GENOA

     We had the luxury of living in an Old Plantation house in the middle of Kentucky Amish country. we lived there for one full, somewhat magical year, that begun April Fool's Day 2009.

     Genoa, was built in 1824, by Winston Jones Davie as a wedding present for his wife. She was in her grand 185th year, when we moved in. Davie was a Kentucky legislator and Kentucky's first Commmisioner of Agriculture. He was also founder of the Church-Hill Grange, a banker, an author and an innovative farmer.

     Genoa is the only Greek Revival home, in christian County, with a  "double-pile plan" ( meaning two rooms deep). Her current square footage is 4,700; which would have been larger if the ell had not been removed from the back of the house, which means it takes three days to clean.  ;)

     Genoa has a two-tiered portico that is original to the house, though the columns have been replaced at sometime. She also has eleven (11) fireplaces, as long as you count the three (3) in the basement, where the original kitchen was and where the house-slaves resided. there are three (3) full bathrooms, including one up-stairs, which was a very big "to-do" back in the day when most pottys were outside boxes with  a moon on the door and bathtubs were also tin laundry tubs.

     Genoa, also boasts the rights to the only pre-Civil War pocket doors in the state of Kentucky. She has finished stairs leading up to a fully planked third floor attic that runs the full span of the house and has full sized windows at both ends.

     Genoa has her own cave right in the back yard, which has been sealed off with cement and a  large bar-b-cue built over it, after an unfortunate accident in 1905, where a young boy died after getting lost inside, while exploring.

     Genoa is full of nearly Two-hundred years worth of history and stories and we were more than happy to add a few of our own to it. Now that we don't live there, I feel free to share a few of them.