Maintained and operated by the Junior League of Lexington, The Bodley-Bullock House, like the organization behind it, is a representation of Lexington’s storied past. Photo by Emily Giancarlo
Just across the street from Gratz Park, the Bodley-Bullock House sits as a stately reminder of Lexington’s historic past.
Maintained and operated by the Junior League of Lexington, the house, like the organization behind it, is a representation of Lexington’s storied past. And this fall, as the League celebrates its centennial anniversary, it will open the house up to the public.
Founded in 1924, the Junior League focuses on advancing women’s leadership in Lexington through community volunteerism and training. Mable Marks started the organization with just 10 women, minimal resources and a goal of impacting Lexington. Within nine years, the group had grown to 90 women and founded the Baby Home, which became a children’s home run by the city of Lexington.
Today, the organization has 156 members, with an additional 68 provisional members, and more than 300 women who are sustaining members, or alumni of the organization. To become a member, women must be at least 23 years old, and spend a year as a provisional where they train and work in service to the community and organization, before being admitted into the League.
In 1937, the Junior League started its premiere fundraising event, Lexington Junior League Charity Horse Show. The event has generated more than $3 million for the community.
The oldest known photo of Junior League of Lexington members (circa 1927). Photo furnished
“The operating budget back then was $500 with a crowd of 5,000,” said Lindsay Medley, chair of the headquarters committee for the League. “Now, our operation budget is around $900,000 with a regular attendance of around 30,000 people. Eighty-seven years later and it is still a prestigious event.”
In 2007, the organization launched a secondary fundraising event, the Holly Day market. Taking place in Central Bank Arena during November, the popular holiday market features a number of retail vendors. Proceeds from both of these events go toward the charitable work of the organization, which annually grants $30,000 to local nonprofits. Some of the organizations that Junior League has had a hand in helping include Chrysalis House, Triangle Park, Ampersand (formerly known as the Bluegrass Rape Crisis Center), the Lexington Alzheimer’s Association, the American Saddlebred Museum, Explorium, Bluegrass Care Navigators and the University of Kentucky Children’s Miracle Network Telethon.
Since 1984, the Junior League has also handled the maintenance and groundskeeping of the Bodley-Bullock house. Once the home of a prominent Lexington family, the house now serves as operational headquarters for the organization, as well as an event and tour location for the city.
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Located downtown next to Gratz Park, the Bodley-Bullock House is available for event rentals as well as individual and group tours, including field trips. Photo by Quinton Van Meter
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Located downtown next to Gratz Park, the Bodley-Bullock House is available for event rentals as well as individual and group tours, including field trips. Photo by Emily Giancarlo
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Located downtown next to Gratz Park, the Bodley-Bullock House is available for event rentals as well as individual and group tours, including field trips. Photo by Emily Giancarlo
Built in 1814 for Lexington Mayor Thomas Pindell, the house was sold to General Thomas Bodley, a hero of the War of 1812. The Kentucky Federal-style house exemplifies the grandeur of Gratz Park and downtown Lexington in the 1800s, and through seven different owners, has remained a place for elegant social gatherings. Stepping into the house, with its floor-to-ceiling windows, magnificent three-story spiral staircase and fireplaces, takes one back to another time.
The house’s storied past includes serving as a headquarters for both Union and Confederate generals during the Civil War, and being home to the head of Transylvania University’s now defunct medical school. In 1912, the house was sold Dr. Waller Bullock, founder of The Lexington Clinic, and his wife Minnie, founder of the Garden Club of Lexington. Upon their deaths, the house was willed to Transylvania University, which partnered with the Junior League for its upkeep.
“Transylvania University recognized that they didn’t really have the capacity or the staff to take on the house,” Medley said. “We rent it for a dollar a year from Transylvania University and we are responsible for all the maintenance of the house itself.”
The house and garden have been restored to their former glory, Medley said. In 1986, the Junior League won an award from the Kentucky Heritage Council for its preservation efforts.
Income from event rentals – like weddings, baby showers and photo shoots — help fund the organization’s charitable efforts throughout the area.
Celebrating the organization’s 100th anniversary has taken many forms, said Brooke Amadon, head of the Junior League’s Centennial Celebration Committee — from identifying leading women in the community to establishing the 1924 Society, where folks are asked to help contribute $1,924 to the League’s charitable fund.
Organizing the centennial celebration has been fun and educational for the members involved, Amadon said.
“We’ve been doing social media pushes and sharing tidbits and historical moments in the Junior League’s history in Lexington,” she said. “Because of that, I think, many of us found out just how intertwined the Junior League is with the city of Lexington. Many of our agencies and the resources that are of great value to our community were actually created by the Junior League.”
Melissa Hammer, president of the Junior League of Lexington’s Board of Directors, has valued the relationships and opportunites to be involved with the community that the organization has offered her. Photo by Emily Giancarlo
As part of that celebration, the Junior League of Lexington will open the house’s doors to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Sept. 8, for an open house.
“We want to make sure that people can come see what we’ve been doing to preserve part of Lexington’s history, because it does belong to all of us,” Amadon said. The event will feature tours of the house given by members of the Junior League, as well as light refreshments and a volunteer activity to help people get to know the organization better, and better understand what they do in the community.
For board president Melissa Hammer, being involved with Junior League of Lexington has offered an unparalleled opportunity to get involved with the community and develop lasting relationships.
“I moved here in 2015 and I literally knew no one. I joined to meet people and get involved with the community, and have really enjoyed having various opportunities it’s given me — obviously, being involved with the horse show is way different than my day-to-day life,” she said. “It’s so nice to be able to build friendships with people.”