I love looking at real estate advertisements for historic homes – sometimes it is just as gratifying as looking at the buildings in person, especially when the location is far from the Bluegrass. The ones that really tug at my heart are the houses whose charm and historic architectural character is matched only by the neglect the building has obviously suffered over ensuing years. I was in Paris, Kentucky, last spring, when I followed a street out of downtown that I don’t recall having taken before. And that is when I first saw the Paton-Butler House.
Facade of the Paton-Butler House on Second Street, Paris, Kentucky.
The shingled second story, with its gables, balcony, pent roof, and brackets, seemed to drip like a melting wedding cake onto the brick first story, with the end result being the elaborate two part porch that stretches across the facade.
It’s a breathtaking picturesque example of late Victorian age fancy. One aspect of its appeal is the variation in building materials.
The brick first floor and the frame second story invariably give rise to questions centered on whether the house was built in phases, or all at once. Since I haven’t conducted deed research on this property – or looked into the tax records of its owners – I can’t say whether there was a rise in the value of the house that would indicate an addition or enlargement (such as adding a second story). But it’s also not impossible that the house was built all at one time, just like how it appears today.
Section of the 1907 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map showing the house (on a very large lot).
By 1907, the house was in place with a brick first story, and a frame second story (see map above). Unfortunately, this is the first Sanborn map that extends out to this section of Paris.
In a wonderful plan book from 1899 entitled Cottage Houses for Village and Country Homes by S.B. Reed, there is a design for a half-stone, half-frame house.
A house intended for an area where stone is cheap and plentiful, from 1899’s Cottage Houses for Village and Country Homes by S.B. Reed.
The author explains that it makes economic sense to use stone for the first story, provided one lives where “building stone is abundant.” By not having to handle and elevate “such heavy materials above a convenient height” the homeowner has the best of both worlds. A stone first floor, and a frame upper floor – and the frame portion can more readily be outfitted with ornamental details.
So what if you lived in central Kentucky with a ready supply of clay soil and brickyards? You might build the first story of your home from brick, but save money and labor by constructing the second story of frame.
Detail of the second story balcony.
The house was likely built for a member of the James Paton family. Paton, a Virginia native, was living in the First Ward of Paris in 1870, and serving as City Clerk. His son and namesake, James E. Paton, was living at home at the time, and serving as Deputy Circuit Clerk.
Section of the 1877 Beers & Lanagan map showing a “J.E. Paton” in residence on Second Street.
A Paton was in residence in this approximate location in 1877 – but whether it was the father or son, I don’t know! And sadly, the 19th century property owner maps are not as fulsome with information such as building material as the Sanborn maps.
By 1905, this was the home of Charles E. Butler, who in an interesting parallel with the Paton family, served as circuit clerk.
Butler’s obituary from the February 14, 1922 edition of the Bourbon News.
I don’t know anything about successive owners following Butler’s death in 1922. By the time I saw this house, and the subsequent real estate listing, it had obviously been less than well-loved for many years.
The Paton-Butler House apparently sold – for $50,0000 – earlier this month (June 2019). I hope that the new owners appreciate and treasure this architectural gem, and can restore her to some measure of her original character and beauty.
Update: In November 2020, I strolled past this house, which is still standing. However, its integrity has been compromised by modifications, including resizing of window openings (and new vinyl windows), and the masonry first floor has been replaced with – plywood?! I have no idea what the structural integrity of the building was like, and perhaps some changes were unavoidable, but still – I’m sad for the lost beauty of this historic house.
The Paton-Butler House, November 2020.
My view is that we should call the Victorian Picturesque houses the “Fun School of Architecture “– they were just having a good time doing whimsical things and out doing their neighbors. I live in a mostly Queen Anne neighborhood of delightful houses in Louisville and as I walk down the street I can imagine the architectural competition between the neighbors. Masonry is pretty boring and not much you can do with it and if you do get fancy it gets expensive. So we have this new enthusiastic post Civil War period with in terms of building the wonderfully flexible and plastic (and cheaper) wood ballon frame systme. The pattern books breaking folks free from the old classical. Also mass production of cheap wooden decorative features, like brackets, shingles of different shapes, like fish scale, etc. Really master carpenters and builders competing with each other. Then the Victorian houses fell into disrepute because picky architectural historians and gloomy modernists couldn’t relate to big canons and Modernists disliked them simply on principle.
I think that is a WONDERFUL way to look at them! I enjoy them, all often the interiors aren’t my favorite…it’s the “icing” on the outside of the cake that is so fun.