Early Stone Houses of Kentucky
The land that would be the Commonwealth of Kentucky was a wilderness in 1775, and the men that explored there did so with the hopes of improving their futures. From the eastern colonies came wealthy Irish Ulster settlers who took no small risks in venturing into the fertile lands to claim and build their homes. Four hundred and fifty-five known stone dwellings, mostly on plantations, are known to have been built during that Kentucky settlement period and 156 have been maintained or restored. Early drawings and photographs allow for glimpses of those that no longer exist. Early Stone Houses of Kentucky concentrates on these early structures, and supplies in-depth information as to their cultural and historic relevance.
Author and researcher Carolyn Murray-Woodley explains who the settlers were, why they built these remarkable buildings - as well as provides the distinctive details that distinguish them both. With color photos of 156 surviving homes, she provides an extensive history of our region's earliest buildings. Beyond the frames and roofs of these homes, Murray-Woodley explores the lives of the families that built them. The new Kentucky residents faced a challenging existence as they forged their futures in the rich Bluegrass soil, American Indians among the dangers, and it was this tenacity that carried on into the aristocratic heritage of the region.
Detailed floor plans, examinations of the different mortar methods, photos and drawings of the wooden hearths, banisters and trim that remain are compiled to document the history of each home. From the book comes the story of the wealthy and adventurous settlers who claimed some of the richest land in our region and the vast change they brought to the area in a period of less than 25 years. The unique architectural studies of these structures brings to light the fascinating history of the builders, architects and citizens that left their enduring mark on Kentucky's landscape.
Author Carolyn Murray-Wooley is an architectural historian, former executive director of the Bluegrass Trust for Historic Preservation, and founder of the Dry Stone Conservancy. She lives and works in Lexington.
Girls in Trucks
In Charleston, S.C., belonging to the Camellias comes with birth. It is an elite group that prepares its members with the rules of society that guide the South's perceived finest young women. Decorum means everything. Cotillion is the ultimate event.
Sarah Walters begrudgingly attends the rehearsals and tea parties that her Camellia mother insists she be present for, but the guidelines she learns and the graces she obtains from them do little to prepare her for the realities of life beyond the front porches of Charleston's homes. Life in New York City offers her no graces and she is not prepared for the onslaught of alcohol, drugs and men that leave her scarred, skeptical and broken. One man in particular leaves her unable to open herself up to anyone. Only her Camellia friends living in the vicinity of New York can truly understand her - and it can hardly be said that they are thriving.
A return to Charleston, her young daughter in tow, offers a chance to heal, although her circumstances in no way fall back to the gracious mores of her earlier existence there. Her father has committed suicide, her mother's best friend is redefining that term, and a man in a truck is willing to deal with her hardened faÁade.
Katie Crouch's debut novel offers a unique voice - funny, cuttingly sad - though a bit like walking in wet sneakers. The drag is undeniable. The hopelessness is palpable and the possibility of redemption is hinted at so faintly that it's not quite clear whether it is there at all. And the story leaves you there.