Hobbs Memorial Chapel, 11706 East Osage Road, Anchorage

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS KY-302. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The significance of Hobbs Memorial Chapel lies primarily in its ties to the property s first owner and benefactor, Edward Dorsey Hobbs, commonly regarded as the founder of Anchorage, KY, originally known as Hobbs Station. Hobbs, who trained as an engineer and surveyor, drew some of the earliest maps of Louisville and helped to bring the railroad through Anchorage, spurring the growth of the small community. Upon its completion in Hobbs Memorial Chapel represented a fine example of rural chapel architecture, executed carefully in a Gothic Revival style.

For this reason, the doorway and vestibule were allowed to remain even after a fire destroyed much of the building in Despite its partial state, however, the chapel continues to function in its intended role as a spiritual and emotional center for the life of the city: the site of weddings, family gatherings, and town celebrations. The site has been named a Kentucky Landmark by the Kentucky Heritage Commission. Its continued significance is a testament to the power of the architecture, maintaining a space of reverence in spite of the building s absence. Description: As built in Hobbs Memorial Chapel was a small church of approximately square feet. The extant vestibule that remains today made up the front entrance to the building on its south side.

The vestibule measures approximately 6.5 x 12 with two symmetrical low walls reconstructed on either side. The entire structure is constructed in brick with grapevine mortar joints and stone trimming at the corners and base. The roof of the vestibule is steeply sloped and finished with stone flagging. In the center of the vestibule is a large Gothic stone arch, which once held a set of monumental wooden doors. On either side of the vestibule is a small pointed arch window with stone trim. History: Hobbs Memorial Chapel was built in on a portion of the Evergreen estate owned by Hobbs following his marriage to Susan HOBBS MEMORIAL CHAPEL HABS No. (page 2) Henning.

The chosen site was adjacent to the Hobbs family cemetery, founded by Hobbs in the on what was previously the Henning family burial ground. In Hobbs deeded the cemetery in perpetuity to the Governor of the state of Kentucky, but continued to oversee it as his own. Some fifteen years later Hobbs carried out his desire to fund the construction of a small church adjacent to the cemetery, then called the Memorial Methodist church. The chapel was designed in the Gothic Revival style by Louisville architect William H. Redin. Redin was also the architect of The Anchorage, the historic home of riverboat captain James W. Goslee from which the city took its name.

In Will Pierce was burning leaves in the chapel yard when the ivy that climbed the building caught fire and irreparably damaged the building. Following the fire, Donald Dinning of the Anchorage Garden Club successfully lobbied the Hobbs family and the Town Board to preserve the front facade facing Osage Road and to maintain the site as a park with the Garden Club s assistance.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS KY-302. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Peg Revell, Archivist, Anchorage Archives Dinning, Donald The Story of Hobbs Chapel. Quoted from The Anchor, September distributed by the Anchorage Garden Club, Anchorage, KY. Anchorage Archives. Ewen, Mildred and Frances Caldwell. History of Hobbs Cemetery. Anchorage Archives. Hallenberg, Leone W. Anchorage; a casual gathering of facts and stories from the past and present of a unique Kentucky town. Anchorage: Anchorage Press, Thomas, Samuel W. The Village of Anchorage. Anchorage: Anchorage Civic Club,

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS KY-302. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

This project was prepared by Michael Glassman for entry to the Leicester B. Holland Prize single-sheet measured drawing competition. Documentation, drawings and historical report produced in the summer of by Michael Glassman. With consultation from Peg Revell, of the Anchorage Archives.