1988 MONTHLY PICTURE |
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(click on picture to see an
enlarged view)
JANUARY - (The Gary F. Stone Home - drawn by
Stephanie Britt - 12th grade) |
This house is believed to
have been built in 1858 by Alfred and Ewing Pruitt. It consisted of four rooms.
Sometime around 1890 two rooms were constructed a short distance from the house.
These two rooms served as an office and living quarters for Dr. R. E. Oliver.
He practiced there until his death in 1903 of typhoid fever. In 1909, R.W.
and Nannie Pruitt bought the house and sold it to Perry and Effie Gardner Barnes in 1910.
Mr. and Mrs. Barnes, and Mrs. Barnes' parents, Acklus and Lou Gardner, lived in the
four rooms. The two rooms offset from the house were used at this time as a boarding
house for traveling salesmen, mail carriers, and ministers. There was a well house
in the front yard that was used for travelers to water their horses. Mrs. Barnes and
Mrs. Gardner always had a welcome kitchen for boarders and travelers. They sold the
house in 1931 to Garland and Elsie Parris, and Oliver and Sylvia Smith. Sometime in
the early 1930's the two rooms and the four rooms were joined. On Dec. 29, 1933, Dr.
John Meredith, still in medical school, delivered his first baby, Hubert Glen Paris, in
this house. After the death of her mother in 1934, Cornelis McReynolds Jackson and
family came here to live with her aunts and uncles. The Paris and Smith families
sold the home to Frank Stone in 1972. Gary and Leta Ann Stone remodeled the house,
but the original structure remains the same. It is located with the Halfway
community. |
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enlarged view)
FEBRUARY - (The Boucher Schoolhouse - drawn by Beth Lyle -
11th grade) |
Boucher School had its
beginning in the period 1847-1850. the pioneer families of the somewhat isolated
area seven miles northwest of Scottsville felt the need of a local source to educate their
children. Isaac Boucher was given a land grant by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and
from this tract he donated a parcel of land and the logs for the building. The
neighborhood worked together to construct this first school in the area. The
one-room school was used for about 20 years. However, it was in an area that at
times was subject to isolation by flooding of a branch nearby. About 1866 Matison
Boucher gave another parcel of land for a new school. He also gave the lumber, and
again the neighbors worked together in the construction. This same building was used
until the school was closed. Boucher School consolidated with other schools in 1937.
For some ninety years, several generations of children received their basic
education in the one-room school. Treasured memories remain among Allen Countians
and others who attended Boucher School Among the teachers who contributed their best
efforts for the children were: Arlie P. Macon, Vera Mitchell Whorton, Lorene Tabor Sledge,
Pearl Meredith Sikes, and Nellie Dean Downing. |
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enlarged view)
MARCH - (The Langston-Isaac Newton Williams Home - drawn by
Sara Morgan - 12th grade) |
This home was located on
Langston Branch, a tributary of Trammel Creek, about four miles northwest of Scottsville
on Highway 231, on a 300 acre land grant acquired by Langston Williams. It was the
home of Langston and Ruth (McElroy Williams, both of Spartanburg County, South Carolina,
who were married on Dec. 27, 1801. The left portion of the house is believed to have
been the original house, probably built in 1801. It consisted of two large
rooms--one downstairs and one upstairs, with a cellar for storing provisions. Two
more rooms and a wide hall were added. The front part of the house was constructed
of logs with floors of wide poplar planks. There were separate stairways to each of
the two upstairs rooms. The floor level of the original house was one step up from
the hall. Each of the rooms had a large fireplace. The older ones were made of
rock, and the newer ones were made of brick. The back part of the house, which was
one story and of frame construction, may have been built by Isaac N. Williams after he
became owner at his mother's death in 1870. It was probably at the time of
this construction that all of the exterior was covered with weatherboarding. At
least 12 of the 13 children born to Langston and Ruth Williams in this home lived to
adulthood. They were: Rebecca (Ragland), Fanny (Williams), Sara (Thompson), George
Washington, Benjamin Hubbard, Thomas Tolbert, John M., Richard Horatio, Nancy Vines
(Wright), Elizabeth M., Isaac Newton, James Franklin, and Irene Jane (Hinton).
Lansgton died in 1840, and Ruth died in 1870. Isaac Newton Williams became the
owner. In 1871, at age 48, Newt Williams married Elizabeth Griffin. Their only
child, a son, died at birth. Newt Williams died in 1903, and Elizabeth died in
1914. This ended more than 100 years of Williams' ownership of the home.
Elizabeth was the last of more than twenty family members to be buried in the graveyard
located only a short distance from the house. The house burned in 1960. Maxie
R. and Ann Brown are the present owners of the farm. Lillian Williams Smith is
believed to be the oldest of the more than thirty descendants living in Allen County. |
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enlarged view)
APRIL - (The Dinwiddie Home - drawn by Lorna Sackett -
12th grade) |
This home was built by
George Wolfe, a well-known Allen County carpenter, for Willie and Lucinda Dinwiddie in
1910. It is located 5 miles west of Scottsville on Hwy 100. It remained in the
Dinwiddie family for 3 generations. Willie and Lucinda's son, Robert, and his wife,
Alda, had 2 children, Ray and Corinne. Ray and his wife, Dema, and their 4 children,
Morris, Martha, Carol, and Jimmie, lived in the house until their new home was built.
this eight-room frame house, with upper and lower halls and wrap-around porches,
offered spacious living. The upper porches had banisters which were duplicated in
the center halls of the home. A section of this hall is now in the entrance hall of
Corinne D. Strausburg's home in Franklin, Tennessee. In 1965, when Ray and Dema
built a new house, many of the posts and banisters were used from the original structure.
The old rock support and log foundation remain at the original site, with the walks
and concrete porches still intact. |
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enlarged view)
MAY - (The Fitzpatrick-Vesper Jones Home - drawn by
Aleta Foster - 12th grade) |
For many, many years, to
anyone inquiring directions to most any point in the Southern part of Allen County, the
usual reply would be to "Go to Ike Fitch's Store", and proceed from there.
Ike Fitzpatrick was that colorful character who was proprietor of the store two
miles fourth of Scottsville at the intersection of Highways 100 and 1421, better known as
the Holland Road and Mt. Union Road. In the mid to late 1800's, Joe Fitzpatrick and
his wife, Phoebie Cole Fitzpatrick, built the two story house on the hill overlooking the
store site, and it was in this house in 1883 that "Mr. Ike" was born. Thus
the property known as the "Old Fitzpatrick Place". Joe Fitzapatrick was a
logger by trade. This may explain the fact, that during remodeling in 1964, there
was found to be much choice yellow poplar lumber used in the structure. One special
discovery was yellow poplar sills hewn from a single log more than 40 feet long.
Thought there have been changes and additions to the house, the basic structure of the
front portion is original, including the tin roof. Since the deaths of Joe and
Phoebie, the property has been home to several families, namely: the Charlie Sexton's, the
A.T. Woodward's, The Rev. Everett Jones', and since 1956, Vesper and Clara Helen Jones and
their children, Martin and Melanie. |
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enlarged view)
JUNE - (Halfway Post Office - drawn by Sandra Cornwell -
12th grade) |
The Halfway Post Office,
established June 20, 1877, is one of the oldest in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It
is located on U.S. Highway 231 North. Levi J. Spann was the first postmaster; Carvin
Sherrell is the postmaster today. Sherrell was appointed in July, 1973 and is the
14th postmaster. The original building was destroyed by fire around 1921.
Business was moved to the front rooms of a house adjacent to the b\present building which
was completed around 1922 and is in use today. the Halfway Post Office is located in
the left front portion of Halfway Trading Post owned by Mrs. Martha Shadix. It has
been said that "Halfway" got its name from a mail route starting at a point in
Tennessee. Halfway was the midway point between there and Bowling Green,
Kentucky. mail carriers rested their horses and stayed the night in a boarding house
nearby. Halfway Post Office celebrated its 110th year of community service in June,
1987. |
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enlarged view)
JULY - (The Ray Williams Home - drawn by Darren Shipley -
10th grade) |
The dwelling was built in
the early 1880's by W.J. Motley. The house replaced their previous residence
of a two-story log house located behind the new home. members of the Motley family
are buried in a cemetery located on the property. The original structure boasted
three handmade brick chimneys, two of which remain intact. William and Mary Williams
moved there in 1890 with their children, Clay, Bryant, and Susie. The home was later
purchased by the eldest son, Clay, and his wife, Queen Tabor Williams, and their children,
Benjamin, Ozelle, Hollis, Bernadine, Ray, and Nancy. Ray G. Williams and wife,
Aline, are the current owners of the home located 10 miles from Scottsville on the
Halifax-Settle Road. |
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enlarged view)
AUGUST - (The Ida Guy-Gail Brownfield Home - drawn by
Mendi Kent - 12th grade) |
This home is located at 217
North Bedelia Street. It was built in 1910 by W.E. Buy and his wife, Margaret Guy,
and remained in the Guy family until the death of Ida Guy in 1985, granddaughter of W.E.
Guy. the home consists of four rooms upstairs and four rooms downstairs, along with
center halls. Porches on both the upper and lower levels add to the character of
this home. In 1985 Erval and Gail Brownfield bought the "Ida Guy" home and
began the vast process of remodeling. During this time, tragedy struck the
Brownfield family when Erval died of injuries suffered in an automobile accident.
After her husband's death, Mrs. Brownfield decided to complete the renovation of the house
as a "tribute to him." The restoration was completed in August of 1987. |
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enlarged view)
SEPTEMBER - (The Elisha Warden Home - drawn by Lonnie
Douglas - 11th grade) |
Elisha Warden was born in
Fauquier County, Virginia in1761. In 1798 he married Fanny Dearing who was born in
1781. Elisha served in the Revolutionary War. One of his duties was to guard
Mt. Vernon. For this service, he received a land grant in Kentucky. Elisha,
his wife, and seven of their ten children came to Kentucky in 1813 or 1814. They
were: James, 1801; William, 1803, Elizabeth, 1808; Cynthia Ann, 1810; and Mary, 1813; Asa,
1814; Jeremiah, 1819; and Frances Ann, 1821 were born in Kentucky. His land was
located on North Bays Fork Creek about 3 1/2 miles from Scottsville, off the Halifax Road.
The first home consisted of two rooms constructed of logs. It is still
standing. The second home was built some years later, but prior to the Civil War.
It sat on a hill just above the Old State Road. A three foot retaining wall
was built along the road. The house consisted of four rooms below and one above,
and two halls. The exterior of the house was weatherboarded, and there were
tall windows throughout the house. members of the Warden family lived there until
1890. The family cemetery was between the first log house and later one.
Elisha and Fanny are buried there, along with at least three of their children. The
farm is presently owned by Bobby and Yvonne Reynolds. Sylvia Hood Dowell, a
great-great-great grandchild of Elisha Wardeen, resides in Allen County. |
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enlarged view)
OCTOBER - (The Shockley House - drawn by Larry Hunt -
10th grade) |
Located 12 miles east of
Scottsville on the Dunnsford Road, this house still bears the initials of its original
owner, Dr. Barton Warren Stone, and the date "1865" on each of its two chimneys.
Built in that year, a dog-trot through the center of the house has since been
enclosed, but two 18-foot square rooms remain in their original form. One of them,
which served as Dr. Stone's office, has a four-foot wide door, made to accommodate
handicapped patients. Several descendants of Dr. Stone's wife, Martha, have lived
here through the years. |
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enlarged view)
NOVEMBER - (The Elbridge Napier Home- drawn by James
Whitlow - 10th grade) |
Elbridge Napier, born 1859,
and Enolia Brown, born 1865, were married in 1882. They were the parents of eleven
children, of which ten lived to be grown: Marvin, Bascom, Minnie, Ouseley, Pauline, Olga
W., Iverson, John E. (died in 1903), Maggie, Odean, and Eurine. They built this home
in 1887-88 in the Mt. Union community in southern Allen County. When the first tree
was cut, Elbridge Napier knelt down by the big stump and prayed to dedicate this home to
God. They lived in this house until their deaths in 1937. Their son, Olga,
married in the same year and lived in this house until his death in 1971. He and his
wife, Bessie Howell Napier, raised three children. Their youngest child, Paul, now
owns the home. Paul and his wife, Marietta Woodward Napier, remodeled the house, but
the basic structure remains the same. They, too, prayed by the stump and dedicated
the house to God, which makes the place very sacred to the family. |
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enlarged view)
DECEMBER - (Concord Methodist Church - drawn by Tiffany
Goad - 12th grade) |
Concord church was built in
a valley on unclaimed land south of Scottsville. Later, this small valley was
included in a boundary of land claimed by Wilson Foster, who deeded the church boundary to
the church trustees in 1806. It is not known when Concord Church was built.
The original church was a one-room building of logs. The church had a fireplace and
mantle at one end and had only a few windows. Charter members of the church were:
A.e. Hooten and wife, Nancy Dalton Hooten; henry Mayhew; Moses Mayhew; Mahalio Wolf; John
Mayhew; George Mayhew; Jane Mayhew; and Frances Mayhew. Some of the pastors of the
1800's were: Daniel Dalton; W.C. Slate; Dec Gilliam; and Preston Lee King. The
church building stayed virtually the same until 1968 when three Sunday School rooms were
added. The road was blacktopped, and a bridge was built over the nearby creek.
On June 23, 1969, a flood washed the church off its foundation. The building
was restored and remodeled. church members decided to relocate concord when another
flood occurred several years later. Construction began in 1981. Outdoor
services were conducted while the church was being built. The first service to be
held in the new log church was in December, 1981. The church was dedicated April 29,
1984. |