B.F. Willliams Building, Irvine, Estill County, Kentucky

I couldn’t do anything about the crazy quilt of power lines marring the view – but they really don’t distract from this important and lovely brick commercial building in downtown Irvine, Kentucky. Built in 1916, the three-story, brick B.F. Williams building has a corner entrance and an impressive modillioned cornice. Its size and scale, level of detailing, and ornate corner entrance (a corner lot is prime real estate) all served convey the success of the owner and the businesses within the building’s walls.

The B. F. Williams Building in Irvine, Kentucky.

Irvine, the county seat of Estill County, is located on the Kentucky River at the junction of Kentucky routes 52 and 89. The river valley where Irvine developed is one of the “largest tracts of flat land in the county.”[1] The county is located in both the Outer Bluegrass and the Eastern Kentucky coal field region of the state, and is bordered by Clark, Powell, Lee, Jackson, and Madison Counties.

Although the town was founded in 1812, it grew very slowly over its first one hundred years. In 1912, there were only 272 residents.

Irvine, as shown on a USGS topographic map.

Between 1910 and 1920, Irvine’s population increased by 90%!  This dramatic rise is due to the L&N Railroad, which located a switching yard outside of Irvine, in order to transport coal out of the Eastern coal fields. Frame buildings that existed prior to 1906 were replaced by substantial brick buildings like the Williams building, and the downtown was basically rebuilt to reflect all of the newcomers and the newfound wealth.

Circa 1950 postcard view of Main Street in Irvine looking north. The Williams Building at the first building visible on the left. Image from the Kentucky Historical Society, Postcards from Kentucky, Graphic 26

I sadly do not know the story of B. F. Williams – but maybe someone out there does? The Williams family has been in Irvine for a long time, and a 1916 newspaper article cited George Williams (head of the Williams and Sons Bank in Irvine) as one of the locals “deriving benefits from the oil industry.”

Article from the August 4, 1916 edition of The Lexington Herald.

The oil boom, the bustling downtown, and the Estill Springs Resort combined to make Irvine a busy (and social) place to be in the early 20th century. Although the boom faded after the 1930s, downtown Irvine is fortunate in its historic building stock, including the commercial structure named for B.F. Williams.

[1] Preston McGrain and James C. Currens. Topography of Kentucky. (Lexington, Kentucky: Kentucky Geological Survey, 1978), 27.