The oldest brick building in Booneville, Kentucky, was built in 1888 as a general store. Today, it is a resplendent sight in the small county seat town (population around 168 in 2020). The two-story, front gable building is three bays wide, with pilasters separating the segmentally arched openings on the facade. The original 2/2 wooden double-hung sash windows, are, amazingly, still in place. The masonry was painted purple when I saw the building last, which only emphasized the striking, cake-icing effect of the corbelling between the first and second stories and at the cornice.
Façade of the Moyers Building, October 2024.
When I shared an image of the Moyers Building on the Gardens to Gables Facebook page, there was much (metaphorical) teeth gnashing over the modern replacement entry door. Voila! The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) nomination from 1982 includes photos of the building prior to this design travesty. The Moyers Building is also the only NRHP listing in Owsley County, although I think the former Moonlite Drive-In is eligible and could be listed, if anyone wants to take on that project.
Circa 1982 image of what may be the original doors. Photograph by William Gus Johnson, NRHP files.
The building was constructed for B.G. Moyers, a local merchant.* According to the NRHP nomination, there were was a brick kiln on the banks of Buck Creek. Bricks fired there were used in the construction of the courthouse (no longer extant) and this building.
Undated postcard showing the town of Booneville, Kentucky. Image from the Postcard Collection at the University of Kentucky, https://exploreuk.uky.edu/catalog/xt7x696zwx82_806_1
The Moyers Building, like most historic commercial buildings, has fulfilled many functions over the years: a dry goods store, grocery, a clothing store, and law office. There are no Sanborn Fire Insurance maps for the town, nor any city directories, so I was unable to determine what other businesses may have occupied the building.
A sketch of the first floor plan of the building, circa 1981. Image from the Kentucky Heritage Council survey files.
Circa 1982 image of the facade of the Moyers Building. Photograph by William Gus Johnson, NRHP files.
It’s been four years since, in the middle of the Pandemic, I drove through Owsley County to do some fresh air, no contact needed fieldwork. Google Street View informs me that this stellar structure still stands, and as always – if anyone has any additional historic tidbits to offer, I welcome that information!
*According to my cursory census research, it may well have been Benjamin J. Moyers, who was listed as a farmer.
