As readers of this blog will know, the Second Empire style isn’t especially thick on the ground in Kentucky. We have the occasional Second Empire style house (sometimes a late 19th century “update” of an earlier house), pseudo-mansard roofs on many small houses in Northern Kentucky, and the mansard-roofed tower, a sort of exuberant exclamation point to a house that belongs more to the Gothic Revival or Italianate school of influence. One of those mansard towers adorns a lovely brick house in Cynthiana, Kentucky, built in 1860 for Dr. John O. Hodges.
Façade of the Dr. John O. Hodges House. Photo taken February 2019.
My photograph of this house does not do it justice. The 1.5-story, brick dwelling has a rambling footprint that is not readily apparent from the facade, and cross gables with arched windows on either side of the two-story central entry tower. A polygonal bay window with arched, floor to ceiling windows, is on the east side of the facade. Interior brick chimneys flank the central hall (which is likely also the stair hall).
The porch on the west side is delightful, with chamfered posts, brackets, dentils, and recessed panels. There is, surprisingly, no bargeboard to be seen (the elaborate keystone hoodmolds over the arched windows in the gable take the place of any bargeboard).
A circa 1981 detail of the bay window on the east side of the facade. Image from the Kentucky Heritage Council survey files.
Although my photo is now five years old, some Google streetview reconnaissance reveals that not much has changed (or improved) since I last saw the house. It appears that one of the side porches (seen below in the 1909 Sanborn map) has been removed, but that change may have transpired decades ago.
A June 2023 image of the house, from Google streetview.
The limestone hoodmolds looked to be in poor shape, and the exterior woodwork would benefit from some paint, but all of my observations are based on what I could see from the sidewalk.
A section of the 1909 Sanborn Fire Insurance map showing the Hodges House.
While I know nothing about Dr. Hodges, I can infer that he wanted his dwelling to reflect his status – and this house would have been very fashionable, on-trend, and elegant in 1860. Hodges sold the house to F.G. Ashbrook, and his widow lived in the house until 1916. Miss Elizabeth “Lizzie” Felix Browning, niece of the late Mrs. Ashbrook, purchased the house and grounds (it was quite a large lot in 1909) from the heirs in 1918 for $7,655.00. She likely subdivided the lot; a bungalow now sits on what was the west side of the original parcel. The single-family phase of this building ended with Miss Browning, as she ran a boarding house in the dwelling for several years.
In the 1930 Census, Miss Browning and her brother, a carpenter, resided in the house, which was valued at $5,000. Boarding houses filled a valuable role in the housing market in the 19th and 20th centuries, and were often the only way a single woman (or widow) could make a living. The rooms provided affordable shelter, sometimes one meal a day (or more), and companionship to a range of occupants, including many working women and widows. Residents of Miss Browning’s Boarding House in 1930 included one married couple, two widows in their 70s, a female teacher, and a manager of a beauty parlor.
A section of the 1920 census, when there were only two boarders in the house.
Ten nieces and nephews inherited Miss Browning’s estate when she died in 1951. The once very stylish house, with an interior featuring cast iron mantels, cherry, walnut, and butternut woodwork, and 14-foot ceilings, appears to be divided into apartments – I don’t know if it was ever a single family dwelling again after Miss Browning’s death. My cursory online research shows that the property last transferred for $35,000 in 2013.
While the tower may have caught my eye, it it, as always, the stories of the people that holds my interest. I don’t think historic buildings have to retain their original use in order to be significant or worth preserving. What is important is that they are utilized and hopefully well-maintained – because most structures built today can’t come close to the quality of materials and craftsmanship of a historic building. So bless Miss Lizzie Browning for making a home for so many people over the years. We need more of that in today’s world.
Thanks to Bill Penn and Cynthiana Since 1790 by Virgil Peddicord (published in 1986 by Virgil Peddicord; reprinted in 1996 by the Cynthiana-Harrison County Museum, and the Stith Printing Company)
I used to daydream about living in a boardinghouse when I was a teenager. There was one in my hometown, I know they once were pretty common but to a 1970 kid it seemed positively prehistoric. But I’d have done anything to live in an old house. Thanks for shari g this one!
I’m glad I am not the only one with a long fascination with boarding houses!
Thank you. I just love this house and everything about it. The houses they buil now are so dull and boring. Windows from floor to ceiling, be still my heart. Even thought I am a bona fide child of the 1960’s, some part of my soul is from the 1860’s!