FRANKFORT, Ky. — Six Kentucky sites have been nominated for the National Register of Historic Places. It is the country’s list of resources which are deemed worthy of preservation.
With over 3,400 sites from the Bluegrass State already listed, Kentucky has the 5th highest number among the states.
According to the Kentucky Heritage Council, those six nominated sites include:
Louisville to Bardstown Turnpike Milestones and Roadbed, stretching from Jefferson through Bullitt, Spencer, and Nelson counties, consisting of nine historic limestone mile markers and a small section of limestone roadbed along U.S. 31E marking the path of the 1830s Louisville-Bardstown Turnpike. The markers are of similar “tombstone” shape and range from 15 to 51 inches high. While the position of some stones has shifted slightly over the years due to highway widening, their relative position to each other – and along the 39-mile route – remains historically intact. The site is being nominated for its importance to early travel, trade, and transport of products like bourbon, tobacco, and livestock through Kentucky, and for its significance in transportation and engineering. Authored by Brooke Hatfield, Seth Myers, Ainsley Gordon, Carter Echols, and Sophia Blanton with the Youth Chamber of Preservationists.
Butchertown Historic District (boundary increase and additional documentation), originally listed in the National Register in 1976 with 337 contributing buildings and a period of significance from 1800 to about 1926. The current nomination proposes expanding the number of contributing buildings to 423, and the period of significance to 1966. Resources in the proposed areas of expansion include intact strips of early 20th century shotgun housing, and they exhibit the same characteristics of the current district with a diverse array of residential, commercial, and livestock and manufacturing-related industrial architecture that depicts the growth and development of the neighborhood. Its name comes from the meatpacking operations founded by early German settlers and the related businesses that thrived through the 20th century. Authored by Joseph C. Pierson of Pinion Advisors.
J.J. Reilly Manufacturing Building, which dates to 1870 and has undergone a number of changes to accommodate various uses. The building is the westernmost structure in a small industrial complex at North 13th and Rowan streets in Louisville. It is being nominated for its significance as a metal manufacturing facility and its role in the surge of similar facilities that operated just west of downtown, near the Portland Canal and Ohio River, just east of the rail lines. The site once manufactured pumps that contributed to the large-scale distilling industry, operated by a well-known entrepreneur and former mayor. Later the complex was owned by an ironworks industrialist whose companies fashioned metal building products that assisted the city’s growth well into 20th century. Additions to the east and rear are considered non-contributing. Also authored by Pierson.
Heartland Farm, located at 1470 Clifton Road near Versailles. The original antebellum farmstead was established by and named for Hart and Mary Duncan Gibson, who sold the farm in the 1880s to Dr. George and Fanny McLeod, a couple who invested heavily to create an impressive, high-style, late-19th century domestic complex that became highly celebrated. The nomination includes 30 acres with a brick, two-story, Queen Anne farmhouse constructed in 1886 with Eastlake-style elements, as well as an old-growth savannah landscape, corn crib, stock barn, grain silo, well pump, and the remains of a brick carriage house. The nomination is being interpreted as an example of an early farmstead that evolved to its current appearance by the influx of urban wealth. Co-authored by Rachel Kennedy, MHP, and Emily J. Skinner, historic preservation planners with Palmer Engineering.
Trail’s End Camp, 8030 Elk Lick Falls Road in rural Fayette County, which was founded in 1913 by Mary DeWitt Snyder for girls and young women and operated until 1935. The camp promoted itself as "one of the first organized camps for girls in the South" and encompasses approximately 59 acres. The nomination includes a 1½ story, frame, Rustic-style lodge constructed in 1917 with a piano, Victrola, library, and log fireplace; remnants of an outdoor playground and recreation court; ruins of a privy, and a multi-use camp facility built in 1922; and several trails. The site is being interpreted for its social history in association with the camping movement of the late 19th century. Authored by Tim Condo, historic preservation specialist with the Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation.
Willis Russell Memorial House, a two-story, single-pen log home located at 204 E. Walnut Street, Danville. The dwelling was likely built in the 1790s, around the time Danville served as the first state capitol of Kentucky, and less than a block from where the new state’s first constitution was signed. The walls measure approximately 20’x20’ and are constructed of 16-inch diameter white oak logs saddle-notched at the corners. The house sits on a dry-laid stone foundation, with a wood shake roof and double-hung windows, and is being interpreted for its architectural significance. The building is named to honor a local educator who started a school for African American children at or near that site around 1840. The house is owned by Boyle Landmark Trust and the nomination was authored by Ben Miles, a consultant with Shire Environmental.
The Kentucky Historic Preservation Review Board will meet to review and evaluate those nominations before sending their submission to the National Parks Service who will have the final say.
The meeting is open to the public and will be held at the Paul Sawyer Public Library in Frankfort at 10 a.m. on April 9.
Information from the Kentucky Heritage Council.
