Keene Springs Hotel

Last updated
Keene Springs Hotel
USA Kentucky location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Nearest city Keene, Kentucky
Coordinates 37°56′37″N84°37′38″W / 37.94361°N 84.62722°W / 37.94361; -84.62722 Coordinates: 37°56′37″N84°37′38″W / 37.94361°N 84.62722°W / 37.94361; -84.62722
Built1841
NRHP reference No. 84001636 [1]
Added to NRHP5 July 1984

The Keene Springs Hotel is a rambling wood-frame, two-story Greek Revival-style building built in sections in 1841 by Mason Singleton, Jr. in the hamlet of Keene, near Nicholasville, Kentucky in Jessamine County. He and his wife Nancy owned and operated the hotel and tavern as a resort destination for the white sulphur springs nearby. During the cholera epidemic of 1848–1849 and outbreaks in the early 1850s, residents of Lexington came to the hotel to try to escape the spread of disease in the city. The Singletons operated the hotel until 1857, when they sold it to Alfred McTyre.

Contents

After the American Civil War, tourist travel decreased because of the poor economy. F.S. Wilson purchased the hotel in 1868 and operated it as a boarding house through the end of the century. In the 20th century until the 1960s, Wilson family descendants used the structure as a general store and residence. [2]

The hotel is privately owned. A lessee operates a restaurant three days a week and is gradually restoring the building. [2] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 5, 1984.

History

The hotel and tavern were associated with two periods, the development of Jessamine County from 1825 to 1849 and 1850 to 1874. Mason Singleton, Jr. and his wife Nancy (Lafon) Singleton had the hotel built to attract travelers. The main part was styled as a Greek Revival wood-frame house. A two-story extension with additional rooms was added to the west.

During the 1840s and 1850s, the hotel attracted residents from Lexington, about five miles to the northeast, as a resort destination. The discovery of white sulphur water nearby about 1848 increased its desirability as a destination. Visitors came for what were believed to be the medicinal qualities of the springs. The hotel and tavern were part of the growth of facilities in the region to house tourists as well as commercial travelers along the major county roads. Captain G. L. Postlethwait was noted as its congenial host. [3]

The nineteenth century had been marked by periodic outbreaks of epidemics of cholera and other infectious diseases, often carried by travelers on the major river systems. It was transmitted through water contaminated by the poor sanitation of the time. During the cholera epidemic of 1848–1849 and outbreaks in the early 1850s, people fled Lexington to stay at the Keene Springs Hotel and other outlying facilities. They hoped to escape the spread of disease in the city, [3] as the cholera transmission vector was not then understood.

In 1857 the Singletons sold their property to A. McTyre and migrated to Texas by wagon. McTyre sold it to F.S. Wilson in 1868 after the American Civil War, when the hotel failed as a resort. It was operated for many years as a boarding house, known as The Maples for the trees in front of its main entrance on SR 1267. In the twentieth century, the Wilson family used the structure as a residence, with a general store, known as Wilson's, in the ground floor. Men in the community regularly gathered there to do business and exchange stories. The building is still owned by Wilson family descendants. [2]

The hotel is listed among Kentucky historic sites; highway marker #1671 is posted in front on KY 1267 (also known as Keene-Troy Pike to the west of 169 and S. Elkhorn Road to the east). The building is at the northwest corner of the junction with Kentucky Route 169 (also called Pinchard Pike to the north of KY 1267). On July 5, 1984, the hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Singletons were each descendants of early pioneers in the county who had migrated from Virginia shortly before 1800. Mason's father, Mason Singleton Sr., came at age 8 with his parents Manoah and Sarah Craig Singleton as part of "The Travelling Church" of 500-600 Baptist and their slaves led in 1781 by Rev. Lewis Craig and Captain William Ellis from Spotsylvania County, Virginia to Kentucky. [4] Mason Sr. built an L-shaped compact brick house in Jessamine County in 1810, which is still standing. The Lafon family were descended from French Huguenot immigrants, who settled in Virginia in 1700 above the falls of the James River.

In 1858 the Singletons migrated from Kentucky to Texas by wagons, taking with them the ten of their fifteen children still living at home, ranging in age from 23 to 6 years old. They first settled in Burnet County where Nancy Lafon Singleton died in 1862. Mason Jr. married three more times in succession, each time after he was widowed. He settled with sons in Travis County, closer to Austin, which became the capital.

As of June 2009, the Keene Springs Hotel is privately owned and used as a residence. The owners lease some of the space for a restaurant that provides home-style dinners three days a week.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessamine County, Kentucky</span> County in Kentucky, United States

Jessamine County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 52,991. Its county seat is Nicholasville. The county was founded in December 1798. Jessamine County is part of the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is within the Inner Blue Grass region, long a center of farming and blooded stock raising, including thoroughbred horses. The legislature established a commercial wine industry here in the late 18th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fayette County, Kentucky</span> County in Kentucky, United States

Fayette County is located in the central part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 322,570, making it the second-most populous county in the commonwealth. Its territory, population and government are coextensive with the city of Lexington, which also serves as the county seat. Fayette County is part of the Lexington–Fayette, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maysville, Kentucky</span> City in Kentucky, United States

Maysville is a home rule-class city in Mason County, Kentucky, United States and is the seat of Mason County. The population was 8,782 as of 2019, making it the 51st-largest city in Kentucky by population. Maysville is on the Ohio River, 66 miles (106 km) northeast of Lexington. It is the principal city of the Maysville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Mason and Lewis counties. Two bridges cross the Ohio from Maysville to Aberdeen, Ohio: the Simon Kenton Memorial Bridge built in 1931 and the William H. Harsha Bridge built in 2001.

John Taylor (1752–1833) was a pioneer Baptist preacher, religious writer, frontier historian and planter in north and central Kentucky. His two histories of early Baptist churches in Kentucky provide insight into the frontier society of the early decades of the 19th century. His 1820 pamphlet entitled "Thoughts on Missions" put him at the center of the controversy within frontier Baptist congregations about supporting mission societies. In buying and selling land on the frontier, Taylor acquired 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) and 20 African-American slaves by the end of the first decade of the 19th century, thus entering the planter class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luke P. Blackburn</span> American physician and governor of Kentucky (1816–1887)

Luke Pryor Blackburn was an American physician, philanthropist, and politician from Kentucky. He was elected the 28th governor of Kentucky, serving from 1879 to 1883. Until the election of Ernie Fletcher in 2003, Blackburn was the only physician to serve as governor of Kentucky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lexington Cemetery</span> United States historic place

Lexington Cemetery is a private, non-profit 170-acre (69 ha) rural cemetery and arboretum located at 833 W. Main Street, Lexington, Kentucky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Hawes</span> United States Representative; Second Confederate governor of Kentucky

Richard Hawes Jr. was a United States representative from Kentucky and the second Confederate Governor of Kentucky. He was part of the politically influential Hawes family. His brother, uncle, and cousin also served as U.S. Representatives, and his grandson Harry B. Hawes was a member of the United States Senate. He was a slaveholder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Troye</span> Swiss-American painter

Edward Troye, was a Swiss-born American painter of Thoroughbred horses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Episcopal Burying Ground and Chapel (Lexington, Kentucky)</span> Historic cemetery in Kentucky, United States

The Episcopal Burying Ground and Chapel is located at 251 East Third Street, in Lexington, Kentucky. The land was purchased in 1832 by Christ Church as a burial ground for its parishioners. The cemetery became extremely important during the 1833 cholera epidemic, during which one-third of the congregation died.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valley View Ferry</span>

The Valley View Ferry provides passage over the Kentucky River in rural central Kentucky. Located on Kentucky Route 169, this ferry service connects auto traffic between the county seats of Richmond in Madison County and Nicholasville in Jessamine County. The ferry was founded in 1780, predating Kentucky's admission to the Union in 1792. It is widely regarded as the commonwealth's oldest continually operating business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1846–1860 cholera pandemic</span> The third major outbreak of cholera, 1846–1860 worldwide pandemic

The third cholera pandemic (1846–1860) was the third major outbreak of cholera originating in India in the nineteenth century that reached far beyond its borders, which researchers at UCLA believe may have started as early as 1837 and lasted until 1863. In the Russian Empire, more than one million people died of cholera. In 1853–54, the epidemic in London claimed over 10,000 lives, and there were 23,000 deaths for all of Great Britain. This pandemic was considered to have the highest fatalities of the 19th-century epidemics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Historic District (Washington, Kentucky)</span> Historic district in Kentucky, United States

The Washington Historic District in Washington, Kentucky was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, and its borders were increased in 1976. The buildings of Washington range from simple log cabins to late Georgian and early Federal styles constructed of home burned brick laid in Flemish Bond. Many houses have double doors at the entrance and a reeded roll length wise under a four light transom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Young House (Nicholasville, Kentucky)</span> Historic house in Kentucky, United States

The Young House is an historic estate in Jessamine County, Kentucky, United States, in the city of Wilmore off of Kentucky Route 29 on Lexington Road. The reference to Nicholasville, Kentucky in the title of this page is incorrect. Popular legend has it that the house was the birthplace of Bennett H. Young, an American Civil War soldier, lawyer, and architect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christ Church Cathedral (Lexington, Kentucky)</span> Church in Kentucky, United States

Christ Church Cathedral is the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of Lexington and is located at 166 Market Street, Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1796, Christ Church Cathedral is the oldest Episcopal church in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Renovations over the years have sought to preserve the original structure, and it remains relatively unchanged. The church created what is now called the Old Episcopal Burying Ground, located nearby. It held many who died during the cholera epidemics of 1833 and 1848, but most of the remains have been moved due to flooding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First African Baptist Church (Lexington, Kentucky)</span> Historic church in Kentucky, United States

First African Baptist Church is a historic church at 264-272 E. Short Street in Lexington, Kentucky. The congregation was founded c. 1790 by Peter Durrett and his wife, slaves who came to Kentucky with their master, Rev. Joseph Craig, in 1781 with "The Travelling Church" of Baptists from Spotsylvania, Virginia.

Peter Durrett was a Baptist preacher and slave, who with his wife founded the First African Baptist Church of Lexington, Kentucky by 1790. By his death, the congregation totaled nearly 300 persons. It is the first black congregation west of the Allegheny Mountains, the first black Baptist congregation in Kentucky, and the third oldest black congregation in the United States. Its historic church was built in 1856, under the third pastor, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

London Ferrill, also spelled Ferrell, was a former enslaved man and carpenter from Virginia who became the second preacher of the First African Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky, serving from 1823 to 1854. During his 31 years of service, Ferrill attracted and baptized many new members in the growing region; by 1850 the church had 1,820 members and was the largest of any congregation in the state, black or white.

Keene is a home rule-class city located in Jessamine County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is home to the Keene Springs Hotel. The U.S. Census Bureau does not record Keene as a city and does not publish a population figure for the community.

The following is a timeline of the history of Lexington, Kentucky, United States.

A cholera epidemic began in Nashville, Tennessee, in January 1849 and caused many deaths in the city in 1849 and 1850.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-08-12.
  2. 1 2 3 Mike Moore, "Step back into yesterday", The Jessamine Journal, 29 March 2007, accessed 12 August 2010[ dead link ]
  3. 1 2 "Keene Springs Hotel", Kentucky Historical Markers database, Kentucky Historical Society, accessed 5 July 2007
  4. George W. Ranck, The Travelling Church: An Account of the Baptist Exodus from Virginia to Kentucky in 1781 under the Leadership of Rev. Lewis Craig and Captain William Ellis, Louisville, Kentucky: Press of Baptist Book Concern, 1891, accessed 14 August 2010