During the eight decades preceding the Civil War, Kentucky was the scene of tremendous building activity. Located in the western section of the original English colonies, midway between North and South, Kentucky saw the rise of an architecture that combined the traditions of nationally known designers, eager to achieve the refinements of their English mother culture, alongside the innovativeness and bold originality proper to the frontier. Tradition thus provided a tangible link with world architectural development, while innovation offered refreshing variations. The result was a distinctive regional architecture. In his newest look at Kentucky architecture, Clay Lancaster broadens his scope to include analyses of significant structures from throughout the commonwealth, illustrating the entire range of stylistic development. Like his acclaimed earlier book Antebellum Houses of the Bluegrass, the current volume provides historical background as well as drawings, photographs, and floor plans, showing both general features and details. Among the many Kentucky buildings discussed are examples by such well-known early American architects as Benjamin Henry Latrobe, Thomas Jefferson, James Dakin, Isaiah Rogers, Alexander J. Davis, and Francis Costigan, as well as the work of local master builders such as Matthew Kennedy, Micajah Burnett, Gideon Shryock, Thomas Lewinski, and John McMurtry. Also included are Kentucky buildings designed from nationally distributed architectural books and builders' guides. Lancaster gives special attention to the Geometric Style, which evolved further and produced more noteworthy monuments in Kentucky than anywhere else in America. Such buildings, in turn, bestowed a simplicity and straightforwardness on structures in later styles. As Lancaster shows, the architecture that resulted from Kentucky's fertile eclecticism constitutes a rich and rewarding architectural heritage. All lovers of fine architecture will treasure this handsome and informative book.

"Clay Lancaster was infected by a love of architecture at an early age, a gentle madness from which he never cared to recover."—From the Foreword, by Roger W. Moss It is easy to take for granted the visual environment that we inhabit. Familiarity with routes of travel and places of work or leisure leads to indifference, and we fail to notice incremental changes. When a dilapidated building is eliminated by new development, it is forgotten as soon as its replacement becomes a part of our daily landscape. When an addition is grafted onto the shell of a house fallen out of fashion or function, onlookers might notice at first, but the memory of its original form is eventually lost. Also forgotten is the use a building once served. From historic homes to livestock barns, each structure holds a place in the community and can tell us as much about its citizens as their portraits and memoirs. Such is the vital yet intangible role that architecture plays in our collective memory. Clay Lancaster (1917-2000) began during the Great Depression to document and to encourage the preservation of America's architectural patrimony. He was a pioneer of American historic preservation before the movement had a name. Although he established himself as an expert on Brooklyn brownstones and California bungalows, the nationally known architectural historian also spent four decades photographing architecture in his native Kentucky. Lancaster did not consider himself a photographer. His equipment consisted of nothing more complex than a handheld camera, and his images were only meant for his own personal use in documenting memorable and endangered structures. He had the eye of an artist, however, and recognized the importance of vernacular architecture. The more than 150 duotone photographs in Clay Lancaster's Kentucky preserve the beauty of commonplace buildings as well as historic mansions and monuments. With insightful commentary by James D. Birchfield about the photographs and about Lancaster's work in Kentucky, the book documents the many buildings and architectural treasures—both existing and long gone—whose images and stories remain a valuable part of the state's heritage.

The ante bellum homes of Lexington and Fayette County, Kentucky, are both more numerous and more distinctive in design than those of many communities of similar age. Founded in 1775, Lexington by the turn of the century had become the chief cultural center north of New Orleans and west of the Alleghenies. During the eight decades between the Revolution and the Civil War, Fayette County was the focus of converging streams of immigration, and a phenomenal amount of building activity took place in Lexington and the surrounding area. Although local builders followed the trends of national architecture, they were not primarily concerned with "correctness," and developed a provincial style which was distinguished by originality and a high level of craftsmanship. In Ante Bellum Houses of the Bluegrass, Clay Lancaster seeks to define the indigenous character of Fayette County building, which he concludes is of unusually distinguished quality. A second aim is the presentation of authentic data as a guide for intelligent restoration of existing old buildings, many of which have been defaced by unnecessary changes and inappropriate additions. He traces the development of house building in this restricted area from the first crude log cabins, through frame, stone, and early brick residences, to the substantial homes built by wealthy landowners and merchants in the mid-nineteenth century. The text is supplemented by 200 line drawings which present the essential features of each building free from the later alterations and decay which would be recorded by the camera. These illustrations have been compiled on the basis of intensive research, from old photographs, maps, drawings, and other records. An album of halftone illustrations, many of which are reproductions of old photographs of buildings which have been altered or demolished, supplements these illustrations.

There may be no more revered residential architect in Louisville and Kentucky than Stratton O. Hammon. His very name evokes images of timelessly handsome, classically beautiful homes that remain highly sought-after many decades after their construction. In this magnificent volume, authors Winfrey Blackburn and R. Scott Gill present readers a comprehensive appreciation of Hammon's work, with virtually every Hammon home in Kentucky described (including floor plans) and photographed in gorgeous detail. The book features a thoughtful introduction by renowned architectural critic Richard Guy Wilson, and the images of award-winning photographer John Nation. Butler Books is proud to announce that Kentucky Houses of Stratton Hammon was awarded the Bronze Medal for Excellence in the national Architecture category of the 2008 Independent Publisher Book Awards.

" Enter the world of Ward Hall, where world class Antebellum Greek Revival architecture is embellished with period antiques, celebrating the 1850s lifestyle. The newly formed America looked to the democratic ideals of the ancient Greek republic, building public and private edifices to resemble their temples; thus verifying that they were worthy successors to those Athenian values. High resolution photography and detailed diligent research have uncovered new facets of this Kentucky gem. Ward Hall is undisputedly Kentucky's grandest and most stately Greek Revival residence. Erected in Georgetown, Ky just before the Civil War, it showcased the newly formed United States' interpretation of the Greek democratic ideals embodied in a strong, not overly ornate structure. Ward Hall is in a constant state of restoration, but still the grandeur of it prevails. The mansion serves not only as a museum of the Antebellum period in American history, including the contributions of the enslaved, but as a living tribute with colorful events hosted throughout the year. This book will let the reader enjoy the splendor throughout the seasons and encourage a visit and donation to this National treasure."

A concise and amply illustrated introduction to Kentucky folk structures—log cabins, houses, cribs, and barns—that should be treasured as irreplaceable expressions of the cultural values of the Commonwealth's past.

A look at the Christian religions in the Bluegrass State before the Civil War from the author of the acclaimed Jefferson: Architect of American Liberty. Religion permeated the day-to-day life of antebellum Kentucky. This engaging account of Kentucky’s various Christian denominations, first published as part of the Kentucky Bicentennial Bookshelf, traces the history of the Great Revival of 1800–1805, the subsequent schism in Protestant ranks, the rise of Catholicism, the development of a distinctive black Christianity, and the growth of a Christian antislavery tradition. Paying special attention to the role of religion in the everyday life of early Kentuckians and their heritage, John B. Boles provides a concise yet enlightening introduction to the faith and the people of the Bluegrass State. Religion in Antebellum Kentucky is an excellent survey of religion and its significance in the first eighty-five years of Kentucky’s history. “A small historical gem . . . Boles has set an admirable standard of excellence for this sort of study.” —William and Mary Quarterly

In Kentucky: Historic Houses and Horse Farms, pre-eminent architectural and interiors photographer Pieter Estersohn guides us through Bluegrass Country, the legendary landscape around Lexington, Kentucky. The wealthiest town west of the Alleghenies prior to the Civil War, Lexington has a rich architectural and cultural history that is manifest in the elegant houses within and around the center. Equally compelling is the equestrian heritage that has made Lexington the “Horse Capital of the World.” Among the properties presented are Ashland, an Italian-inspired villa built for distinguished statesman and orator Henry Clay; Pope Villa, one of only two extant residences by Benjamin Latrobe, the architect of the U.S. Capitol; Waveland, a completely intact Greek Revival estate from the 1830s; and Pleasant Hill, the largest restored Shaker community in the country. Dramatic aerial photographs celebrate the rolling landscape and expansive horse farms, including Gainesway Farm, a 1,500 acre site that has produced an impressive roster of legendary Throughbreds. Kentucky is a multifaceted and compelling portrait of a unique part of our country that combines a reverence for history and Southern traditions of hospitality and generosity with a vital present.

Originally established in 1775 the town of Lexington, Kentucky grew quickly into a national cultural center amongst the rolling green hills of the Bluegrass Region. Nicknamed the "Athens of the West," Lexington and the surrounding area became a leader in higher education, visual arts, architecture, and music, and the center of the horse breeding and racing industries. The national impact of the Bluegrass was further confirmed by prominent Kentucky figures such as Henry Clay and John C. Breckinridge. Bluegrass Renaissance: The History and Culture of Central Kentucky, 1792-1852, chronicles Lexington's development as one of the most important educational and cultural centers in America during the first half of the nineteenth century. Editors Daniel Rowland and James C. Klotter gather leading scholars to examine the successes and failures of Central Kentuckians from statehood to the death of Henry Clay, in an investigation of the area's cultural and economic development and national influence. Bluegrass Renaissance is an interdisciplinary study of the evolution of Lexington's status as antebellum Kentucky's cultural metropolis.

Six Kentucky historical dramas, too This “murder for love” story charmed the world with its great lure for romanticism. In 1825, Solomon P. Sharp, a promising politician in Frankfort, Kentucky, was murdered at his doorstop by the apprentice that idolized him. Jereboam O. Beauchamp claimed he was defending the honor of his wife, Anna Cooke, who accused Sharp of fathering her child and abandoning her; both were executed and buried in the same grave. Songs, poems, novels, and plays responded around the globe. Even Edgar Allan Poe tried his hand at it in his drama Politian, but to safeguard himself changed the names, setting, date, and title. Its fiction failed to interest Poe and his public. Now, The Kentucky Tragedy, as it was known, can appear as Poe had dreamed it. BOTHERUM An old farmhouse, mid-Nineteenth Century Lexington, Kentucky. Widower Madison Conyers Johs purchases a farm with an unexpected enslaved family. Conyers, brother-in-law of abolitionist Cassius M. Clay, and the enslaved foreman overcome the situations that separate them, and develop a lasting friendship that surpasses social position and race. Two Kentucky Gentlemen of the Old School. BEATING THE DARK HOME Dressing room of the Pekin Theater in Chicago, 1906. Vaudeville performers Amos and Andy Tribble confront one another with their love and hatred of the stage. While Amos returns to the farm, Andy is left to reinvent his stage presence or lose it. DAY OF RELEASEMENT Shaker Village, Harrodsburg, Kentucky 1812 and 1999. Enslaved servant Patsy Williamson is not only gifted with freedom and equality at Shaker Village, but also with spiritual songs — music that connects her to the love of Andy, separated from her by almost two hundred years. These star - crossed lovers discover a hidden portal to bring them together: their music. Pioneer Christmas in Kentucky The Old Log Meeting House, on the road to the first county seat of Madison County, Kentucky, Christmas 1788. The residents of Milford unite with a plot to stop a group of marauding and murdering bandits. Moon Above Benson Valley Two taverns during Prohibition, one below the town belonging to John Fallis, the murderous and radical “King of Craw,” and the other atop Bald Knob, belonging to the low key, compliant, ever - bachelor William Vest, collide in the unsolved murder of an Italian immigrant.