Years ago, in a flat, flood-prone piece bottom land squeezed between Old Lawrenceburg Road and the Kentucky River, there sat a white frame house and a barn. I remember it, vaguely, in the days before smart phone cameras, when I was in Frankfort and driving out toward the East-West Connector. It wasn’t located in a spot where I could easily stop and take a picture from the road, but thankfully, my friend Bill Macintire did photograph the house and its barn, sometime in the late 1990s. Between 1997 and 2004, the barn and house were razed.
The house is long gone, but not altogether forgotten. Photograph by William J. Macintire.
Bill’s two photographs are all that exists of an “official” record of the former small farm. It was never surveyed and included in the State Historic Preservation Office’s Inventory of Historic Sites, and since it was demolished prior to Google taking over the world, there is no roadside image from Google streetview.
A 1997 aerial of the site.
The one image of the house doesn’t reveal much about the facade, but the dwelling had been there a while by the time it was torn down. It looks like it was a 1.5-story, five bay wide (maybe) house with a central cross gable on the facade. The front porch extended out from the central bays on the facade, but based on the chimney placement, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a small central passage plan house, possibly from the late 19th century. It was certainly constructed prior to World War I.
A 1950 aerial of the site.
In the mid-20th century, the area was still mostly rural. The house was a farmhouse, and the barn shared space with other agricultural outbuildings. The land was fertile, but – the river was always a threat.
The barn with its great sign for the local lumber company. Photograph by William J. Macintire.
Although my memories are a bit fuzzy, I do recall driving by and seeing flooded fields, and the resulting deterioration of all the structures on that side of the road. (The other side is a steep hillside, with gorgeous redbuds in the spring that appear to grow straight from the rocks.)
Location of the farmstead on the 1953 Frankfort West USGS topographic map.
For some reason, a vision of this house floated through my head shortly before Christmas and Bill found digital images he had taken of the original prints. Now, a post about a long-vanished vernacular house was not my original plan for the first blog post of 2024. I intended a fun, upbeat story about some of my favorite historic buildings of 2023…but the beauty of this platform is that I write what moves me, when I can write.
The 1970/1993 topographic quadrangle (Frankfort West KY) showing the site.
And now I hope some residents of Frankfort and Franklin County will turn these images over in their mind, and help put some facts to these two photos. Who used to own this property or live here? Are there names I can put with the house and barn, so that a little bit of its story can be told and preserved? Please comment on this post or email me at gardens2gables@gmail.com.
Neat I purchased a Home in the Flood Plane near Benson and Ky river.
We had many creeks as well as banks of the KY River in Madison Co. and one thing I remember clearly was how my father always commented on the flood plain advantage to farming tobacco . We would take drives every Sunday along with visits to two sets of farming grandparents, neither of which had farm land directly on a creek but we always looked for crops by the ones we saw.
Wasn’t this house lifted off its foundation during a flood. I seem to remember one that was.
That was what I thought too. One day it was there and the next it was gone.
I believe the house was owned by a family named Lee. The father was known as “Hambone” and a son named Bill. Hambone worked many years for the Frankfort Plant Board under Floyd Hahn. Floyd stored many pieces of equipment and miscellanous
materials. Jim Morris local real estate agent auctioned off the property.
I don’t think this was the Lee property, but was closer to the Capitol parking garage. Bill, the son, was a classmate of mine; he would know for sure.
Have you tried the agriculture extension office if the farm raised tobacco, the office may have owner information. Many years ago they had huge photographs Of these farms focused on the field, but sometimes you could see the buildings.
Ive only lived in Kentucky for five years but this is the neighborhood Ive lived near. But KLyons Lumber is still in business on Holmes St. Maybe they can shed some light on this.
This house was owned by Floyd Hahn & rented by my family. Alex & Sarah Hall, Alex jr (Junie), Arthur (Buddy), Larry & Ricky, from late 50’s to 1968. We had many fun times there even with numerous floods forcing us out till the water went bk down. I remember walking down the road to Jack Hahn;s store for 10 cent sodas, nickel candy bars & penny candy. we could sell the pop bottles we found up & down the road there also. We moved to old Fincel house at bottom of bypass in winter of 68-69. house & barn torn down in mid-late 90’s & now owned by the Commonwealth of Ky
Yes. We lived further out but the school bus picked the Hall boys at this location. When it flooded the bus had to go back. This was before the EW Connector. There was another place pass Hahn’s in a curve where the old road to Big Eddy and it was called Cook’s Store.
This house was owned by Floyd Hahn & rented by my family. Alex & Sarah Hall, Alex jr (Junie), Arthur (Buddy), Larry & Ricky, from late 50’s to 1968. We had many fun times there even with numerous floods forcing us out till the water went bk down. I remember walking down the road to Jack Hahn’s store for 10 cent soda pops, nickel candy bars & penny candy. we could sell the pop bottles we found up & down the road there also. We moved to old Fincel house at bottom of bypass in winter of 68-69. house & barn torn down in mid-late 90’s & now owned by the Commonwealth of Ky
I love your posts and always look forward to the next one.
I recognized this house almost immediatly, remembering it belonged to the family of a guy I knew from high scholl. Joe Lee was a year or two older. To be more certain before I sent this comment, I searched for Hambone Lee and found is sister’s obituary. It didn’t verify anything about the house, but Elmer ‘Hambone’ Lee’s sister’s grandson was listed as a survivor, and he was someone I knew. I have his number in my phone.
We talked this afternoon and I asked him about the house. He confirmed that it was his great uncle Hambone’s house who operated Lee’s Boat Dock, boat storage and river access ramp. His cousin Joe lived there, whom he has lost contact with. He couldn’t tell anything about the house, except that it flooded often, he only visited when he a little boy. He didn’t know how long they lived there or when it was finally razed. I worked in the Commonwealth’s Finance Cabinet, Division of Historic Properties, when the state was buying up all that property along Old Lawrenceburg Road, in the early 2000s, that’s probably when it was razed.
I forget it’s exact location, but in this area was Frankfort’s Cedar Run Distillery ( c. 1900) owned by James M. Saffell, an Anderson County bourbon maker. Cedar Run is the name of thr Creek that enters the Kentucky River, right beside this house
One of the Hall boys had a black 55 Chevy with a 409 in it, He pulled out of Jerry;s Restaurant one Sat. night dumped the clutch and the car flipped backwards onto it’s top, I remember it sitting in front of the barn. the Fincel house was at the bottom of Seedacove Hill. Dead Horse Factory. the little white building past where Hahns Market was, was my Aunt and Uncles Restaurant. Back in the 60’s
The house was owed by Floyd Hahn ! I used to hang tobacco in the barn in the pictures for Buck Hall who still has family in the Frankfort area ! Halls lived in the house for several years also the Hockensmiths lived there for many years I believe before the Halls . Floyd Hahn was the brother that owned Hahns Market of many years. All of this took place before the new road was build. Old Lawrenceburg or many years ago was rural route #7 lived in the area most of my life.
Buck owned lots of properties along the river. He might have owned this at one time. He passed in March 1956.
Remember hanging tobacco in that barn good barn
My great grandparents were the last people to live in this house. My great granny died in 1988 and not long after that I believe it was torn down but not sure of exact year. She lived there when they built the driving range as well as the tennis courts. She was also a resident there in 1978 doing one of the biggest floods in Frankfort. Water was up to the second story and all you could see was the peak of the roof. My cousins and brothers and myself had many good years playing around there and in the barn. My Pops and my uncle made a path to the river where they dug stair on the side of the hill so we could go down and swim off the dock they installed. This post brings back many memories. Thanks for sharing.
Sunday dinners, cookouts, playing in the barn, finding golf and tennis balls, swimming off the dock and watching the Flotilla parade on the river some of my best childhood memories.
Very interesting article and also great to see all the comments. Love these old properties and their histories, we have to always remember that these old properties had real people living in them.
Are their logs under the wood siding?
Really enjoyed the article and all the comments. My dad and mom worked at A&D appliances from 1973 to 1977ish.
It was down by the singing bridge across from the White Light Cafe. I remember well that area as dad always drove that route home leaving Frankfort to get home to Lawrenceburg.
It always nice to learn a little more history. Thanks!