xt7pzg6g2616 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7pzg6g2616/data/mets.xml Knight, Thomas Arthur, 1876- 1904  books b92-159-29919361 English Britton Print. Co.], : [Cleveland, Ohio : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Architecture, Domestic Kentucky. Kentucky Description and travel. Bluegrass Region (Ky.)Greene, Nancy Lewis. Country estates of the Blue Grass  / by Thomas A. Knight ; Nancy Lewis Greene. text Country estates of the Blue Grass  / by Thomas A. Knight ; Nancy Lewis Greene. 1904 2002 true xt7pzg6g2616 section xt7pzg6g2616 























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THOMAS.:A.KNWIHT



NANCY LEWIS.GREENE



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                        j)R E F T  

              3    OR   the :purpose of proving to the World that there is no
                      more prosperous, no more beautiu count  in th   Unit
                    ;  Sttesthan Fair Kenucy   to poethat in 'this mnuchi-
                i  abused State there is as muc.h culture, as mnuch wealth, as
            / _    beautiful hoes and more ideal home surroundins, than in
any otheSte in the Union; and fo All nature lovers -this Volume is publishd
O Only those illustrations which tend to show something, only those which prove
an argument have been selected.      tit is a thoroughbred horset sometimes
a fancy steer, sometimes it is a trotter, possibly it is a beautiful pony, a gaited
saddle0 1horse, a house with its southern atmosphere--old andf 0 historical as it is
comfortatble - and again, it may bDe simply a beautiful view. But whatever it is,
no1nmatter how insignificant it may be, it will be found typical and full of local
color.  This is not a blue book of persons. It is, however, a blue bookoJcutPry
places and as such, the publisher fondly hopes, will fulfill its important missron.
T1 th       ographers who 0have assisted in this workt to the engravers Nwho
have so artistica reproduced m   phtogrh, to the printers who have produced
such a perfedworkof art Iand to Miss Nanc   Lewis Greene who has wrnitten
+thesketches that accom    the views, l sincerely extend m-y thanks.
                                                  T. A.  K.
                June l5 1905 Lexington,Ky



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                               N  Mytholw     we read of a giant who  upon being felled to ear, rose
                              to the fa y stronxgtan ever be       Ore.    ld Mother Earth gaveWhim
                                 a strengh tt nothi  se ol   gve  Th       tings, the most
                                 Mpoweful drs   the potencharms   of thewitch     i   ht be efectual
               in o     tests, but;XSX:;  0 when it came to dire need-this apowerft
               was in sorest dstressthen it wthat MoteEarh sre   l  i  de  and administered
vens and made it pfo      him to regan b  atles all but lost.
med ourmot effective lessons and today we see the tido    i   ur   back, bk toMote    Ea
keirfgt tXwith the gun and the plwhre fo         civilizaion, for welh, for hapnes   -todywe topound;of,0 are fight

goal w  as theitown-s t  coutry.


dwating.   tIt was a


I,  os  its cairm.  So


irday, however   not the



has



An Oatfield on Kirklevington Farm.

 



                                                            well-bred friends, where one may find ease and luxury, where one may find every convenience
                                                            that is to be found in the city.   The morning paper at the door, hot and     cold water
                                                            for the bath, the morning's mail, not three miles away at the cross roads, but in the rural
                                                            delivery mail box in front of the house, deliveries of fresh meat and groceries, every day,
                                                            ice either in your own prnvate ice house, or delivered from  the city and last but by no
                                                            means least, long distance and local telephone in your den.

                                                                 It is this sort of country life that is appealing to the man of means and which is sending
                                                            scores of nature worshippers to the country every year.

             Plenty of Local Color.                              In all the ages we read of country villas, country estates.          The Romans had them
                                                            before the Christian Era.   Nero, satiated  with  his voluptuous city pleasures, tired of the
intrigues of his court and finally to save his miserable life, hastened to his country villa.  Then again,
"In days of old   when   Knights were bold," we find    that everyone who amounted to anything had
his country estate, the crowning glory of which was the grand, rock-bound castle. It was not until the  
"quality" became land hungry, and they began discovering new  countries, that the old traditions in this
respect were given a jolt and centuries of progress were overturned.  With the discovery of America
the tide turned the other way.   Nobles forgot about their country   places and  builded  cities.  The
aristocracy of all nations exerted itself in one field only, that of discovering new  countries.

     After awhile things righted themselves somewhat and in England the country estates were re-estab-
lished.  In America the plantations of the South grew  and thrived.   Then came the Civil War, and
once again all country estate theories were upset.

     The last ten years has seen the revival of the country idea and now, from    Maine to California
and frorn the most northern0 boundaries of the United    States to its southernmost point, the cry is,



Where the Gleaming Pike Passes Between Grand Old Trees.

 




                                                                              - Back to the Earth."  The boy, country raised and country bred, toils in
                                                                              the city with just one object in view, that of getting back to the farm.
                                                                              The city bred man, no less keen for the final result, makes his fortune
                                                                              and ostentatiously buys up a tract of land whereon he proceeds to live
                                                                              in more comfortable circumstances, in more regal style than did Nero of
                                                                              old, when, to the accompanying roar of the burning of Rome, and with
                                                                              his fiddle strapped to his back, he scurried to his country  villa on  the

                                                                              banks of the Tiber.

    Start of the Famous Phoenix Hotel Stakes on the Lexington Running Track.  Beyond the shadow  of a doubt the country  place  of today is more
                                                                              beautiful, more useful, than  was the country  estate of antiquity.  As a
direct result of what the gentleman farmer is doing today, we have finer horses, better dogs, better sheep, better cattle, more perfect flowers,
than we had centuries ago.    The one idea that has pervaded everything has been the perfecding of type.
     Having illustrated  country places in every section of the country, it is but natural that I should  draw  comparisons.  The estates of the

North, as a whole, are better kept, more trim, more formal, than are the country places of Southern people. Lawns are cut once or twice
a week, walks are kept scrupulously clean, there is a place for everything, and everything                                              ______
is in its place.  In fact, much of the wholesome country atmosphere is sacrificed in this
desire to measure everything by a foot rule.  The writer has in mind one place in the
North where, by utilizing every foot of space, by looking after the little details, it has
become possible for the owner to keep year in and year out      I 10 head  of cattle on
110 acres of ground.    Two   years ago this man cleared   7,000   above all expenses.
     If I am   to  have the preference, however, give me the Southern     country  place.
Blue grass growing knee deep on the lawn, the encroachment of wild flowers and vines
on  the walks, the     informal old manor house that has withstood the winds and storms                                                   .



Oiled Roads Make Traveling a Delight.

 



















The Negro Cabin Was at One Time a Very Necessary Feature of Every Estate.



of a century, the0 post-and-rail fence,0 0 the old negro  cabin  at the back  of the ; house,
the gem  of architecture known as the spring house, and the delightful disorder as to the

arrangement of buildings and paddocks, all appeal to the imagination and draw one to

the South as the magnet draws the needle.
     It is a wholesome, natural atmosphere, and if the newer Northern country place is

to become permanent, if it is to succeed as a popular and useful fixture, it must take

pattern after the South, where the country place is as old as the country, and where,

indeed, it is ideal.
                                                                THOMAS A. KNIGHT



Mt. Horeb Church-Hisoric and Picturesque.



A Mondaymorning Scene.


 






,Storv of the Bluie Grass Region.



                                                                                           By Naney Lewis G(reene.

                                                                   OWHERE       in Amerca   is the life of the country gentleman more truly charac-

                                                                      teristic and genuine than in the Blue Grass region of Kentucky, and for this

                                                           reason a comprehensive work, showing    the attractions of this famous secdion  must be

                                                           somewhat of national interest and importance.

              Down By the Branch.                              American    country life is a vigorous young      national plant, with its roots deeply

embedded in European soil.    In no stronger characteristic  does the New  World show   her kinship to the Old than in a steadily developing

taste for life in the open;  for establishing vast country estates and hunting preserves, where an inborn derire to cultivbte the soil, breed fine

stock, or pass the hunting season in the heart of the country, may be gratified.

     Almost every city of importance in the United States, at the present time, has its surrounding touge ixulnttvy estates, and fortunes have

been expended in their improvement and adornment.    Our American millionaires have all

taken a turn at playing the country gentleman; sometimes it is but the fad of an hour,

taken  up and  abandoned   as fancy  may dictate.  More often, however, in seeking    a

wholesome  release from  financial cares in rural pursuits, hidden chords in human nature

are touched, the existence of which was scarce suspected, yet, which, when once called

into being nevermore quite die out, and  thus we have the truest type of the American

country gentleman; one who conducts his country estate as an integral part of his life.

In dealing wit    CutyEstates of the       Blue Grass," in particular, one takes largely



The Century-Old Mill at South Elkhom.

 


                                                              .intoconsideration this latter type, for a maoity  of Athe country gentlemn  in this section

                                                              have.nvrbe       anythinig Ielsei for generations.
                                                                   Some of the best American writers and genealogists have pointed out the fad that

                                                              for direct, unadulterated  lineage, the people of Kentucky and Virginia may present the
                                                              strongest claim to possession.  Throughout many changing conditions they have preserved

                                                              the bluest blood intact. Customs and codes of caste are still observed among them which

                                                              came into use with Cavalier ancestors, and it is no uncommon thing to find, even in

                                                              old and dilapidated homesteads of this section, genuine crests and coats-of-arms identical
         On the Johnson Pike, Near Lexington.        with the proudest peerage of England, Scotland, France or Holland.

     Many of the Kentucky country places were once slave plantations and have never been sold by the families who first fixed their boundaries.

The homesteads present, w ien untouchec; by the hand    of Time, a distind    style of architecture peculiar to the South.  Broad, spacious,

comfortable and substantial, the buildings are generally of brick or stone, set squarely upon solid foundations and softened, beautified and completed

by long pillared galleries that oftte  extend the whole length of the house, back and front, with stone steps leading up from  gravel driveways.

     Such is the average country gentleman of Kentucky and his environment.  Yet, there

is another type which must be taken largely into consideration, for over the whole fabric

of past conditions has been thrown the new, vitalizing, beautifying influence of imported

thought and wealth.

     There  can be no doubt that the capital, progress and     brain of the North has

served  to make this section of the State richer, broader and  more important to the

world at large than it has ever been in the whole history of the past; that the white

palaces of the New York millionaires, which have 'risen like magical conceptions upon the



On the Bryan Station Pike, Near Lexington,

 





                                                                              green hillsides or level pastures of the Blue Grass country add a charm to

                                                                              the landscape and a moulding influence to all modern enterprise.

                                                                                    An example has been set upon these model country places which will

                                                                              go on bearing fruit until better conditions are realized, even upon the most

                                                                              modest of farm lands, for already have the perfectly consnructed roads on

                                                                              the great estates led to the building and improving of more excellent public

                                                                              and  private driveways in a locality which  has ever been famed for its

              Little Martha One ol the Features at -Tynehrae"        good roads.

                                                                  Spotikes of the Wheel.

     At the present time the City of Lexington represents the hub in a vast wheel, whose glittering spokes are level, white turnpikes, the equal

of which, in point of construction and picturesque beauty, cannot be found in the whole world.  It is this feature of the section that the artist

has so faithfully endeavored to set forth with his camera, giving a fair idea of the scenic beauty and interest to be enjoyed by a drive over

these Kentucky turnpikes.  Beside two of them   has been laid the tracks of the interurban  railway, prophesying of future development and

progress. Over the Maysville and Georgetown roads electric railway connection has been made with interior towns, and there are not two more

piduresque or important highways in the whole country.  A  drive out the Maysville road brings a visitor to the gates of many noted stock farms,

among which stands the white palace at "Green Hills," and                          -______            -__-___________

the superb buildings at Elmendorf, where many noted horses

are quartered. To the east lies the Bryan Station road, whos

chief object of interest, in spite of its array of valuable stock

farms, is historic; for a short drive brings one to the famous



Second Heat of the (1904) Futurity, at Lexington.

 




                                                             Bryan Station Spring, which figured so conspicuously in pioneer days by supplying water

                                                             to the inmates of a fort built by early settlers to protect a little colony of white people

                                                             from the Indians.

                                                                  The spot is a hallowed place to Kentuckians, for it stands as a monument to the

                                                             heroism of a few brave women, who emerged from the fort under cover of Indian guns and

                                                             marched down the hillside to obtain the water for which a weakly defended fort was

                                                             perishing. If they had sent out the few men that the enclosure protected, or rather who

Vlonument at Bryan Station Spring, Built by Women to Women.  protected the enclosure, the lurking foe would have easily overpowered them, and destroyed
                                                             the women and children at their leisure; but, if the fort could be held for a few days,

until expeced  reinforcements arrived, all might be well.  Water lay outside the stockade, and  that water was essential.  So, the dauntless

women formed a "bucket brigade," taking the chance of the Indians not caring to reveal their presence to so weak a foe, or of the ruse

misleading them  as to the strength of the fort.  Their bravery mastered the situation, and Bryan Station fort held out until reinforcements came

from a neighboring settlement, routing the Indians.

     To the memory of these stout-hearted women, their

patriotic descendants, members of the Lexington Chapter

Daughters of the Revolution, have erected a monument by

enclosing the famous spring in a neat aone wall, upon the

si des of which appear engraved tablets, perpetuating their

names in the enduring   rock.  It is said to be the only

monument built by women to the memory of women in the



If

 


                                             1!l 0world.   At  sthi  ear  oo  fountain of sparkling water travelers sop to drink and 0refresh the mfemory
                                             with historic traditions.

                                                  The Winchester road is noted for its fine old Southern homesteads and aristocratic neighborhoods,

                                             as well as for several superb modern stock farms of national reputation  near town.  For beauty of

                                             scenery it has few  equals, and this impresses the traveler at every point.  Woodlands along the route

                                             have been preserved to a great extent, and in summer the white bed of the pike is flecked by cool

                                             shadows.  Almost every large homestead, and the road is lined with them on either' side, stands upon

                                             a lawn wide enough to include a whole block of city houses, and the people who live in them have
  just a Study-Anne and Aunt Sally.    owned their land throughout generations.

     The Richmond pike leads out of Lexington     on a broad  boulevard, known   as the "McDowell Speedway," and     passes the gates and

boundaries of "Ashland," home of Henry Clay, now owned by the McDowells, descendants of the Great Commoner, and kept hospitably open

to visitors from all parts of the world. This place, in its picturesque beauty, has been too widely written up as the home of Henry Clay to

need further mention here, but it may be fitting in a work of this sort to add that the fleet thoroughbreds produced at Ashland at present

are adding lustre to its historical fame.  The Richmond road also passes the limpid lakes of the city reservoirs, where pretty boats and club

houses invite to many social recreations in season.

     A  shining spoke in the wheel of pikes is the Tate's Creek road, which, like the Winchester, is noted for good neighborhoods and old,

distinguished  families, who  have held their land  grants for

generations. Modern enterprise and active brains have converted
these countr  places into model stock farms, and the beautiful
rural views along this highway are animated by the sleek
forms of fine horses, who graze piacidly on the most luxuriant
blue grass in all the country.



A  Goodly Herd of 0 Anra Goats.

 




                                                  The Versailles pike, leading to the lovely little city of Versailles, ties Smiling upon the ltap of one

                                             of the richest counties in Kentucky.  Woodford is especially rich in its forestry and its people.  Its

                                             country  places are like  small principalities, and  one of them, widely  known  as  "Woodburn,"  has

                                             international reputation  as the birthplace of the first great racers.  Here, it may be said, that the

                                             foundation  for American country gentleman life was laid, for not only was "Woodburn House" one of

                                             the first palatial homes to be established by a millionaire in the Blue Grass country, but the history of

                                             Woodburn stock farm is almost the history of the American turf in regard to both thoroughbred and

                                             trotting stock.

                                                  The Harrodsburg pike leads to the oldest town in the State, a quiet, demure little city, full of

                                             historic interest, and along this road lie some of the most important stock farms and most elegant homes

                                             in the country.  As a perfect type connecting the days of slavery with the feudal customs and splendor

                                             may be mentioned "Ingleside" home of the Gibsons.      The house, built in Tudor style of architecture,

                                             resembles an Old World castle, with its lodge and park of ancient forest trees.  The Russell Cave pike

                                             takes its name from  the famous "Russell's Cave," which is one of the numerous large caverns for which

                                             Kentucky is famous, and which is located on land granted to Robert Spottswood Russell, a Revolutionary

                                             hero.    He   built
               A P ety. GaasyWcadand.Mt, Brilliant,"

whose great, white gallery pillars gleam  through dark, green

oliage of trees topping the hillside above the cave.  The       7

NicholasvileLeestown, Georgetown, Old Frankfort, Newtown

peikesand othrs,' might continue the story of the beuiful



A Scene of Rare Natural Beauty.
(Notice Sheep on Wall at Right of Picture.)

 



                                            roads indefinitely. l On the Newtown one comes to the gates of gracious McGranthiana, whose gnial

                                            host would deserve special mention were :it possible to give it separately here.

                                                 The rich meadows and    woodlands forming the grand   land-tracts 'of "Walnut Hall" lie a little

                                            beyond, and it is upon this country estate that the writer is loath to linger, for in it i s 6combined at

                                            once the old order and the new; the splendor of a past glory with the highe tpossibilities of present

                                            achievement.  The man who converted    "Walnut Hall" into a modern country home of magnificent

                                            proportions took an old foundation to build upon, for the mansion house was builtcby Vidor Flournoy, a

                                            Southern planter, as early as 1830, and still stands in simple elegance among its apme trees, unmarred

                                            by glitter or newness.  Thousands of dollars have been spent upon its improvement, without altering

                                            the natural grandeur of the landscape, and today  "Walnut Hall" is one of the; most beautiful of all

                                            the noted stock farms around Lexington.

                                                Thus, radiating out of Lexington and connecting the city with other'Kentucky'towns of lesser

                                           importance, lie the roadways, and a devotee to automobiling might find upon them    a riich field of

                                           enjoyment were it not for the fact that a stronger passion for speeding blooded horses liestuppermost

                                           in the hearts of all who breathe Kentucky air.

                                                   BTlie Paru:ittotiiit [1'. Feiture.

    Wh'eMayaHpy Ho i .S  
                                                This brings us to the paramount "feature"

of almost every Blue Grass country estate, for every such place must have its "feature"

as a controlling and focusing "motif."  It may be fine poultry, swine, cattle or dogs, in

other States; here it seldom  varies-the horse is king in Kentucky.  When it was

 




                                                              demonmtrated c beyond doubt that the horse, born and bred on Kentucky soil was superior
                                                              AIin pointof strength     peed to one reared on any    ther part of the globe, then it

                                                              was that men , with millions at their disposal first turned their eyes toward this favored
                                                              State, eagerly grasping the possibilities it had to offer as a field for profitable investment

                                                              and for the gratification of a sportsman's keen instinct for competitive entertainment, and these

                                                              men of great wealth have helped to make a venitable garden spot of the rich lands

                                                              surrounding Lexington, the country places established by them  standing out with particular

                                                              brilliance in the glittering array of homesteads.
       Suburban Railways Add to One's Enjoyment.            Recalling their beauty and a view  of the landscape during a typical racing season,

when the latter lay like a vivid painting in varying shades of emerald on grass and foliage; when a golden-brown track stretched away under

the horizon, bathed in mellow sunlight, the writer is tempted to abandon her figure of the wheel and its spokes for a jeweled "sunburst" with

rays of light radiating from living gems.

     Other features of the landscape give distinctive character to this section of the State as an important agricultural centre, but they are often

lost sight of in the more conspicuous business of breeding fine stock.  The growing of hemp, like the breeding of Shorthorn cattle, was one

of 0the primitive occupations of Kentucky country life, and so characteristic that writers have dwelt at length  upon Kentucky's hemp fields, as

,they have upon her blue grass meadows.     Views of these fields, when animated by the figures of negro    "breakers"  in picturesque though

ragged attire, are often beautiful in the extreme, giving a touch of novelty to the surrounding  grasslands.  Hemp was planted on the first

clearing made in the wilderness, and the nature of the soil is said to be particularly adapted to its growth.  Kentucky early became the great
hemp producing section of the world, and before the Civil War demolished the labor system    many large fortunes were made in this industry,

which is still an important one, despite all I modern interests.  Corn, also, is largely cultivated, and passing along the country roads one is often
:struckwith the natural- ;beauty ofthe' cornfields, though this homely produc Jis' 'seldom rdeemed '0a- sightly addition, however necessary to one's

 




                                                                                               country  place." But, look  at it now--the cornfield-when

                                                                                               blade and stalk a e green and shimmering in the sunlight.

                                                                                               It is just breaking into tassel.  Along each stem  new, juicy

                                                                                               ears throw  out silk in crimson  and  golden strands.  Aloft,

                                                                                               sword-like leaves toss and hiss in the light, wind, seeming

                                                                                               to jeer the lowly bean-vine that vainly attempts to carry its

                                                                                               fruit to the tasseling.  Between the stalks, standing rank upon

                                                                                               rank and tier upon tier, morning glories are trailing their azure
                           Making Hay While the Sun Shines.
                                                                                               and alabaster blooms in a dew-wet tangle.    The wind dies,

and look at it again-the field-with its myriads of erect stalks, its wealth of corn and the plume-like tassels with their imprisoned     sunlight.

Mark in   what motionless calm   it is standing.   How   limitless and  endless it seems, and how    the tallest stalks lose their identity in one

harmonious, pulsating whole.
                                                             Iflarvesthi4ig thee HItie Grass.

     Then, there is the blue grass seed itself.       Few   visitors who come to this section of                                                  _______

the world, attracted by the fame of fast horses that graze upon blue grass meadows, realize

that there is splendid investment in the seed of the famous grass itself, and that nine-tenths

of the blue grass seed of the world is raised in this section of Kentucky.

     A  glimpse at the great tracts of grasslands surrounding Lexington is particularly inter-

esting during the time of harvesting the seed.   The warm    June sun shines down upon

rolling, wind-stirred  waves of ripened  grass.  That elusive season when there is, for a

Xbrief period, reallya  "blue"  tint to the tasseling is past, and the tops have mellowed



Typical Southern Barnyard Scene.

 




                                                             into a :golden-brown hue.  The azure look is only seen for a day 0 or two