Baughman's Mill, Stanford Kentucky
To the southwest of the Stanford train depot stands Baughman's Mill, a typical example of late 19th-century industrial architecture in America. Architecturally based upon three strong 19th-century sources in varying degrees, the Mill has retained its integrity as a statement of young industrial architecture. First, Baughman's Mill has the plain-faced masonry surfaces and the simple false roof of all early factory architecture in England and America, thereby unabashedly announcing the strength of its utilitarian purpose. A second source is reflected in the segmental-arched windows and label molds which are allusive to the eclectic stylistic borrowing that were rampant in late 19th-century domestic building. A third and important allusion is visible in the grid-like fenestration and vertical visual emphasis of the advanced brick piers. This strong statement is a response to the rising importance of multi-storied, steel-framed industrial buildings which had already supplanted load-bearing masonry as a support system among factory and commercial structures. Because the linear skeletal structures were becoming the accepted characteristic of industrial architecture, builders of the traditional masonry counterparts such as the Baughman's Mill expressed the same grid-like regularity on the principal facades. In these fundamental ways, the Baughman's Mill is an expression of three important 19th-century building traditions.
Building Description
Situated in the southern region of the Bluegrass, Stanford remains the county seat of Lincoln County, one of the three original counties of Kentucky. The community is located equidistant between Louisville to the northwest and Cumberland Gap to the southeast, each approximately one hundred miles away. The surrounding topography is most appealing; consisting of high, rolling tablelands.
Located just southwest of the railroad depot, stands the Baughman mill, a three-and-one-half-story brick structure laid up in American bond. Situated close to the railroad tracks for convenience of shipping, the flouring mill is located above Main Street on a small street which would later be named for the mill.
Resting on a brick foundation, the major mill building measures 40 feet by 35 feet, having a full basement and an attic with considerable space. The eastern or gable end has three bays, while the facades which run parallel to the ridgeline have four. The wall is punctuated on the gable ends with vertical bands of advanced brick at the corners and between the bays. The exterior brick wall is load bearing and the interior space has been intermediately supported and divided into different floors by massive chamfered posts. On the southeast corner of the structure is a massive, industrial brick chimney that is flush with the wall planes and extends slightly above the ridgeline.
The gable roof is covered in raised-seam metal with overhanging eaves having no ornamentation. Windows have lights arranged in a six-over-six pattern with rock-faced stone sills and segmental window heads. On the eastern, gable end facade there are arched label molds formed by advanced courses of brick.
To the rear, or west of the mill is an interesting arrangement of secondary structures, all interconnected and covered in various forms of their metal sheathing, the majority of which are corrugated. Original primary functions were grain storage, in addition to the grain elevator present. This elevator is the box-like tower, from where the grain was dropped into bins below. The bins contained sloping floors leading to an auger at the bottom. The auger created a constant motion of the grain as a precaution against mold and rotting which might occur if the grain were left undisturbed.
The portions to the west of the brick structure, once for grain storage, are currently used for the storage of fertilizer.
The mill and its adjoining sections remain as a typical example of late 19th-century industrial architecture in America. The exterior of the structure remains virtually unaltered although shed-like frame additions have been added at the eastern end.
(1977)
(1977)
