Richard M. Johnson, Supreme Court justice John Marshall Harlan, 50 U.S. senators, 101 U.S. representatives, 36 governors, and 34 ambassadors.


First Presbyterian Church-First Presbyterian Church was founded in 1784 when Lexington, Kentucky, was a frontier town composed of thirty cabins and a stockade and was originally named Mount Zion Church.
During the church's first two decades, several famous pastors filled its pulpit. One of these was Robert J. Breckinridge, known as the Father of Public Schools and a strong anti-slavery advocate. Mary and Abraham Lincoln were visitors at First Presbyterian in 1849. Lincoln was impressed by Breckinridge's Thanksgiving sermon, and the two became friends. In the years that followed, Breckinridge became one of the future president's most stalwart supporters.
The Civil War not only divided Lexington but also divided this congregation into Lexington's First and Second Presbyterian churches. In 1872, the First Presbyterian Church, after four previous moves, settled into its present location, a new Gothic building topped by a 180-foot spire designed by Elder Cincinnatus Shryock and modeled after Trinity Church in New York City. The church's historic Kimball organ was installed in 1897.