Abandoned house in Kentucky
General John Payne House, Georgetown Kentucky
Two miles west of Georgetown on the old Frankfort-Georgetown Pike stands the General John Payne House, which according to Kentucky historian J. Winston Coleman, is "one of the oldest houses in Kentucky" and "a fine example of the 'stone age' type of Kentucky architecture." Stone houses were most widely built in Kentucky during the late 1780s to 1820 period, the majority by settlers with a Scotch-Irish background. The Scottish tradition of stone construction can be seen in the Payne house in the emphasis on simple planes and in the single shape of the building as opposed to expression of its parts. The lack of adornment and the squarish, block-like shape is typical not only of Payne's dwelling but most Kentucky stone houses of this period.
This impressive field-stone house was erected in 1787-91 for General John Payne (1764-1837), one of the early settlers of Scott County, Kentucky, and a prominent figure during the War of 1812. Like most early settlers of the area, Payne was a Virginian; he had moved to Kentucky around 1786. He settled in Scott County at Paynes Depot, near Georgetown, where he became the first county surveyor and assisted in laying out the town of Georgetown, incorporated by the Legislature of Virginia in 1790. Payne served in a variety of other capacities, he assisted in building the first courthouse, was appointed one of the military land commissioners in an upper district in Scott County, and was appointed by Governor Issac Shelby in 1792 as one of the first "Gentleman Justices of Scott County."
Other distinctions of Payne's career include a commission in the War of 1812 as brigadier general in the second brigade of the Kentucky Militia. He was originally assigned to command the force, but was later replaced by the very popular William Henry Harrison, hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe and later President of the United States. Payne, however, did remain with the brigade, which was sent north with the intentions of recapturing Detroit from the British. The result was a disastrous defeat, at least for part of the contingent, on the River Raisin in northern Ohio. The massacre that ensued brought about a tremendous emotional reaction from the West and provided a rallying cry for Westerners for the upcoming battle of the Thames and the duration of the war. "Remember the Raisin" was not soon forgotten.
In a more successful effort, Payne commanded the Kentucky Light Dragoons attached to a regiment of mounted infantry headed by his brother-in-law Colonel Richard M. Johnson in the battle of the Thames in October 1813. The battle was a decisive victory against the British and Indian forces, the outcome of which was to re-establish the American military frontier in the Northwest and to extinguish the Indian menace in that region.
After the war Payne returned to his family in Kentucky. In 1787 he married Betsy Johnson, daughter of Colonel Robert Johnson, Revolutionary War veteran and distinguished early settler of Scott County. It was on land given by Robert Johnson that Payne built his stone house. The most illustrious member of the Johnson family was Robert Johnson's son Richard M. Johnson, who, in addition to participating in the War of 1812, also served as Representative and Senator in the United States Congress. In 1836 he was elected Vice President of the United States under Martin Van Buren.
In 1830 in his later years, Payne was elected to the state senate where he served for two years. He died at his Scott County home on September 9, 1837. Both he and his wife are buried on the grounds.
After Payne's death the property went to his son Franklin, who left it to his niece, Betty Payne. After 1900 the house and farm passed to the Graves family, to Mrs. Deweese Williams, and eventually to Francis Waller.
Building Description
The field-stone house John Payne built about 1790 on a 1,000-acre tract two miles west of Georgetown, Kentucky, off the old Frankfort Pike, probably consisted of four rooms with a detached kitchen. The original block of the house runs approximately north-south and seems to have faced in that direction from the evidence of a lintel on the west side which has shaped voussoirs and a higher keystone. Other openings are supported by the wooden door and window frames.
The original dwelling has no central hall, but two large squarish rooms with a partition between. The enclosed staircase turned from the north room and straddled the east-west partition. On the upper story there is at present a central hall with a staircase leading to the attic. There are chimneys at either end of this block, inset into the wall and allowing room for cupboards (not necessarily original) on either side of the fireplaces. Only one early mantel survives, in the second-story north room, but there is still a considerable amount of chair railing and slender door and window frames. The early mantel, which is somewhat asymmetrical in placement and proportion, consists of a slender molding framing the opening and superimposed on flat boards; there is the shallow separate shelf characteristic of the latest Georgian manner in Kentucky. (Even this mantel has been partially filled in, a Victorian cast iron grate inserted, and the main horizontal board cut out in an arched shape.)
What was undoubtedly the original kitchen is a large square room slightly east of the main block and aligned with it on the south side. It has an enormous stone chimney on its west side, although the original opening seems to be closed off and replaced by an overscaled wooden mantel. The exterior door in the south wall of this room has an arch of shaped stones like those of the first story on the west side of the original main block, but lacks the prominent central keystone.
At some point the space between the kitchen and the main house, usually known in Kentucky as a dogtrot, was closed in. Since, however, this room has a chair railing, it may have been enclosed quite early.
Also at an early date the main block was apparently re-oriented (probably corresponding to a re-routing of the main road). A two-story wing with a single large room on each floor was placed in the center of what had been the entrance front, projecting that of the original part of the structure, but not so carefully shaped and laid in rows. The inset end chimney flanked by small "lookout" windows on the otherwise bare end wall is similar to those of the earlier block. The superimposition of the heavy roof timbers of the "new" wing over those of the original section may still be seen in the attic.
The new wing has exterior doors to the north and south and also a door into the original north room; another opening between the wings on the first floor now contains a cupboard.
An inset row of stones just under the second-story window sills on the north side of the west wing may indicate the presence of a porch at one time. There exists a porch on the southwest corner of the enlarged building used as the entrance to the house. The details of the existing porch appear to date from the late 19th century, although it has a stone foundation separate from both wings of the house.
About the middle of the 19th century most of the mantels and several doors seem to have been replaced with woodwork of a rudimentary Greek Revival character.
Characteristically for early Kentucky architecture, there is no cornice on the end-gables. Those along the sides of the wings have been boxed in, but there is a finely-shaped cornice molding on the north side of the east wing (probably dating from the enclosure of the dogtrot.
There was also a further stone extension of the kitchen wing to the east, now in ruins.
Woodwork throughout the house has deteriorated and there are major structural flaws, particularly a large crack in the southeast corner.
The house was placed atop a low eminence south of a bend of the North Elkhorn Creek amid open fields (all early outbuildings are gone).
Front view of house (1974)
Wings and west side of porch (1974)
Upstairs interior (1974)
