"The Art of Historic Preservation"

9th Annual Preservation Week 2007 Photo-Essay Competition

First Place: Hannah Elizabeth Wilson, 6th Grade, Lebanon Middle School

Title:  The Dodd House

As I drive by the Dodd house as oft as I must, I can’t help but think about the many people who have rode up the great path that would so joyfully lead to one of the most beautiful places in Kentucky.  But know, the house is almost falling apart.  The steps cracked, the walls torn, the fireplaces bricked.  Oh, but what it be restored.  It then would seem to have a purpose.  A meaning, than rather sitting there, sorrowfully rotting away bit by bit.  So many people have made this house a part of their lives for a length of time up to decades.  Now it’s gone for good if the house isn’t restored soon.  It is far too beautiful to ever go to waste.

The Dodd house was built in the late1700’s.  As most believe the builders were a prominent Kentucky family by the name of Dodd.  The home stands on a high hill in northern Casey County near Hustonville Kentucky.  The grand entrance circular driveway rising from the plain below invites you to come inside and visit.

The home is three stories tall, a fireplace and mantle in most every room.  The mantles have the original woodwork with rose head nails in their construction.  There are not one but two staircases.  The grand Victorian porch with the massive front door speaks volumes of yesteryear.

The home was built timber framed with heave corner bracing and pegging.  The foundation stones are massive and the fact they are so sturdy explains why the house has stood for well over a century.

Like the foundation, the original chimneys were stone.  They have since been replaced with brick.  The brick is smooth with no marks and were most likely built just after the Civil War.  The cellar of the home has half-log joists were no longer used.

Some of the original door latches are found on the doors in the upstairs rooms.  They simply rise up and down.  There is also some original wallpaper and border in one of the bedrooms upstairs.  The border is extremely with a busy pattern. 

Inside the main entrance room there are no window seats and beautiful wainscot covers. The trim inside all of the rooms is at lest seven inches wide and many rooms have original carved woodwork that is very pretty.

The floors of the three rooms in the home have the original oak boards.  The are very wide and like the mantle are nailed down with rose head nails.  Oh that these floors could talk and answer all of the questions I have about the home.

The well house which is built over the original ice house tells of the times when people cut ice from the bluffs and rivers and put it in ice houses for use during the summer months.

The names written on the stone walls in the uppermost room located on the third floor is the most impressive thing about the house to me.  When you see them you feel just like you are living in another time.  One could feel like you had entered a time machine and can envision a young lady writing “Florence is 6+6+6+ today” on the day she turned eighteen.  Was Florence the daughter of a wealthy Kentucky landowner?  “Grant Adams” also appears on the wall of names.  He was most likely a resident of the home.  “Hugh Reed” is written in large letters.  He was a former owner of the home also my great, great, great uncle.  There are so many names and dates on these walls.

Another historical fact about the home is that it was a part of Quantrill’s raids of the late 1800’s.  William Clark Quantrill harassed Union soldiers and their sympathizers.  Posing as a Union soldier at times Quantrill murdered and pillaged the countryside.  He even burned my hometown of Bradfordsville simply for revenge.  It was during the trip to burn Bradfordsville that Quantrill made a stop at the Dodd house.  One story tells of the fact that the raiders took a man from inside this very house and murdered him while the people inside looked on with fear.  It is a interesting fact that some of the members of Quantrill’s raiders went to become celebrity outlaws.  They include the James brothers Frank and Jesse and the Younger brothers Cole and Jim.  Can you imagine being inside that house and watching as Quantrill rode up the driveway with his raiders?

This home is full of history.  It is an exciting place to visit.  It would make an outstanding bed and breakfast.  I can just see the home restored like it would have looked the first day the Dodd family moved in.  I can only image walking up the steps to the front door to be greeted by a young woman dressed in period costume.  I can feel the excitement as she says, “Welcome to our home”.  I can ever smell the food cooking that would be served to visitors.  The menu might include a Kentucky hot brown or a wilted lettuce salad covered with hot bacon grease.  Wonderful desserts like derby pie and Kentucky candies could also be served in the restaurant located in the first floor kitchen area.

The guests would experience pure luxury on the second floor area.  Claw-foot  bathtubs and antique furniture would be used in every room.  There would also be fireplaces in every room and the walls and floors would have bright patterns and colors in the wallpaper, paint and floor coverings reminiscent of the 1800’s.

The third floor with al of the names written on the walls would be a sitting area.  This could be a place for guests to relax and visit one another.  One could look out the window onto the ground below and see people riding in horse drawn carriages while being told the history of this home.

I can also imagine the place being filled up during the holidays as Christmas carols are sung and the home hosted candle lit tours. Can’t you just see the Christmas tree and smell the cider brewing

It is my dream that this Dodd house once again become a place of grandeur and beauty.  I can’t wait to see and feel what so many before me have already experienced there—a beautiful Kentucky home full of fun, food and adventure.  May it ever stand to remind us of our grand heritage as Kentuckians.

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.