Ward Hall, Georgetown, Kentucky

Mission Statement:

The Ward Hall Preservation Foundation is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Kentucky's premier antebellum Greek Revival mansion and grounds as an educational center for Kentucky and Southern agriculture, culture, history, manufacturing, and products.

Implementation Statement:

Ward Hall Preservation Foundation, Inc., is a non-profit corporation organized under the Internal Revenue Code.

The stated purpose of the Foundation is to:

Promote education, scientific and cultural activities in the Georgetown/Scott County community and the Bluegrass Region as a whole.

Promote and develop the architectural heritage embodied in the dwelling and it's interiors as an outstanding example of ante bellum Greek revival architecture.

Promote Kentucky's historical economic heritage by providing a venue(s) for the recognition of:

a. Kentucky's bourbon industry

b. Kentucky's tobacco industry and agriculture

c. Kentucky's horse industry

Use Ward Hall as a center to comprehensively develop, study, interpret and educate on the Black American experience and heritage in Kentucky and beyond.

In an effort to accomplish the above, the Foundation, is dedicated to the following vision:

Preserve, interpret and develop Ward Hall as a tourist attraction in a way which will best reflect its historical, architectural and social heritage.

Reconstruct the barn as a "Kentucky Bourbon Museum: for the purpose of recognizing the Bourbon industry.

Utilize the land in such a manner as to provide access to the public for events, while providing opportunities to showcase tobacco, agriculture and horse related activities.

Your support will help preserve one of Kentucky's special treasures. But, more than that, your aid will make certain that its story will be told to all people.
In the future, the young and the old can tour through the state's premier antebellum mansion and learn about the family who owned it and the people who worked here.
School children will find out how individuals farmed, played and worked.
Over the years, Ward Hall's land has been used to produce world famous horses, cattle, and other livestock; grains for breads and bourbon whiskey; hemp for cotton bagging, sails, paper and clothing; and tobacco. These will be interpreted at Ward Hall.

Concurrent with the settlement of the much sought farmland of the Inner Bluegrass was the transplantation with modifications of the lifestyles of the former Colonies. Education, religion, the arts, social life, and slavery are samples of cultural life that we will interpret at Ward Hall.
The story of Central Kentucky's settlement and development and antebellum period association with the Mississippi Delta will be explored at Ward Hall, along with the lives of the people who made it great - the owners and those who worked here.
Central Kentucky's manufacturing history, including the mills, hemp and bagging factories, and distilleries will be among the industrial studies and exhibits at Ward Hall.
During the first 7 months of operation, from May 2004, through December 2004, the Foundation opened Ward Hall for tours to the general population as a whole and for special groups. During this time there were more than 8,000 visitors.
School children have been given tours based on their age level, and a special tour was arranged for civic leaders as well as some of the more prominent business leaders in the community.
The Foundation wants to appeal to the broadest spectrum of the Kentucky community and beyond, and in addition to showcasing the magnificence of the antebellum Greek revival architecture of the house, which is on of the finest examples of it's kind in the United States.
The Foundation envisions a number of approaches to celebrate Kentucky by hosting seminars, events of all kinds, from concerts to lectures, and to agricultural research, architectural and historical research, studies which reflect the importance of Kentucky in the development of the Mississippi River basin, historical agriculture and economic development, the black American experience at Ward Hall, the importance of the agrarian economy of mid-nineteenth century America and the development of a record and study of the social evolution of Kentucky.
Ward Hall is not just a museum house. It is a living, breathing part of our culture and history, and the foundation wants to find ways to see that it continues to remain an active and vibrant part of our lives.

National Recognition

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places as significant at the national level for it's architecture, archeology and landscaping.

Recognized by the Smithsonian Institution for its architecture.

Eligible for designation as a National Historic Landmark.

Architectural References

The Smithsonian Guide to Historic America

Greek Revival America, Roger G. Kennedy, 1989

The Americana Encyclopedia (Grolier Edition) 1964

Antebellum Architecture of Kentucky, Clay Lancaster, 1991

Ante Bellum Houses of the Bluegrass, Clay Lancaster, 1961

Historical Significance

Original land owner was Patrick Henry

Colonel Robert Johnson, who purchased the land from Patrick Henry in the 1770s was a member of Kentucky's initial Constitutional Convention and the first legislature

Three of Colonel Johnson's sons served in the United States Congress at the same time. One was Vice President of the United States under Martin VanBuren.

Built by Taylor Buffington and design credited to Thomas Lewinski

Architectural Significance

Built circa 1856 at a cost of $50,000

75 foot square brick structure rising from a 9 foot high cut block coquina limestone foundation

Stone porch extends across the front with 40 foot wide stone steps. The porch roof is supported by four 40 foot fluted stone Corinthian columns with cast iron capitols and bases

Interior rooms are 22 by 25 feet with 16 foot ceilings

Contains a tree story elliptical nautilus stairwell, one of only two in America

Plaster cornice moldings and ceiling centerpieces retain their original fresco hues

Ten carved Italian marble mantles

Interior woodwork is solid walnut, milled and hand finished from trees grown on the farm

Massive hand hewn walnut doors have hinges, knobs, locks and grooves made of Sheffield Silver

Silver and crystal chandeliers, Greek ormolu chandelier depicting the legends of Greek mythology, and hand etched globes on the drawing room chandeliers depict the characters in the Odyssey and Iliad

Several structures, ruins and foundations still surround the house including a brick two room slave house, rebuilt smokehouse, two story Victorian cruciform barn with arched windows and gabled roof, brick outhouse

	Promote education, scientific and cultural activities in the Georgetown/Scott County community and the Bluegrass Region as a whole.
	Promote and develop the architectural heritage embodied in the dwelling and it's interiors as an outstanding example of ante bellum Greek revival architecture.
	Promote Kentucky's historical economic heritage by providing a venue(s) for the recognition of:

National Recognition
	Listed on the National Register of Historic Places as significant at the national level for it's architecture, archeology and landscaping.
	Recognized by the Smithsonian Institution for its architecture.
	Eligible for designation as a National Historic Landmark.
Architectural References
	The Smithsonian Guide to Historic America
	Greek Revival America, Roger G. Kennedy, 1989
	The Americana Encyclopedia (Grolier Edition) 1964
	Antebellum Architecture of Kentucky, Clay Lancaster, 1991
	Ante Bellum Houses of the Bluegrass, Clay Lancaster, 1961
Historical Significance
	Original land owner was Patrick Henry
	Colonel Robert Johnson, who purchased the land from Patrick Henry in the 1770s was a member of Kentucky's initial Constitutional Convention and the first legislature
	Three of Colonel Johnson's sons served in the United States Congress at the same time. One was Vice President of the United States under Martin VanBuren.
	Built by Taylor Buffington and design credited to Thomas Lewinski
Architectural Significance
	Built circa 1856 at a cost of $50,000
	75 foot square brick structure rising from a 9 foot high cut block coquina limestone foundation
	Stone porch extends across the front with 40 foot wide stone steps. The porch roof is supported by four 40 foot fluted stone Corinthian columns with cast iron capitols and bases
	Interior rooms are 22 by 25 feet with 16 foot ceilings
	Contains a tree story elliptical nautilus stairwell, one of only two in America
	Plaster cornice moldings and ceiling centerpieces retain their original fresco hues
	Ten carved Italian marble mantles
	Interior woodwork is solid walnut, milled and hand finished from trees grown on the farm
	Massive hand hewn walnut doors have hinges, knobs, locks and grooves made of Sheffield Silver
	Silver and crystal chandeliers, Greek ormolu chandelier depicting the legends of Greek mythology, and hand etched globes on the drawing room chandeliers depict the characters in the Odyssey and Iliad
	Several structures, ruins and foundations still surround the house including a brick two room slave house, rebuilt smokehouse, two story Victorian cruciform barn with arched windows and gabled roof, brick outhouse