At the beginning of 2023, there 690 Dollar General Stores in Kentucky. In the spring of 2024, Dollar General announced plans to open around 800 new stores in the United States, even as other dollar stores faced hundreds of closures. Now, despite FIVE existing Dollar General stores in Mercer County, Kentucky, a historic 19th century farm, and its historic buildings, will be razed to make way for…another Dollar General Store, even though an existing Dollar General store is less than five miles away. I won’t wander into the economic underpinnings of Dollar General, but it does appear to be laying siege to rural Kentucky, and when the proliferation of the store results in the destruction of a farm connected to the historic McAfee family, it makes me ill.
This Gothic Revival style farmhouse will be demolished for yet another Dollar General store.
Although most locals will know this farm as the former Arlie Lay farm, the Gothic Revival style house was likely built shortly after the Civil War for Ira Condit Riker, who was married to Kate McAfee Riker. The farm is located in the rural crossroads community of McAfee, named for that pioneer family so instrumental in settling Mercer County.
Section of the 1876 Beers atlas of Mercer and Boyle Counties, showing McAfee.
The town of McAfee grew out of the 18th century fortified stockade known as McAfee Station. A post office was established in 1849, and the name of McAfee adopted for the village in 1850.
Façade and side elevation of the house.
Kate and I.C. married in 1859, and were living in this house by at least 1876. I.C. Riker was a coachmaker and farmer, and Kate kept house. When Kate, then a widow, died in 1928, she had moved to town to live with her cousins.
Kate Riker’s 1928 obituary from the Courier Journal.
Her house, with its distinctive three cross gables trimmed with bargeboard, was a striking sight from the road. The central passage, single pile house had interior chimneys on either side of the hall, and a one-story ell extending to the rear. The Gothic Revival style remained popular in Mercer County for the second half of the 19th century.
A detail of the late 19th century porch on the house.
When I documented this farmstead in 2009, it included the historic house, a historic meathouse, a garage, tobacco barn, and stock/dairy barn. Since that time, the tobacco barn has been razed, and piano key development has popped up to the rear of the farm along Talmage-Mayo Road. But the area is still largely rural, and home to very productive farms with rich soil – and deep history.
The two barns, circa 2009. The tobacco barn is on the left, the stock barn is on the right.
The historic meathouse (meats were salted rather than smoked) sits on a dry laid stone foundation.
This isn’t the first time, nor will it be the last that I lament the gospel of property rights in Kentucky. Yes, you can do what you want with what you own – but at what point should the wider community weigh in on changes that impact not just the individual property owner, but larger issues such as traffic, congestion, development, and yes, the ravaging of rural Kentucky? Is a Dollar General really the highest and best use of this parcel? Are residents unable to drive three minutes to the existing Dollar General in Salvisa?
I don’t have the answers, but despair I have in loads. We’re not making more farmland, and what we behind – paved parking lots and endless dollar stores – doesn’t speak very well of our collective values. I am glad that Kate Riker, who saw both the Civil War and the Great War, didn’t live to see the gross commodification of the countryside.
I read this week that another historic house in Lexington will be razed to make way for another convenient store/gas station. How many service stations and car washes does this town need? We’re losing our history parcel by parcel.
What house in Lexington is slated to be razed?
You are so right! They tore down a little bar on the north end of Lexington called The Curb. That little one room dive bar had been there since the 1930s… There was world of history in that place. It was always frequented by the horse, people and race trackers that worked at the thoroughbred Center on Paris Pike And had always been a fixture in the north end of Lexington. They tore it down because they thought somebody would build a gas station there… Still hasn’t happened, but the history is now gone. It is sad! This is happening all over our country.
Thank you so much for this very insightful story – my heart breaks that this historic property is being destroyed for the almight $$$$$!
So very true, Janie. I grew up in Lawrenceburg so I remember Salvisa and the McAfee name. Similar happenings with Walmart and small town commercial downtowns. but that’s a whole other story.
Is there anything we can do as a community?
Can this house be listed under a protection of history? Or some sort of registry?
The zone change could have been denied by local government, but it wasn’t – and nothing can stop a private property owner from demolishing their own buildings. I don’t think Dollar General will be moved by entreaties from the community, as their only interest is the bottom line.
I live across the street from this house, McAfee and s zoned B1. The rest of this historic farm that was not mentioned has been sold off lot by lot to make a subdivision. We are hoping before the home is torn down the windows and other good items will be preserved.
To Little Too Late!!!! Citizens must get involved with city and county Planning and Zoning, and Historical organization…. Be proactive because our tax money will not help save our history!!!!
Yes but it may be too late! They have to go to a zoning meeting to ask to build. As a neighborhood in Danville we raised money to hire a lawyer to fight the dollar general that was trying to be built across from DCA in Danville! The lawyer essentially just gave us advice and assisted but our awesome neighbors stood up at the meeting and objected. It worked! There was also two just 5 mins from that location they were trying to build. The one at Big Lots in Danville and the one on Main st in Danville. And the stores are never staffed nor stocked! They are ridiculous and I don’t shop them!
This is ridiculous and you could not have said it better! And it will be way too late in KY when or if people ever wake up.
There are an increasing number of towns that have banned Dollar Stores, Dollar tree etc
We as a community need to make a loud, clear ‘No’.
Growth is good. Growth is good. It’s a fact, or is it? How is growth good? What does it do? What kind of growth is good?
It brings in more taxes.
For what? More government? Do we need more government? Do we want more government? Mayor Linda Gorton (Lexington) said each dollar increase in tax base adds $1.30 in demand for services.
It brings in more jobs, ok for who. We’ve got under 5% unemployment. Better jobs, then whos going to do your job ? New people moving on? They’re going to need more schools, more ambulances , and police, more roads. Who pays for all that? We all do.
Do the new people want your job any more than you do? Doubtful. They want the new job that pays better. Has better benefits. So it increases competition for the better jobs.
We have near stable population growth from births.
The fact is, there’s only a few winners from growth.
The government. At least those in government who support a social welfare state. And more government is good, right?
The land owners. But at what cost? More low income housing? Why we could take all our horse and cattle farms and make this look like south Detroit in a few years. We already regulate lot size and division. It’s time to increase the difficulty of subdividing.
The developers. They get the easy money breaking up farm land. It’s a lot harder to redevelop existing properties. It’s good for their supporting industries too. But it destroys everything else. They call this progress, but progressing to what? Something that looks like LA if we don’t stop it.
But is it good for you? Is it why you choose every day to remain here. Or is it our God given perfection in our farm landscape.
Many of us in Mercer County are furious/disgusted with the decisions made by the current zoning commission………….the head Mike and I did a play with once…not the most intelligent bulb in the flower bed….Mike and I have attended meetings to save the facade of the Armory…meetings of the zoning commission are no longer listed in the H-burg Herald…..
Hmmm. Isn’t a farm also commodification of the countryside? All land has history. While I lament the loss as much as anyone, I think the fact that no one (with the means) wanted to save it speaks volumes. It tells me what we do or don’t value as a community – a cultural Darwinism of sorts.
If someone wanted to save the house and restore it, they should have bought it, it’s been for sale,
Too bad there’s not someone or some organization with the wherewithal to save that beautiful structure. The historic Rodman house, the oldest house in Hodgenville, was slated for the wrecking ball with plans for a hotel in its place. Kudos to a couple that recognized its significance. They bought the Rodman house and moved it within the past few days to a vacant lot in town.
Greed ,that all I’m saying.
We used to pass that house everyday going down 1160. That whole farm has disappeared in the past 8 years. One of the reasons we moved was all the development there on that road. Interesting that on the map I see J.P.Lapsley and the Armstrongs, both families who married into the Johnston family of Woodford County, whose farmhouse we now live in. There is an Armstrong daughter buried in the cemetery here.
I’ve told my own story on here many times so I’ll tell a different one…this one involving Dollar General stores. Up the road toward Bowling Green from my family farm was the larger farm of Franklin Berry. I wish we could include pictures here. A couple at least of generations had the farm. Franklin was a bit older than I was….only child, ended up being a tax attorney. Everybody knew the farm along 31-W because of the long barn and especially the big field beside it with the shetland ponies. They raised them on the side.
Mr & Mrs Berry had one daughter. She had zero interest in the farm. Married a doctor and moved to Oregon. Then Mrs. Berry had health problems and wanted to be near her daughter so they had a big auction and sold the farm, then moved out there. I heard that the people who bought the plot with the house intended to have a bed and breakfast.
Time passed. Next thing you know they have moved and it is being rented and the next step a fire in the house. Typical case, cannot be saved. Torn down. Then the encroaching development now is even worse….a Dollar General store is built pretty much right beside the site of the house….I can still in my mind see the mares and pony colts. Now when you pass you just look straight down the road. Just try to block it out. Sad. We heard when it was sold that Mr. Berry had said he could never go down the Nashville Road again…and this was before any of the “progress” had even taken place.
Oh, that is so, so sad.