"Historic Places at the Crossroads"

7th Annual Preservation Week 2005 Photo-Essay Competition

Third Place: Greg Tackett, Woodford Co. High School

Title: Historic Building Essay

A tradition lost in present times has been that of a community doctor. In movies we see how a mother may send the youngest child to “fetch the doctor” in which the child would run down the street and knock on the doctor's door. In today's time we would drive to the emergency room. Versailles was no different in the early and mid-1800's. The evidence lies on 137 Morgan Street where the hollowed out shell of what used to be Dr. John Werner Crenshaw's office. This building has the potential to become something wonderful for our community. It has a history of being a house, a tearoom and a privately owned doctor's office. It is a symbol of the times and of how things used to be.

Constructed in 1807 by Mr. Peter Bruck, 137 Morgan Street consists of a one-story brick building. This is strange architecture for the time since most housing buildings were much larger, usually consisting of another floor. The use of the building as a house is a possibility for the future. Mr. Bruck was the postmaster of Versailles from 1810 – 1811 and then for ten years in 1814 – 1824. It did not become the doctor's office it is famous for until much later.

In 1880 Dr. John Werner Crenshaw moved to Versailles to set up a practitioner office. He purchased the tiny building and had his house built next door. As a husband and father to two daughters he became a prominent physician from 1882 until 1916, when he moved to Chicago with his family. The front entrance of the building was added later and made it much larger than it had previously been. The four-walled white building is more than just an old structure sitting on the corner wasting away. The building represents the life of the early 1800s as a Versailles resident would remember it. There would have been a movie theater and a lunch counter, the local doctor's office and far fewer schools.

Like in the old times Dr. Crenshaw lived next door to his office. His house was built on the property that his office sits on. The one story building was much too small to house a family of five. The reason for a doctor living next to, if not inside, of his office would be in case of any late night emergencies. The house was torn down in the mid-1900s but miraculously the tiny office remained. Now there is a residence next door.

After the Crenshaw's left there is no evidence of another resident until the 1950's when Mrs. Lillie Young lived there where she owned and operated her own tea room for town residents and passer-bys. Today the official property line lies somewhere within the house that is built next door. The last known owner was Mr. Ben A. Wilson who purchased the building from the heirs of Katie H. Crenshaw.

Now the poor building is falling into disrepair. Paint is peeling off and vines are growing on the front and side of the panels. Dana Estridge, the curator at the Woodford County Historical Society, said. “A little tender, loving care oughta fix it right up”. This is a great candidate for preservation. It is not just an old building in our town it is a symbol for times. It has so many possibilities, such a history; a house, a tearoom and a doctor's office. It seems so small and a lot of work, it's a fixer upper but the tradition that lies within those walls would be a travesty if any harm met the house. In the future it can become another residence on beautiful Morgan Street, a little coffee shop or a child-care center. With a building such as Dr. Crenshaw's office and the land on either side anything is possible. It is a horrible spot just to sit there and waste away. The potential is endless with this historic piece of property waiting to be refurnished and brought to it's full potential.

This essay and photograph(s) are the property of Preservation Kentucky, Inc. and Kentucky Heritage Council and that any use of the photo or essay must be approved by PK and KHC.