This is the second in a series documenting some of Clark County’s abandoned places.
Several weeks ago at the library, I stumbled upon a book called Abandoned Kentucky by Jay Farrell. According to the author, “Abandoned structures are places that open the imagination and invite interpretation. While often overlooked by passers-by, their skeletal remains act as the perfect subject for the camera, quietly waiting to be captured and shared.”
Farrell, a Nashville resident, focused his camera on southern and western parts of Kentucky. The need to seek abandoned structures in Clark County fairly hollered out at me. So with Clare at the wheel and me behind the lens, we were off. With so many targets of opportunity, the results will have to be shared in a sequence of WinCity articles.
[Editor’s note: This image gallery displays well on desktop or laptop computers and larger mobile devices. On phones, the experience will be degraded; we apologize for this, but it’s simply a limitation of the gallery software we employ and the realities of displaying images with text.]
Old Chism Store
The old Chism Store still stands at the intersection of Red River Road and White-Conkwright Road. At one time, dozens of country stores like this dotted the landscape.
Midway Colored School
Midway Colored School is located on Midway Road, just off Route 89 near Trapp. The Midway Colored Baptist Church stands beside it (not shown). In 1910 the church deeded three-quarters of an acre to the Board of Education for a school building. At some later date, Midway School was opened at another site on Red River Road.
McMillan Graveyard
The McMillan Graveyard is totally overgrown with trees and shrubs but the gravestones have been protected from livestock by a sturdy stone fence. This burial ground of the pioneer McMillan family—James McMillan Sr. (1720–1799)—lies at the north end of the WMU reservoir.
Old steps
All over the county you can find steps like these that once led to a house now gone.
Elkin house
The ruins of this 18th-century house still stand on a farm on Boonesboro Road. Located in the Bush Settlement, it is believed to have been built for Zachariah Elkin, a son of Rev. Robert Elkin, first pastor of Providence Church.
Old privy
This dilapidated structure is an abandoned privy, a once necessary facility for every home.
Oakwood
This showplace brick mansion was built for Alpheus Lewis (1799−1865) in the early 19th century. The house, located on private property on Wades Mill Road, has been abandoned for many years.
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Old car
Though not particularly historic, abandoned vehicles and farm machinery make interesting photographs. This old car is rusting away on Prewitt Lane, off Flanagan Station Road.
Old shop on Waterworks
Sometimes it’s hard to tell if a building is abandoned or just badly run down. This concrete block structure is located on Waterworks Road (at the crossing of West Fork).
McEldowney auto house
This structure is shown on the 1912 Sanborn Insurance Map as an “auto house” located on the alley behind the McEldowney mansion. Now the property of the Bluegrass Heritage Museum, it may be better classified as “currently unused” than “abandoned.” Many such structures may be found along Winchester’s nearly 10 miles of alleys.
Quisenberry House
Ancient houses like this half stone-half wood example on Flanagan Station Road stir the imagination. One cannot help but wonder about the stories it could tell. Thought to have been built by Joel Quisenberry, a son of Rev. James Quisenberry, who settled nearby in 1784.
Gatehouse
The old Leggett & Platt visitor’s gatehouse is another unused/abandoned structure. It stands on North Main Street (near Maple Expressway), current site of the Harry Gordon Steel Company.
