The once forgotten Holt Home is now making its
mark on history known. This house was once home to Judge Joseph
Holt, one of the most prominent people in all of Kentucky.
The Holt Home considered the "home" in its day holds a vast amount of history.
The
Joseph Holt Home, a three-story brick structure, is located on State
Highway 144 one mile west of Addison, Kentucky. The home is situated in
a grove of trees on a plain, with the Ohio River in view to the
north. The western two-thirds of the home may well date from 1850,
but the east wing and trim seem more characteristic of the 1870s. The
home has many features of an Italianate villa.
Over
the windows are cast iron lintels: flat lintels on the first story,
pedimented over shallow arches on the second floor. An unusual feature
is the Palladian windows in the gables, which have continuous
entablatures that curve up into central round arches, and the sills
seem clasped into the wall. The Palladian windows are not only more
plastic that is, sculptural than the other openings, but they seem out
of scale They are diminutive but rich, while the windows are long and
attenuated with skimpy ornamentation.
Another
peculiar feature is the way the dormers break the bracketed
cornice. They seem to perform a double function as attic windows (often
between paired brackets within the cornice itself) and dormers on the
roof. Over five bays of the front extends a very finely ornamented
cast iron porch with a projecting central bay.
The
walls of the house are 14" thick. The ground floor has three 20' by 22'
rooms with 14' ceilings. Another 20' by 22' room used as a kitchen and
dining room extends off the back of the house. The second floor has
three 20' by 22' rooms with 12' ceilings. The third floor is the same
only with 10' ceilings. Between each of the three rooms on each floor
there is a 12' hallway with a winding staircase that extends to all
three levels.
The rear ell has porches on both sides and there is a two-story porch with exterior staircase on the back of the main block.
The
slave quarters that were located behind the kitchen have been removed.
The house has been vacant for several years and is has deteriorated.
Through
the relentless efforts of Susan B. Dyer to bring awareness of the
historical importance of Judge Joseph Holt and the Holt Home to people
all across Breckinridge County, Kentucky and all across the nation the home will be undergoing a complete restoration.
The Holt Home was
purchased by the Breckinridge County Fiscal Court in 2008 with funding
secured from the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and the Kentucky
Heritage Council. The restoration project volunteers have secured
grants to go toward stabilization and restoration of the home. The
project was awarded a $150,000 Save America's Treasurers Grant and
a $500,000 Transportation Enhancement Grant in 2012.
"The
Judge Joseph Holt House is the only remaining home of Judge Joseph Holt
that tells the complete story of the Lincoln Conspiracy Trial"
David Morgan Retired Executive Director Kentucky Heritage Council State Preservation Office
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