Zachary Taylor House, 5608 Apache Road (formerly Blankenbaker Lane), Saint Matthews

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS KY,56-SAMA,1-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

One of the oldest residences in Jefferson County, Springfield served as the childhood home of Zachary Taylor. The twenty-three years spent by Taylor at Springfield were to be the longest he lived at any one place. PART I. HISTORICAL INFORMATION A. Physical History: 1. Date of erection: Circa Following purchase of the # property in by Richard Taylor in Virginia, the move to Kentucky was made and the original portion of the house constructed. 2. Architect: Not known. 3. Original and subsequent owners: Springfield is built on lot 41 of block in Jefferson County, Kentucky. Block encompasses most of what was once part of the original Taylor farm.

The following references tracing the title of this lot are found in the Jefferson County, Kentucky Deed Pooks: Deed, March 12, original deed retained in Jefferson County Archivist's Office, Room Jefferson County Courthouse, Louisville, Kentucky. Ambrose Madison, Abraham Happonstall, Hancock Lee, and Zachary Tay.= jr sold 360 acres to Richard Taylor for ten pounds. Deed, April 14, recorded in Deed Book 50, page 2. Zachary Taylor and Margaret Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, John S. Allison and Emily Taylor Allison, Joseph P. Taylor and Evelina Taylor, and French S, Gray and Sarah B. Taylor Gray, heirs of Richard Taylor, sold 450 acres to Hancock Taylor, fellow heir, for Springfield (Zachary Taylor House) HABS No. (Page 2) Will, April 5, recorded in Will Book 3, page Will of Hancock Taylor.

Deed, January 10, recorded in Deed Book page Robert H. Taylor, son of Hancock Taylor, sold 155 acres to Annan (sic) H. Taylor, widow of Hancock Taylor, for Deed, May 10, recorded in Deed Book page Annan (sic) H. Taylor sold 155 acres to Robert H. Taylor for Deed, October 8, recorded in Deed Book page Hannah H. Taylor and Robert H. Taylor sold the farm to George McCurdy for Will, October 13, recorded in Will Book 12, page George McCurdy devised Springfield to Matthew Brady. Deed, November 15, recorded in Deed Book page Anna H. Brady, widow of Matthew Brady, deceased August 20, conveyed the farm to her sons, John A. Brady, George Brady, and James A. Brady. Deed, November 17, recorded in Deed Book page George Brady and Jennie Brady and James J.

Brady and # Anna Brady conveyed two-thirds interest in Springfield to June Brady and John A. Brady. Deed, November 3, recorder in Deed Book rage June Brady and John A. Brady sold Springfield to Emily A. Overman. Deed, March 14, recorded in Deed Book page 79, Emily A. Overman sold Springfield to Emanuel Levi. Deed, August 30, recorded in Deed Book page Emanuel Levi and Dorothy Levi sold Springfield to Harry A. Volz and Elizabeth B. Volz. Deed, September 3, recorded in Deed Book page Elizabeth B. Volz, widow, sold Springfield to Dinwiddie Lampton, Jr. and Nancy H. Lampton. Deed, November 30, recorded in Deed Book page Dinwiddie Lampton, Jr. and Nancy H. Lampton sold Springfield to Springfield, Inc. Springfield (Zachary Taylor House) HABS No.

(Page 3) Deed, November 13, recorded in Deed Book page 38. Springfield, Inc. sold Springfield,the house and lot, to W. Carleton Simmons and Doris K. Simmons. Deed, August 20, recorded in Deed Book page w. Carleton Simmons and Doris K. Simmons sold the lot to Paul M. Davis and Henrietta J. Davis for 197 3 Deed, November 15, recorded in Deed Book page Henrietta J. Davis, widow, sold the lot to Hugh S. Haynie for Builder, contractor, suppliers: Virtually all materials and labor came from local sources on the farm. Exceptions were the eight locks in the house which were made by Carpenter and Co. of England and the glass, which was also imported from England. Alterations and additions: Following acquisition of the house in by Hancock Taylor, a large brick wing was added.

George McCurdy installed a bracketed tin roof on the house with two-story'wooden verandas on both sides of the house. Frederic L. Morgan, Louisville architect, "improved" # Springfield by adding plumbing, heating, wiring, two upstairs bathrooms, reversing the stairway, and replacing of many of the interior details (probably in the wing), thought to be too "heavy" for the period of the house. He also removed the walnut fireplace and paneling from the kitchen to the dining room. W. Carleton Simmons relandscaped the grounds by adding terraces, lawns, and 500 boxwood trees over a two-year period. He also "restored" the original walnut paneling and doors of the house by stripping off all paint. Mr. and Paul Davis removed the front and side porches and, under the direction of Frederic L.

Morgan, replaced what was probably an original stoop and porch roof over the front door. The front door was altered for ease in shutting. Five of the twelve fireplaces were sealed and a built-in stove was added to the kitchen. Following the tornado in April of major repairs are being undertaken under the direction of the architectural firm of Jasper Ward, of Louisville. Included in the repairs are major structural restoration of the walls and Springfield {Zachary Taylor House) HABS No. {Page 4) # floors, which have separated. Also, the roof, which was entirely demolished, is being replaced with a new roof designed after prototypes in Williamsburg, Virginia. B.

Historical Context: Zachary Taylor, famed Indian fighter and later President of the United States, spent his childhood and adolescence at Springfield. Five of his six children (one of whom was the first wife of Jefferson Davis) were born in the house. Always on the move, Taylor lived a total of twenty-three years at Springfield, the longest he spent in any one place. Following his death in after just one year in office, he was buried on the grounds in the family cemetery, which is now the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery. At present the house is only one of two houses closely associated with U.S. Presidents not in public hands. PART III. ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION General description: The large part of the house with a main entrance gives the impression that it was the first to be built.

It is actually a later addition which was built to adjoin to the original, smaller circa structure in the The exact location of the original main'doorway cannot be ascertained. A five-step stoop provides entrance to the southeast front door. The door is # set back a few feet from the stoop and surrounding it is a paneled enframement. A transom is above it. A water table and a brick stringcourse are found only in the large addition. The windows throughout the house are twelve-over- twelve double-hung sash and are protected with louvered shutters. At either end wall of the house are the two brick interior chimneys. A two-story roofed porch occupies the rear wall of the large brick addition.

A plain railing surrounds the porch, and between it are the columns which support the second floor and the roof. PART III SOURCES OF INFORMATION A. Early Views:Qld yiew of house in The New York Daily Graphic, January 19, showing porches and bracketed tin roof. B.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS KY,56-SAMA,1-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

1. Primary and unpublished sources: Deed Books located in the Clerk's Office, Jefferson County Courthouse, Louisville, Kentucky. Springfield (Zachary Taylor House) HABS No. (Page 5) Will Books located in the Probate Office, Jefferson County Courthouse, Louisville, Kentucky. 2.

Secondary and published sources: Newspaper clippings: "The New York Daily Graphic," January 19, Zachary Taylor Deed To Beargrass Land Pound," Louisville Times, February 7, "Taylor's Home Put Up for Sale," Courier-Journal, October 2, "Zachary Taylor Home Sold for Courier-Journal, December 1, "Apache Road Passes Indian Fighter's Old Home," by Carol Sutton, Courier-Journal, January 24, "Zachary Taylor's Home Is Brought Up to Its Times," Louisville Times, April 16, "Springfield, the Home, not the Town," Courier-Journal, November 23, # "Springfield Awaits Visitors," by Joan Kay, Courier-Journal, November 30, "Congress Asked to Make Taylor Home a U.S.

Site," Courier- Journal, October 14, "Another Step is Taken to Save Taylor Home," Courier-Journal, November 7, "Zachary," Courier-Journal, November 24, "Springfield," by Keith Runyon, Courier-Journal, July 9, "Zachary Taylor Mansion May Be Up For Sale Soon," by John Finley, Cour ier-Journal, October 6, "Zachary Taylor Home Will Be Placed on Sale," by John Finley, Courier-Journal, October 18, Springfield (Zachary Taylor House) HABS No. ;Page 6) Prepared by: David Arbogast Architectural Historian National Park Service August and Susan McCown Historian Historic American Buildings Survey Spring PART IV. PROJECT INFORMATION The project was undertaken by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) in cooperation with the Preservation Alliance of Louisville and Jefferson County, Inc.

Under the direction of John Poppeliers, chief of HABS, the project was completed during the summer of at the HABS Field Office in Louisville by Prof, John Haggard, (Syracuse university). Project Supervisor; David Arbogast (Columbia University), Project Historian; Mary Oehrlein, Project Foreman; Bayer Lee (City College of New York), Architect; and Mary M. Herd (University of Tennessee) and Charles Raith (University of Cincinnati) , student assistant architects. Susan McCown, a HABS staff historian in the Washington, office, edited the written descriptive data in the spring of for transmittal to the Library of Congress. HABS staff photographer Jack E. Boucher took the photographs of the'structures in m Addendum To; HABS NO.

ZACHABY TAYLOR HOUSE Apache Road Jefferson County hi rl Kentucky , , ^j PHOTOGRAPHS Historic American Buildings Survey National Park Service Department of the Interior Washington,