Leach, Allan. "The Lindsay Powell Home Was Unique In Style And Construction." The Kentucky

Explorer, April 2005, p.11-13. Jackson, KY. Copyright ©2005 Allan Leach.
For more information about this publication, see http://kentuckyexplorer.com/.

This page has been reconstructed in HTML format. The idea is to approximate the layout of the original article as it was published in The Kentucky Explorer. The text was transcribed to make it more legible for easier viewing and to optimize the file sizes. The spellings and grammar are reproduced from the original printed copy of this article. The quality of the images is dependent on the quality of the photocopies. I will try to improve them. If we can get scans of the original photos, then that would be ideal.
— Joseph William Carpenter, Webmaster

The Lindsey Powell Home Was Unique In Style And Construction

This Pre-Civil War Home Was Built At Carpenter's Station In 1800 In The Westernmost Section Of Present-Day Lincoln County

By Allan R, Leach - 2005

Prior to about 1820 the most prominent settlement in the westernmost section of present-day Lincoln County was Carpenter's Station. Carpenter's Station straddled the Cumberland Trace. This trace began at Fort Logan (Stanford) and ran due west to present-day Turnersville, on to Carpenter's Station, through Neeley's Gap into northern Casey County, and down Rolling Fork to Greensburg. From there the trace tuned south to Tompkinsville and continued on to the lower Cumberland settlements around Nashville, Tennessee.

Carpenter's Station also was a cross-roads in it's early days, due to the fact that the original north and south trail passed through the settlement. By about 1835 the north and south trail was virtually abandoned and shifted eastward about three miles. This shift took place as the newer village of Hustonville drew more traffic away from Carpenter's Station. The old county road now known as Powell's Lane was the original southern entrance into Carpenter's Station. The road now known as Black Pike was the original northern entrance into Carpenter's Station.

After this shift took place the old southern route into

Carpenter's Station became a county road and since that time has been known as Powell's Lane. The south end of this lane turns off Old Liberty Road and the other end turns of Highway 78 just opposite the Carpenter Station cemetery. The middle-most portion of Powell's Lane has not been open or used in well over 50 years. It is on this little known and rarely seen stretch of the original trail that Dr. Lindsey Powell built his home ca. 1799.

The story of Lindsey Powell begins with his parents, Edmund Powell (1742-1825) and Lucy Joplin. Edmund Powell first settled in Lincoln County on Hanging Fork Creek just northeast of the present-day Highway 78 bridge over the creek near what is known locally as Chicken Bristle. Powell purchased 200 acres from Nathanial Evans in 1786 (Lincoln County Deed Book A, p. 201). In 1811, Powell sold 117 acres of that tract to James Senter (Lincoln Deed Book G, p. 127). That tract of land was on the east side of the creek.

In 1798 Edmund Powell's son, Lindsey Powell (177-1863), later to be known as Dr. Lindsey Powell, married Margaret Carpenter (1780-1846) who was the daughter of John Carpenter (1755-1784) and Elizabeth Spears (1755-1832). John Carpenter was one of the original Carpenter brothers who settled Carpenter's Station.

It is believed that Lindsey Powell began building his new home just off the original Southern trail in 1799. The

Liberty Road and on, and east of, present-day Carpenter Creek Road. By the 1870s the Powell family were prominent landowners eastward all the way to the southwest edge of Hustonville. By the 1930s the family began to die out. Today, only a very few family descendants remain in the area.

After Dr. Lindsey Powell's death in 1863 his home farm was divided among his heirs with his son, Edmund (1808-1869), receiving the old homeplace. The younger Edmund Powell married Elizabeth Carpenter, who was a daughter of Jacob G. Carpenter (1779-1828) and Leah Frye (1778-1820). After the younger Edmund's death in 1869 the old home and only 42 acres were left as a dower to his wife.

Shortly after the death of Elizabeth C. Powell the home and the 42 acres were transferred in 1885 to Edmund Smith "E.S." Powell. E.S. Powell built a new house at the southern end of the old Powell Lane on the Liberty Road. That house is owned today by Johnny Long. After the new house was built the original Lindsey Powell homeplace was rented for many years. The old home and the 42 acres remained in the family until July 1987 when Margaret Powell Weddle sold the property to Lee Graham of Casey County.

This writer was fortunate to visit and photograph the old Powell homeplace in February 1991. Not visible from

any road or public right-of-way, this magnificent architectural treasure was long-forgotten by most of the neighborhood and completely overlooked by state and county historians. When I visited there in 1991 the house had just been ransacked by thieves, who had stolen numerous antiques from the old home which had stood vacant some time. At that time, though it was in need of restoration, the house was solid and structurally sound. Other than a small frame addition at the rear of the house and a metal roof, the house stood then just exactly as it was built around 1800. All the woodwork and carvings were made by hand.

This writer has visited and photographed over 200 Civil War era log and brick homes throughout Lincoln County, but none really has compared to the old Powell home. It was truly unique in style, layout, and construction. Every ten-inch-wide floor bouard was pegged to the log floor joists with large wooden pegs. The thin Federal-style doors were outfitted with hand-wrought iron hinges and latchers. There were four rooms downstairs with a central

hall and two small rooms upstairs Fortunately I was able to make photographs of all the interior, exterior, and cellar areas of the house.

In 1993 the Grahams sold the old house and 42 acres to David and Linda Peyton. In 1996 the property was sold to Johnny and Phyllis Long. Just recently the property was bought by Greg Thomas. Unfortunately before Mr. Thomas purchased the land, the old Powell home was demolished by a salvage crew and is now only a memory.

The early Powells were buried about a half-mile west of the old home just off Carpenter Creek Road. That old burial ground, containing both Powell and Carpenter burials, is now in complete ruin. The old Powell home and family cemetery were both worthy of historic preservation and it is a shame these sites have been lost. For a few of us. at least, the unique old Lindsay Powell home and its beatiful rural setting will never be forgotten.

Allan R. Leach, P.O. Box 14, Houstonville, KY 40437, shares this article with our readers.